The history of alcohol and drinking is fascinating. Alcohol has provided a variety of functions for people. And it’s done so throughout history. From the earliest times to the present, alcohol has played an important role in life. For example, in its role in religion.

Historically, alcoholic beverages have served as sources of needed nutrients. They have been widely used for medicins, antiseptics, and pain killers.

The role of such beverages as thirst quenchers is obvious. They also play an important role in increasing the enjoyment of life. They can be a social lubricant, promote relaxation, and can provide pharmacological pleasure. And, of course, increase the pleasure of eating.

Thus, while alcohol has always been misused by a minority of drinkers, it has been beneficial to most.

So the history of alcohol and drinking is a fascinating part of our past.

I. Ancient Period: History of Alcohol and Drinking

No one knows when beverage alcohol was first made. However, it was presumably the result of an accident that occurred at least tens of thousands of years ago.

Late Stone Age beer jugs prove that beer was made at least as early as the Neolithic period.¹ That was about 10,000 B.C. In fact, beer may have preceded bread as a staple.² Wine appeared in Egyptian pictographs around 4,000 B.C.³

The earliest alcoholic beverages might have been made from berries or honey.⁴  Winemaking may have originated in the wild grape regions of the Middle East. Oral tradition recorded in the Old Testament (Genesis 9:20) asserts that Noah planted a vineyard. It says he did so on Mt. Ararat in what is now eastern Turkey. In Sumeria, beer and wine were used for medicinally as early as 2,000 B.C.⁵

The Egyptians

Brewing dates from the beginning of civilization in ancient Egypt.⁶ Alcoholic beverages were very important there. Many gods were local. However, Osiris, the god of wine, was worshiped throughout the entire country.⁷

The Egyptians believed that Osiris also invented beer.⁸ The beverage was considered a necessity of life and brewed daily in the home.⁹

Egyptians deified and offered both beer and wine were to their gods. Cellars and winepresses even had a god whose hieroglyph was a winepress.¹⁰  The ancient Egyptians made at least 17 kinds of beer and at least 24 kinds of wine.¹¹

Alcohol was used for pleasure, nutrition, medicine, ritual, payment¹² and funerary purposes. The latter involved storing the beverages in tombs of the dead for their use in the after-life.¹³

     Moderation

Many accounts of the period stressed the importance of moderation. These norms were both secular and religious.¹⁴ Egyptians did not generally appear to define inebriety as a problem. But they warned against taverns (which were often houses of prostitution) and excessive drinking.¹⁵

The Babylonians

Beer was the major beverage among the Babylonians. In addition, as early as 2,700 B.C., they worshiped a wine goddess and other wine deities.¹⁷ 

Babylonians regularly used both beer and wine as offerings to their gods.¹⁸ Around 1,750 B.C., the famous Code of Hammurabi addressed alcohol.

However, there were no penalties for drunkenness. In fact, it was not even mentioned. The concern was fair commerce in alcohol.¹⁹  Nevertheless, it appears that the Babylonians were critical of drunkenness.²⁰

The Chinese

A variety of alcoholic beverages have been used in China since prehistoric times.²¹ Alcohol was considered a spiritual (mental) food rather than a material (physical) food. Many documents show the important role it played in their religious life.²²

“In ancient times people always drank when holding a memorial ceremony, offering sacrifices to gods or their ancestors. Pledging resolution before going into battle, celebrating victory, before feuding and official executions. For taking an oath of allegiance, while attending the ceremonies of birth, marriage, reunions, departures, death, and festival banquets.”²³

A Chinese imperial edict of about 1,116 B.C. asserted that drinking alcohol in moderation was prescribed by heaven. Heaven may or may not have prescribed it. However, it was clearly beneficial to the treasury. In fact, alcohol was one of the treasury’s biggest sources of income.²⁵At the time of Marco Polo (12547-1324?) people drank it daily.²⁴

     Alcohol was Pervasive

People widely used alcoholic beverages in all parts of Chinese society. The were a source of inspiration, important for hospitality, and an antidote for fatigue. Of course, they sometimes misused them.²⁶ So laws against making wine were enacted and repealed 41 times between 1,100 B.C. and A.D. 1,400.²⁷

However, a commentator writing around 650 B.C. stated that people “will not do without beer. To prohibit it and secure total abstinence from it is beyond the power even of sages. Hence, therefore, we have warnings on the abuse of it.”²⁸

The Greeks

The art of wine making reached the Hellenic peninsula by about 2,000 B.C.²⁹ But the first alcoholic beverage to obtain widespread popularity in what is now Greece was mead. It’s a fermented beverage made from honey and water.

However, by 1,700 B.C., wine making was commonplace. During the next thousand years wine drinking had wide functions. It was part of religious rituals, was important in hospitality, and was medicinal. Perhaps most important, it was part of daily meals. As a beverage, it was drunk in many ways. It could be warm or chilled, pure or mixed with water, plain or spiced.³⁰

At the time, writers observed that the Greeks were among the most temperate of ancient peoples. Their rules stressed moderate drinking, they praised temperance, and they avoided excess in general.³¹

     Dionysus

An exception to this ideal of moderation was the cult of Dionysus. Followers believed that intoxication brought them closer to their deity.³²

While habitual drunkenness was rare, intoxication at banquets and festivals was not unusual.³³  The symposium was a gathering of men for an evening of talk, entertainment and drinking. It typically ended in intoxication.³⁴

There are no references in ancient Greek literature to mass drunkenness among the Greeks. However, there are references to it among foreign peoples.³⁵  By 425 B.C., warnings against intemperance, especially at symposia, appear to become more frequent.³⁶

      Moderation Praised

Xenophon (431-351 B.C.) and Plato (429-347 B.C.) both praised the moderate use of wine. They saw it as beneficial to health and happiness. But both were critical of drunkenness, which appears to have become a problem.

