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 drinks in Sweden popular in lunch restaurants as for the vast majority of people it is possible to drink one serving of it and still stay below the legal limits for drink driving. Sweet cider is also common. As of July 1, 2005, new rules established that only fermented juice from apple or pear is allowed to be called 'cider'. Before this change, any fruit-based drink could be called cider, meaning that what would be considered alcopop in other countries could be sold as cider in Sweden. Since the Middle Ages, beer was the staple drink in Sweden. Mead was a common delicacy.