Alcohol Facts

From historical hangovers to the science behind the buzz, prepare to have your knowledge shaken (not stirred) with these epic facts. Read closely, because at the end of this page awaits a quiz that will separate the true experts from the bar stool bluffers.

1. The strongest beer in the world has 57.5% alcohol by volume (ABV), known as “Snake Venom.”
2. Vikings would brew a hallucinogenic beverage from a fungus that grew on rye, believing it would make them invincible in battle.
3. The term “proof” originally meant a spirit’s flammability, with 100 proof being a solution that contains 50% alcohol.
4. The ancient Egyptians used beer as a currency to pay the laborers who built the pyramids.
5. The fear of an empty glass has a name: cenosillicaphobia.
6. Winston Churchill’s mother was credited with the invention of the modern-day Manhattan cocktail.
7. A single 750ml bottle of wine can contain up to 1,200 grapes.
8. The world’s largest cork tree, “The Whistler,” has produced enough cork for over 100,000 wine bottles, despite being over 200 years old.
9. In the 1920s, the U.S. government poisoned certain alcohol supplies to enforce Prohibition, leading to thousands of deaths.
10. The word “whiskey” comes from the Old Irish for “water of life.”
11. Space missions have tested the effects of microgravity on wine aging, sending both red wine and vines into space.
12. The first known written recipe is for beer, dated back to around 5,000 B.C. in ancient Mesopotamia.
13. Japan’s sake brewing process is so precise, the term “toji” refers to a master sake brewer, a title of high respect.