Later, both Aristode (384-322 B.C.) and Zeno (cir. 336-264 B.C.) were very critical of drunkenness.³⁷

Hippocrates (cir. 460-370 B.C.) identified many medicinal properties of wine. Even then, it had long been used for its therapeutic value (Lucia, 1963a, pp. 36-40).

Among Greeks, the Macedonians viewed intemperance as a sign of masculinity. They were well known for their drunkenness. Their king, Alexander the Great (336-323 B.C.), whose mother belonged to the Dionysian cult, developed a reputation for inebriety.³⁸

The Hebrews

The Hebrews were reportedly introduced to wine during their captivity in Egypt. Moses led them to Canaan (Palestine) around 1,200 B.C. At that time they regretted leaving behind the wines of Egypt (Numbers 20:5). However, they found vineyards to be plentiful in their new land.³⁹ 

Around 850 B.C., the Rechabites and Nazarites criticized the use of wine. They were two conservative nomadic groups who practiced abstinence from alcohol.⁴⁰

In 586 B.C., the Hebrews were conquered by the Babylonians and deported to Babylon. However, in 539 B.C., the Persians captured the city and released the Hebrews from their Exile (Daniel 5:1-4).

     Judaism

Following the Exile, the Hebrews developed Judaism as it is now known. At that point they became Jews. During the next 200 years, sobriety increased and pockets of antagonism to wine disappeared. It became a common beverage for all classes and ages, including the very young.

Wine was many things.

• • A major source of nourishment.
  • A prominent part in festivities.
  • An essential stock for any fortress.
  • A widely used medicine.
  • An important commodity.

In short, wine came to be seen as a necessary part in the life of the Hebrews.⁴¹

While there was still opposition to excessive drinking, it was no longer assumed that drinking inevitably led to drunkenness. Wine came to be seen as a blessing from God and a symbol of joy (Psalms 104; Zachariah 10:7).

These changes appear related to a rejection of pagan gods. To a new emphasis on individual morality. And the use of wine in religious ceremonies.⁴²

The Kiddush is the pronouncement of the Sabbath. Around 525 B.C., it was ruled that the Kiddush should be recited over a blessed cup of wine. This established the regular drinking of wine in Jewish ceremonies outside the Temple.⁴³

The Persians

King Cyrus of Persia often praised the virtue of moderate drinking (cir. 525 B.C.).

However, ritual intoxication was apparently used as part of decision making. After the death of Cyrus, drunkenness was not uncommon.⁴⁴

The Romans

The Romans practiced great moderation in drinking between the founding of Rome and the third century B.C.⁴⁵

They conquered the Italian peninsula and the rest of the Mediterranean basin between 509 and 133 B.C. After that, the Roman values of temperance, frugality and simplicity declined.

These were gradually replaced by heavy drinking, ambition, degeneracy and corruption.⁴⁶ The Dionysian rites (Bacchanalia, in Latin) spread to Italy during this period. However, the Senate then outlawed them.⁴⁷

     Excessive Drinking

Some practices encouraged excessive drinking. They included drinking  on an empty stomach, vomiting to permit drinking more wine, and drinking games. The latter included, for example, rapidly consuming as many cups as indicated by a throw of the dice.⁴⁸

By the second and first centuries B.C., intoxication was no longer a rarity. Consequently most prominent men of affairs were praised for their moderation in drinking. They included Cato the Elder and Julius Caesar.

This appears to be in response to growing misuse of alcohol in society. That’s because before that time temperance was not singled out for praise as exemplary. As the republic continued to decay, excessive drinking spread. Some, such as Marc Antony (d. 30 B.C.), even took pride in their destructive drinking behavior.⁴⁹

II. Early Christian Period

Christianity gradulally began displacing the previously dominant religions. As this occurred, European drinking attitudes and behaviors began to change. The New Testament was influencing people.⁵⁰ 

The earliest biblical writings after the death of Jesus (cir. A.D. 30) contain few references to alcohol. This may be because drunkenness was largely an upper-status vice with which Jesus had little contact.⁵¹ Jesus used wine (Matthew 15:11; Luke 7:33-35) and approved of its moderate consumption (Matthew 15:11).

On the other hand, Jesus strongly attacked drunkenness (Luke 21:34,12:42; Matthew 24:45-51).

The writings of St. Paul (d. 64?) deal with alcohol. He considered wine to be a creation of God and therefore inherently good (1 Timothy 4:4).

St. Paul also recommended its use for medicinal purposes (1 Timothy 5:23). But he consistently condemned drunkenness (1 Corinthians 3:16-17,5:11,6:10; Galatians 5:19-21; Romans 13:3). As a result, he recommended abstinence for those who could not control their drinking.

