History of alcoholic drinks "Gandhara stills" were only capable of producing very weak liquor, as there was no efficient means of collecting the vapors at low heat. While the art of wine making reached the Hellenic peninsula by about 2000 BC, the first alcoholic beverage to obtain widespread popularity in what is now Greece was mead, a fermented beverage made from honey and water. However, by 1700 BC, wine making was commonplace. During the next thousand years wine drinking assumed the same function so commonly found around the world: It was incorporated into religious rituals. It became important in hospitality, used for medicinal purposes,
Punch (drink) fruit of the hawthorn tree, and resembles crab apples; they have a sweet-sour flavor and an orange to golden yellow color. Other ingredients in "ponche" are prunes, pears, dry hibiscus, star anise, and sugar cane pieces. "Agua loca" ("crazy water") is a very sweet punch usually made from fermented sugarcane, mezcal or tequila mixed with "aguas frescas" (usually agua de Jamaica or horchata). Due to its sweetness, the drinker may not taste the alcohol and become intoxicated more quickly than anticipated. This drink is popular on college campuses as an inexpensive means of becoming intoxicated. Punch is called in Swedish