Barley more diverse sources of alcohol, such as the more common corn, rye and wheat in the USA. In the US, a grain type may be identified on a whisky label if that type of grain constitutes 51% or more of the ingredients and certain other conditions are satisfied. About 25% of the United States' production of barley is used for malting, for which barley is the best-suited grain. Barley wine is a style of strong beer from the English brewing tradition. Another alcoholic drink known by the same name, enjoyed in the 18th century, was prepared by boiling barley in
Alcoholic drinks in China liquor, the seed mash described above can also be made to be eaten or drunk as a sweet dessert. Traditional Chinese medicine frequently employed alcoholic drinks (associated with yin) and alcoholic drinks were likewise used as medicine. Alcohol including extracts of plants, herbs, animal parts, or minerals are not as common as they once were but may still be encountered. One example of such a medicinal alcoholic drink is realgar wine: consumed during the Dragon Boat Festival, realgar wine consisted of "huangjiu" mixed with realgar, an arsenic sulfide also used as an insecticide. It appears in the Chinese legend of