     Heretical Sects

However, late in the second century, several heretical sects rejected alcohol and called for abstinence. By the late fourth and early fifth centuries, the Church responded. It asserted that wine was an inherently good gift of God to be used and enjoyed.

While individuals may choose not to drink, to despise wine was heresy. The Church advocated its moderate use but rejected excessive or abusive use as a sin. This was important in the history of alcohol and drinking. The Church urged those who could not drink in moderation to abstain.⁵²  

     Wine or Only Grape Juice?

Both the Old and New Testaments are clear and consistent in their condemnation of drunkenness. However, some Christians today argue that whenever “wine” was used by Jesus or praised, it was grape juice. Only when it caused drunkenness was it wine.

Thus, they interpret the Bible as asserting that grape juice is good and that drinking it is acceptable to God. But they think that wine is bad and that drinking it is unacceptable. This temperance position is unique in the history of alcohol and drinking.

This reasoning appears to be incorrect for at least two reasons. First, neither the Hebrew nor Biblical Greek word for wine refers to grape juice. Second, grape juice would quickly ferment into wine in the warm climate of the Mediterranean region.⁵³

The spread of Christianity and of viticulture in Western Europe were at the same time.⁵⁴ Interestingly, St. Martin of Tours (316-397) was actively engaged in both spreading the Gospel and planting vineyards.⁵⁵

     Jewish Reaction to Christianity

Christianity was converting many Jews and threatening traditional Jewish culture.⁵⁶ To counter this threat, detailed rules about the use of wine were included in the Talmud. Wine was integrated into many religious ceremonies in limited quantity.⁵⁷

Social and political upheavals rose as the fall of Rome approached in the fifth century. Concern grew among rabbis that Judaism and its culture were in increasing danger.

Consequently, more Talmudic rules were laid down about wine. These included the amount that could be drunk on the Sabbath. Also the way it was to be drunk. The rules addressed wine in any way connected with idolatry. They also specified the extent of personal responsibility for behavior while intoxicated.⁵⁸

     Abuse of Alcohol

Roman abuse of alcohol appears to have peaked around mid-first century.⁵⁹ Wine had become very popular. As Rome attracted a large influx of displaced persons, it was distributed free or at cost.⁶⁰ This led to occasional excesses at festivals, victory triumphs, and other celebrations.

The four emperors who ruled from A.D. 37 to A.D. 69 were all abusive drinkers. However, the emperors who followed were very temperant.

Literary sources suggest that problem drinking decreased substantially in the Empire. There continued to be some criticisms of abusive drinking over the next several hundred years. Yet most evidence indicates a decline of such behavior.⁶¹ The fall of Rome and the Western Roman Empire occurred in 476.⁶²

Around A.D. 230, the Greek scholar Athenaeus advocated moderation. The extensive attention to drinking, famous drinks, and drinking cups reflected the importance of wine.⁶³

III. Middle Ages

The Middle Ages lasted about one thousand years. It existed between the fall of Rome and the beginning of the High Renaissance (cir. 1500). It saw numerous developments in life in general and in drinking in particular.

In the early Middle Ages, mead, rustic beers, and wild fruit wines became increasingly popular. This was especially among Celts, Anglo-Saxons, Germans, and Scandinavians. However, wines remained the favorite beverage in the Romance countries. Especially in what is now Italy, Spain and France.⁶⁴

     Monasteries

With the collapse of the Roman Empire, monasteries became the centers of brewing and winemaking techniques.⁶⁵  Production of rustic beers continued in homes. But the art of brewing essentially became the province of monks. And they carefully guarded their knowledge.⁶⁶

Monks brewed virtually all beer of good quality until the twelfth century. Around the thirteenth century, hops (which both flavors and preserves) became a common ingredient in some beers. This was especially the casein northern Europe.⁶⁷   Hops both flavors and preserves the beverage. Ale, often a thick and nutritious soupy beverage, soured quickly and was made for local consumption.⁶⁸

     Viticulture

Not surprisingly, the monasteries also maintained viticulture. Importantly, they had the resources, security, and stability in that often-turbulent time. This enabled them to improve the quality of their vines slowly over time.⁶⁹ The monks also had the education and time necessary to enhance their skills.⁷⁰

Throughout the Middle Ages, the best vineyards were owned by the monasteries. Not surprisingly, vinum theologium was considered superior to others.⁷¹

Monasteries made wine necessary to celebrate the mass. But they also produced large quantities to support themselves.⁷² Most wine was made and consumed locally. But some wine trade did continue in spite of poor roads.⁷³

By the millennium, the most popular form of festivities in England were “ales.” Both ale and beer were at the top of products given to lords for rent.

In twelfth-century Germany, towns were granted the privilege of brewing and selling beer in their localities. A flourishing artisan brewing industry developed in many towns. This was often a source of strong civic pride.⁷⁴

Distillation

The single most important development in the history of alcohol and drinking throughout the Middle Ages was distillation.

Interestingly, considerable disagreement exists concerning who first developed distillation. And also when. However, Albertus Magnus (1193-1280) first clearly described the process.⁷⁵

Knowledge of the process began to spread slowly among monks, physicians and alchemists. They were largely interested in distilled alcohol as a cure for ailments.

