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,
Pox (drink) Linguistic Anthropology". June 1996, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 27–46 Pox (drink) "Pox" is a liquor commonly used for ceremonial purposes among the Mayans of Mexico and Central America. "Pox" is a liquor made of corn, sugar cane and wheat, very important in mayan culture for its ceremonial uses and is also known as aguardiente. Besides its religious significance it is also a somewhat popular alcoholic drink in the Chiapas region of Southern Mexico. The word "pox" in Tzotzil means "medicine, cane liquor, cure." Pox was commonly used in religious ceremonies and festivals in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, but increasingly