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,
Alcoholic drink Sake is a popular example of "rice wine". Sparkling wine like French Champagne, Catalan Cava or Italian Prosecco can be made by means of a secondary fermentation. A distilled drink or liquor is an alcoholic drink produced by distilling (i.e., concentrating by distillation) ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables. Unsweetened, distilled, alcoholic drinks that have an alcohol content of at least 20% ABV are called "spirits". For the most common distilled drinks, such as whiskey and vodka, the alcohol content is around 40%. The term "hard liquor" is used in North America to distinguish distilled drinks