At that time it was called aqua vitae, “water of life,” but was later known as brandy. The latter term is from the Dutch brandewijn. It means burnt (distilled) wine.⁷⁶

     The Black Death

The Black Death and later plagues began in the mid-fourteenth century. They dramatically changed people’s perception of their lives and place in the cosmos.

People had no understanding or control of the plagues. The diseases killed as many as 82% of the people in some villages.

So people became desperate. As a result, “processions of flagellants mobbed city and village streets, hoping, by the pains they inflicted on themselves and each other, to take the edge off the plagues they attributed to God’s wrath over human folly.”⁷⁷

On the other hand, some greatly increased their consumption of alcohol. They thought this might protect them from the strange disease. Still others thought that through moderation in all things, including alcohol, they could be saved.

     Consumption High

On balance, consumption of alcohol during the Middle Ages was high. For example, in Bavaria, beer consumption was probably about 300 liters per capita a year. That compares to 150 liters today. In Florence wine consumption was about ten barrels per person a year.

As the end of the Middle Ages approached, the popularity of beer spread to England, France and Scotland.⁷⁹  Beer brewers were recognized officially as a guild in England.⁸⁰ And the adulteration of beer or wine became punishable by death in Scotland.⁸¹ Importantly, the consumption of spirits as a beverage began to occur.⁸²  Of course, it increased in popularity.⁷⁸

IV. Early Modern Period

The early modern period was characterized by increasing prosperity and wealth. Towns and cities grew in size and number, foreign lands were discovered and colonized, and trade expanded.

Perhaps more important, there developed a new view of the world. The medieval period emphasized other-worldliness. This is the belief that life in this world is only a preparation for heaven. That view slowly declined, especially among the wealthy and well educated. It was largely replaced by an interest in life here and now.⁸³

     Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation and rise of national states destroyed the ideal of a universal Church. And of one that oversaw a Holy Roman Empire. Rationality, individualism, and science greatly increased. On the other hand, emotional idealism, communalism, and traditional religion declined.⁸⁴

However, beliefs of Protestant leaders such as Luther and Calvin did not differ substantially from those of the Catholic Church. They considered alcohol to be a gift of God. It was created to be used in moderation for pleasure, enjoyment and health. But drunkenness was a sin. Thus, the Protestant Reformation was not a major event in the history of alcohol and drinking.⁸⁵

People had increasing concern over the negative effects of drunkenness. Self-indulgence was considered the cause of intoxication. And drunkenness was seen as a threat to spiritual salvation and societal well being.

Intoxication was inconsistent with the emerging emphasis on rational mastery of self and world. It was also inconsistent with work and efficiency.⁸⁶

16th Century History of Alcohol & Drinking

However, consumption of alcohol was often high. In the sixteenth century, alcohol beverage consumption reached 100 liters per person per year in Valladolid, Spain. Polish peasants consumed up to three liters of beer per day.⁸⁷ In Coventry, England, the average person had about 17 pints of beer and ale per week. Today, it’s about three pints.⁸⁸

Swedish beer consumption may have been 40 times higher than in modem Sweden. English sailors received a ration of a gallon of beer per day, while soldiers received two-thirds of a gallon. In Denmark, the usual consumption of beer was a gallon per day for adult laborers and sailors.⁸⁹

However, the production and distribution of spirits spread slowly. Spirit drinking was still largely for medicinal purposes throughout most of the sixteenth century. It has been said of distilled alcohol that “the sixteenth century created it; the seventeenth century consolidated it; the eighteenth popularized it.”⁹⁰

17th Century History of Alcohol & Drinking

The Virginia colonists continued their traditional beliefs about alcoholic beverages. They considered them natural foods and good when used in moderation. In fact, beer arrived with the first colonists, who considered it essential to their well being.⁹¹

The Puritan minister Increase Mather preached in favor of alcohol but against its abuse. “Drink is in itself a good creature of God, and to be received with thankfulness. But the abuse of drink is from Satan; the wine is from God, but the Drunkard is from the Devil.”⁹²

During that century the first distillery was established in the colonies on what is now Staten Island.⁹³ In addition, the cultivation of hops began in Massachusetts. And both brewing and distilling were legislatively encouraged in Maryland.⁹⁴

Champagne

A beverage that clearly made its debut during the seventeenth century was sparkling champagne. Thus, it’s very important in the history of alcohol and drinking.

England produced the first sparkling wine. Still wine was imported from the Champagne region and stored in cellars over the winter. There a secondary fermentation occurred.

The English enjoyed the effervescence and called the product “brisk champagne.” The English preferred bubbles in their wine. However, the French considered them to be an undesirable defect to be prevented.⁹⁵

     Dom Perignon

In spite of the popular myth, Dom Perignon didn’t invent sparkling wine. That false belief has been traced to ads published around the beginning of the 20th century for a Champagne company. That company produces, what else, Dom Perignon.

However, to take advantage of its popularity, Dom Perignon began to improve sparkling wine. He used strong bottles and developed a strong closure system. This helped contain the powerful pressure within the bottles. He also experimented with blending the contents.

