An alcoholic beverage is a drink that contains ethanol (commonly called alcohol). Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits.

Alcoholic beverages are consumed in almost every nation and at the same time the majority of them have laws in which they regulate the production, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. In particular, laws specify the minimum age at which a person may legally buy them or drink them. This minimum age can be as low as 16 years in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Most countries, however, set their minimum age at 18 years.

In Germany, 14-year-old persons may drink low-alcohol beverages if their parents are present. Alcoholic beverages are a part of most European cultures, and children in these cultures may occasionally drink alcohol during meals with their family.

The production and consumption of alcohol occurs in most cultures of the world, from hunter-gatherer peoples to nation-states. Alcoholic beverages may be an important part of social events in these cultures. In many cultures, drinking plays a significant role in social interaction—mainly because of alcohol’s neurological effects.

Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that has a depressant effect. A high blood alcohol content is usually considered to be legal drunkenness because it reduces attention and slows reaction speed. Alcoholic beverages can be addictive, and the state of addiction to alcohol is known as alcoholism.

This entry should contain ONLY quotes about alcohol in general; quotes about beer or wine specifically should go in those respective entries. An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol — although in chemistry the definition of alcohol includes many other compounds. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits.

Contents

• 1 Sourced
• 2 Unsourced
• 3 Attributed
• 4 See also

Sourced

• Malt does more than Milton can to justify the ways of God to Man.
  • A. E. Housman, quoted in Meyer Howard Abrams, Morton Wilfred Bloomfield, In Search of Literary Theory (Cornell University Press, 1972), p. 210.

Unsourced

• Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink.
  • Isaiah 5:11

• All excess is ill, but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is quarrelsome, lascivious, impudent, dangerous and mad. He that is drunk is not a man, because he is, for so long, void of reason that distinguishes a man from a beast.
  • William Penn

From Wikiquote under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Sat Jun 20 00:47:14 2009