Nevertheless, it took another century of work by others to solve problems, especially that of bursting bottles. So Dom Perignon remains important in the history of alcohol and drinking.⁹⁶

Whisky

The original grain spirit, whisky, appears to have first been distilled in Ireland. Its specific origins are unknown.⁹⁷  However, by the sixteenth century it was widely consumed in some parts of Scotland.⁹⁸

It was also during the seventeenth century that Franciscus Sylvius (Franz de la Boe) distilled spirits from grain.

Gin

Juniper berries generally flavored distilled spirit. The resulting beverage was known as junever. That’s the Dutch word for “juniper.” The French changed the name to genievre. Then the English changed it to “geneva.” Finally they modified it to “gin.”⁹⁹

Gin was originally used for medicinal purposes. Its use as a social drink did not grow rapidly at first.¹⁰⁰ However, in 1690, England passed a law to promote distilled spirits. Within four years the annual production of spirits reached nearly one million gallons. Most of it was gin.¹⁰¹

Rum

Rum is produced by distilling fermented molasses. That’s the residue left after sugar has been made from sugar cane. No one knows when rum was first produced or by what person.

The first European settlers in the West Indies presumably invented it. But by 1657, a rum distillery was operating in Boston. It was highly successful. Within a generation rum production became colonial New England’s largest and most prosperous industry. This was important to the history of alcohol and drinking in North America.¹⁰²

18th Century History of Alcohol & Drinking

The dawn of the eighteenth century saw Parliament pass legislation designed to encourage the use of grain for distilling spirits.

In 1685, consumption of gin had been just over one-half million gallons.¹⁰³ By 1714, gin production stood at two million gallons.¹⁰⁴ In 1727, official (declared and taxed) production reached five million gallons. Six years later the London area alone produced eleven million gallons of gin.¹⁰⁵

     Gin Consumption Increased

The English government promoted gin production to utilize surplus grain and to raise revenue. As a result, very cheap spirits flooded the market. There was little stigma attached to drunkenness. And the growing poor in London sought relief from the harsh realities of urban life.¹⁰⁶ Thus developed the so-called Gin Epidemic. This was important to the history of alcohol and drinking in England.

The negative effects of the epidemic may have been exaggerated.¹⁰⁷ Nevertheless, Parliament passed legislation in 1736 to discourage consumption. It prohibited the sale of gin in quantities of less than two gallons and raised the tax on it dramatically.

However, the peak in consumption was reached seven years later. At that time the nation of six and one-half million people drank over 18 million gallons of gin. And most was consumed by the small minority of the population then living in London and other cities. People in the countryside largely drank beer, ale and cider.¹⁰⁸

     Gin Consumption Decreased

After its dramatic peak, gin consumption rapidly declined. From 18 million gallons in 1743, it dropped to just over seven million gallons in 1751. Then to less than two million by 1758. It generally declined to the end of the century.¹⁰⁹

A number of factors appear to have converged to discourage consumption of gin. They include these.

• • Production of higher quality beer of lower prices.
  • Rising corn prices and taxes which eroded the price advantage of gin.
  • A temporary ban on distilling.
  • Stigmatization of drinking gin.
  • Increasing criticism of drunkenness.
  • Newer norms criticized coarseness and excess.
  • Increased tea and coffee consumption.
  • An increase in piety.
  • Increasing industrialization and need for sobriety and labor efficiency.¹¹⁰

Drunkenness was still an accepted part of life in the eighteenth century.¹¹¹ But the nineteenth century would bring a change in attitudes.

This was caused by increased industrialization and the need for a reliable and punctual work force.¹¹² Self-discipline was needed in place of self-expression, and task orientation had to replace relaxed conviviality. Drunkenness would come to be defined as a threat to industrial efficiency and growth.

     Many Problems Blamed on Alcohol

People blamed problems such as urban crime, poverty and high infant mortality rates on alcohol. However,  “it is likely that gross overcrowding and unemployment had much to do with these problems.”¹¹³

Over time, people blamed more and more personal, social and religious/moral problems on alcohol. Preventing drunkenness was not enough. Finally, any consumption of alcohol became unacceptable.

Groups began by promoting temperance – the moderate use of alcohol. But they later became abolitionist. They then pressed for the complete and total prohibition of beverage alcohol.

Unfortunately, this would not eliminate social problems but would compound the situation by creating additional problems.

V. Summary: History of Alcohol and Drinking

Peoples throughout history have valued and used alcohol. Reflecting its vital role, consumption of alcohol in moderation has rarely been questioned throughout most of recorded time.

To the contrary. “Fermented dietary beverage…was so common an element that it was taken for granted a one of the basic elements of survival.”¹¹⁴

 Indicative of its value is the fact that people have frequently used it as a medium of exchange. For example, in Medieval England, people often used ale to pay tolls, rent or debts.¹¹⁵

From the earliest times alcohol has played an important role in religion. Religious rejection of alcohol is rare. When it does occur, such rejection may be unrelated to alcohol per se but reflect other considerations.

     Rejection of Wine

For example, the nomadic Rechabites rejected wine because they associated it with an unacceptable agricultural life style. Nazarites abstained only during the period of their probation, after which they returned to drinking.¹¹⁶ Among other reasons, Mohammed may have forbidden alcohol in order further to distinguish his followers.¹¹⁷

Alcoholic beverages have also been an important source of nutrients and calories.¹¹⁸ In ancient Egypt, the phrase “bread and beer” stood for all food and was also a common greeting.

Many alcoholic beverages, such as Egyptian bouza and Sudanese merissa, contain high levels of protein, fat and carbs. This fact helps explain the frequent lack of nutritional deficiencies in some populations whose diets are generally poor. Importantly, the levels of amino acids and vitamins increase during fermentation.¹¹⁹

Modern food technology uses enrichment or fortification to improve the nutrition of foods. On the other hand, nutritional enrichment occurs naturally through fermentation.¹²⁰

     Safe Beverages

Alcoholic beverages have long served as thirst quenchers. Water pollution is far from new. To the contrary, supplies have generally been either unhealthful or questionable at best. Ancient writers rarely wrote about water, except as a warning.¹²¹

Travelers crossing present-day Zaire in 1648 had to drink water resembling horse urine. In the late eighteenth century most Parisians drank water from a very polluted Seine.¹²²

Alcohol served as a safe beverage. Coffee and tea are also safe to drink because they use boiled water. However, they didn’t come into Europe until the mid-seventeenth century. In addition, it was another hundred or more years before people  consumed them on a daily basis.¹²³

     Supports Good Health

Another important function of alcohol has been therapeutic or medicinal. Current research shows that the moderate consumption of alcohol is preferable to abstinence. It reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease, osteoporosis, and many other diseases. And it also increases longevity.

Alcohol has clearly been a major pain killer, and one widely available. Relatedly, it has provided relief from the fatigue of hard labor.

Alcohol has served in enhancing the enjoyment and quality of life. It can serve as a social lubricant, can provide entertainment, and can promote relaxation. In addition, it can provide pharmacological pleasure and can enhance the flavors of food.¹²⁴

A minority of drinkers have always misused alcohol. However, it has clearly beneffited most.

The founding Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism studied the matter. He said “… alcohol has existed longer than all human memory. It has outlived generations, nations, epochs and ages. It is a part of us, and that is fortunate indeed. For although alcohol will always be the master of some, for most of us it will continue to be the servant of man.”¹²⁵

Adapted from Hanson, D. Preventing Alcohol Abuse: Alcohol, Culture and Control. Wesport, CT: Praeger, 1995.

VI. Resources on History of Alcohol and Drinking

General

Alcohol: A History. Phillips, R. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 2014.

Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol. Gately, I. NY: Gotham, 2008.

Alcohol in World History. Hames, G. NY: Routledge, 2012.

Alcohol: A Social and Cultural History. Holt, M. NY: Berg, 2006.

Alcoholica Esoterica. Lendler, I.NY: Penguin, 2005.

Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages. McGovern, P. Berkeley: U California Press, 2009.

A History of the World in Six Glasses. Standage, T. and Runnette, S. Old Saybrook, CT: Tantor, 2011.

Alcohol and its Role in the Evolution of Human Society.
Hornsey, I.Cambridge, UK : Royal Soc Chem, 2012.

Specific Beverages

Beer

Beer is Best: A History of Beer. Watney, J. London: Owen, 1974.

The Brewer’s Tale: A History of the World According to Beer. Bostwick, W. NY: Norton, 2014.

Beer: A Global History. Smith, G. London: Reaktion, 2014.

Wine

Dionysus: A Social History of the Wine Vine. Hyams, E. NY: Macmillan, 1965.

Wine: A Global History. Millon, M. London: Reaktion, 2013.

Wine: A Cultural History. Varriano, J. London: Reaktion, 2010.

Spirits

Water of Life: A History of Wine-distilling and Spirits. Wilson, C. Totnes: Prospect, 2006.

Whiskey: A Global History. Kosar, K. London: Reaktion, 2010.

Rum: A Social and Sociable History. Williams, I. NY: Nation, 2005.

Rum: A Global History. Foss, R. London : Reaktion, 2012.

And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails. Curtis, W. NY: Crown, 2006.

Tequila. A Natural and Cultural History. Zapata, A. and Nabhan, G. Tucson: U AZ Press, 2003.

Tequila: A Global History. Williams, I. London: Reaktion, 2015.

Vodka: A Global History. Herlihy, P. London: Reaktion, 2012.

Gin: A Global History. Solmonson, L. London: Reaktion, 2012.

References: History of Alcohol and Drinking

1. Patrick, C. Alcohol, Culture, and Society.Durham: Duke U Press, 1952, pp. 12-13.

2. Braidwood, R., et al. Symposium: Did man once live by beer alone? Am Anthro, 1953, 55, 515-526. Katz, S. and Voigt, M. Bread and beer. The early use of cereals in the human diet. Exped, 1987, 28, 23-34.

3. Lucia, S. A History of Wine as Therapy. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1963a, p. 216.

4. Blum, R. Society and Drugs. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1969, p. 25. Rouche, B. The Neutral Spirit. Boston: Little, Brown, 1960, p. 8; French, H. Nineteen Centuries of Drink in England. London: Nat Temp Pub Depot, 1890, p. 3.

5. Babor, T. Alcohol: Customs and Rituals. NY: Chelsea, 1986, p. 1.b

6. Cherrington, E. (Ed.) Standard Encyclopedia of the Alcohol Problem. Westerville, OH: Am Issue, 1925, p. 404. Good temperance view of the history of alcohol and drinking.

Antiquity

7. Lucia, S. The Antiquity of Alcohol in Diet and Medicine. In: Lucia, S. (Ed.) Alcohol and Civilization. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1963b. Pp. 151-166, p. 152. Source of ancient history of alcohol and drinking.

8. King, F. Beer Has a History. London: Hutchinson’s, 1947, p. 1.

9. Marciniak, M. Filters, Strainers and Siphons in Wine and Beer Production and Drinking Customs in Ancient Egypt. Paper, Kettil Bruun Soc. Toronto: May 30-June 5, 1992,  p. 2.

10. Ghaliounqui, P. Fermented Beverages in Antiquity. In: Gastineau, C., et al. (Eds.) Fermented Food Beverages in Nutrition. NY: Academic, 1979. Pp. 3-19, p. 5.

11. ______, id., pp. 8 and 11.

12. Cherrington, id., p. 405.

13. King, id. p. 11. Darby, W., et al. Food: The Gift of Osiris. Vols. 1 and 2. London: Academic, 1977, p. 576.

14. Darby, id., p. 58.

15. Lutz, H. Viticulture and Brewing in the Ancient Orient. NY: Heinrichs, 1922, pp, 97, 105-108.

16. Darby, id, p. 590.

17. Hyams, E. Dionysus. A Social History of the Wine Vine. NY: Macmillan, 1965, pp. 38-39.

18. Lutz, id., pp. 125-126.

The tavern

19. Popham, R. The Social History of the Tavern. In: Israel, Y., et al. (Eds.) Research Advances in Alcohol and Drug Problems. Vol. 4. NY: Plenum, 1978, pp. 232-233.

20. Lutz, ibid.

21. Granet, M. Chinese Civilization. London: Barnes and Noble, 1957, p. 14.

22. Hucker, C. China’s Imperial Past. Stanford,: Stanford U Press, 1975., p. 28. Fei-Peng, Z. Drinking in China. Drink Drug Pract Survey, 1982, No. 18, p. 13.

23. Fei-Peng, ibid.

24.  Gernet, J. Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion 1250-1276. Stanford: Stanford U Press, 1962, p. 139.

25. Balazs, E. Chinese Civilization. New Haven,: Yale U Press, 1964, p. 97.

Drink

26. Samuelson, J. The History of Drink. London: Truber, 1878, pp. 19-20, 22, 26-27. Source for temperance view of the history of alcohol and drinking.Fei-Peng, id.  Simons, F. Food in China. Boca Raton, FL.: CRC, 1991, pp. 448-459.

27. Alcoholism Drug Addict Res Found. It’s Best to Know. Toronto: The Foundation, 1961, p. 5.

28. Roueche, B. Alcohol in Human Culture. In: Lucia, S., (ed.) Alcohol and Civilization. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1963, p. 179. The importance of culture and the history of alcohol and drinking.

29. Younger, W. Gods, Men, and Wine. London: Wine and Food Society, 1966, p. 79.

30. Raymond, I. The Teaching of the Early Church on the Use of Wine and Strong Drink. NY: Columbia U Press, 1927, p. 53.

31. Austin, G. Alcohol in Western Society from Antiquity to 1800. Santa Barbara: ABC – CLIO, 1985, p. 11. Good source for history of alcohol and drinking.

Alcoholism

32. Sournia, J.-C. A History of Alcoholism. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1990, pp. 5-6. Raymond, id., p. 55.

33.  Austin, ibid.

34. Babor, id., p. 4.

35. Patrick, id., p. 18.

36. Austin, id., pp. 21-22.

37. ______, id., pp. 23, 25, and 27.

38. Souria, id., pp. 8-9. Babor, id., p. 5.

39. Lutz, id, p. 25.

40. ______, id., p. 133.  Samuelson, 1878, pp. 62-63.

41. Raymond, id., p. 23.

42. Austin, id, pp. 18-19. Patai, R. From “Journey into the Jewish Mind” – Alcoholism. In: Blaine, A. (Ed.) Alcoholism and the Jewish Community. NY: Fed Jewish Phil, 1980, pp. 61-73. Keller, M. The great Jewish drink mystery. Brit J Addict, 1970, 64, pp. 290-294.

43. ______, id., p. 19.

44. ______ ibid.

45. ______, id., p. 17.

46. Babor, id., p. 7. Wallbank & Taylor, 1954, p. 163).

47. Lausanne, E. The Great Book of Wine. NY: World, 1969, p. 4. Cherrington, id., pp. 251-252.

48. Babor, id., p. 10.

49. Austin, id., pp. 28 and 32-33.

51. Raymond, id., pp. 81-82.

52. Austin, id., pp. 44 and 47-48.

Biblical

53. Royce, 1986, pp. 55-56. Raymond, id., pp. 18-22. Hewitt, T. A Biblical Perspective on the Use and Abuse of Alcohol and other Drugs. Raleigh, NC: NC Dept Hum Resour, 1980, pp. 11-12.

54. Lausanne, id., p. 367. Sournia, id., p. 12.

55. Patrick, id., pp. 26-27.

56. Wallbank, T. and Taylor, A. Civilization, Past and Present.
Chicago: Scott, Foresman, 1954, p. 227.

57. Spiegel, M. The Heritage of Noah. Hebrew Union Coll, 1979, pp. 20 -29. Raymond, id., 45-47.

58. Austin, id., pp. 36 and 50.

59. Jellinek, E. Drinkers and alcoholics in ancient Rome. J Stud Alco, 1976, 37, pp. 1,736-1,739.

60. Babor, id., pp. 7-8.

61. Austin, id. pp. 37-44, p. 46, pp. 48-50.

62. Wallbank & Taylor, id., pp. 220-221 .

63. Austin, id., pp. 45-46.

64. Babor, id., p. 11.

65. Babor, ibid.

66. Cherrington, id., p. 405.

Drink

67. Wilson, C. Food and Drink in Britain from the Stone Age to the 19th Century. Chicago: Academy Pub., 1991, p. 375.

68. Austin, id., p. 54, pp. 87-88.

69. Seward, D. Monks and Wine. London: Mitchell Beazley, 1979, pp. 15 and 25-35).

70. Lichine, A. New Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits. NY: Knopf, 1974, p. 3.

71. Patrick, C. Alcohol, Culture, and Society. Durham, NC: Duke U Press, 1952, 1952, p. 27.

72. Babor, ibid.

73. Hyams, E. Dionysus. A Social History of the Wine Vine. NY: Macmillan, 1965, p. 151. Wilson, id., p. 371.

74. Cherrington, id., p. 405. Austin, id., pp. 68, 74, 82-83.

75. Patrick, id., p. 29.

76. Seward, id., p. 151. Roueche, id., pp. 172-173.

77. Slavin, A. The Way of the West. Lexington, MA: Xerox Coll, 1973, pp. 12-16.

78. Austin, id., pp. 104-105,107-108.

79. ______, id., pp. 118-119.

80. Monckton, H. A History of English Ale and Beer. London: Bodley Head, 1966, pp. 69-70.

81. Cherrington, id., vol. 5, p. 2,383.

Life

82. Braudel, F. Capitalism and Material Life, 1400-1800. NY: Harper and Row, 1974, p. 171.

83. Wallbank & Taylor, id., p. 513.

84. ______, id., pp. 513-518. Slavin, 1973, ch. 5-7).

85. Austin, id., p. 194.

86. ______, id., pp. 129-130.

87. Braudel, id., pp. 236-238.

88. Monckton, id., p. 95.

89. Austin, id., pp. 170, 186, 192.

90. Braudel, id., p. 170.

91. Baron, S. Brewed in America. Boston: Little, Brown, 1962, pp. 3-8. Good for history of alcohol and drinking in the U.S.

92. Rorabaugh, W. The Alcoholic Republic. NY: Oxford U Press, 1979, p. 30.

93. Roueche, id., p. 178.

94. Austin, id., pp. 230 and 249.

95. Gately, I. Drink: History of Alcohol. NY: Gotham, 2008, pp. 137-138.

96. ______, ibid.

Whiskey

97. Magee, M. 1000 Years of Irish Whiskey. Dublin: O’Brien, 1980, p. 7. Wilson, 1973, p. 7)

98. Roueche, id., pp. 175-176.

99. ______, id., pp. 173-174.

100. Doxat, J. The World of Drinks and Drinking. NY: Drake, 1972, p. 98. Watney, 1976, p. 10).

101. Roueche, id., p. 174.

102. ______, id., p. 178.

103. Souria, id., p. 20.

104. Roueche, id., p. 174.

105. French, id., p. 271;. Samuelson, id., pp. 160-161. Watney, J. A History of Gin. London: Peter Owen, 1976, p. 16.

106. Watney, id., p. 17. Austin, id., pp. xxi-xxii).

107. Sournia, id., p. 21. Mathias, P. The Brewing Industry in England. Cambridge: Cambridge U Press, 1959, p. xxv.

108. Doxat, id.,1972, pp. 98-100. Watney, ibid.

England

109. Ashton, T. An Economic History of England. London: Methuen, 1955, p. 243.

110. Sournia, id., p. 22. King, id., p. 117. Austin, id., pp. xxiii-xxiv, 324-325, 351. Younger, 1966, p. 341.

111. Austin, id., p. xxv.

112. Porter, R. Introduction. In: Sournia, J-C. A History of Alcoholism. Oxford: Blackwell, 1990, p. xii. One aspect in the history of alcohol and drinking worth exploring.

113. Soumia, id., p. 21.

114. Lucia, 1963b, id., p. 165.

115. Watney, id., p. 16.

116. Sournia, id., p. 5. Samuelson, id., pp. 62-63.

117. Royce, 1986, p. 57.

118. Braudel, id., p. 175.

119. Ghaliounqui, id., pp. 8-9.

120. Steinkraus, K. Nutritionally Significant Foods. In: Gastineau, C., et al. (Eds.) Fermented Food Beverages in Nutrition. NY: Academic Press, 1979, p. 36.

121. Ghaliounqui, id., p. 3.

122. Braudel, id., pp. 159-16.

123. Austin, id., pp. 251, 254, 351, 359, 366.

124. Gastineau, C., et al.  (Eds.) Fermented Foods in Nutrition. NY: Academic , 1979, p. xx.

125. Chafetz, M. Liquor: The Servant of Man. Boston: Little, Brown, 1965, p. 223.