This short liquor quiz is about distilled spirits. That’s whiskey, tequila, rum, gin, bourbon Scotch, and other spirits beverages.

How much do you know about distilled spirits? More than your friends? Take this short liquor quiz and find out!

Liquor Quiz

1. Distilled spirits contain

a. cholesterol
b. carbohydrates
c. fat
d. None of the above

2. Scotch whisky’s distinctive flavor comes from

a. smoke.
b. citrus peel.
c. corriander seeds.
d. By regulation, it has no distinctive flavor.

3. What flavors gin?

a. wormwood
b. juniper berries
c. pine nuts
d. astral fruit juice

4. Early Colonial New England’s largest and most profitable industry was distilling

a. rum.
b. whiskey.
c. gin.
d. bourbon.

5. Who had his own distillery?

a. Harry Truman
b. Teddy Roosevelt
c. Andrew Jackson
d.George Washington

6. In the U.S., taxes increase the retail price of a typical bottle of whiskey, rum or other distilled spirits beverage by an average of

a. about one-fifth.
b. about one-third.
c. about one-half.
d. over one-half.

7. Who had a liquor license and sold whiskey before becoming President?

a. Abraham Lincoln
b. Teddy Roosevelt
c. Andrew Jackson
d. Harry Truman

8. The official distilled spirit of the U.S. is considered to be

a. bourbon
b. gin
c. tequila
d. rum

9. Tequila contains a

a. Bay leaf
b. worm
c. Marischino cherry
d. None of the above.

10. Bourbon was first made by

a. a Baptist minister.
b. a retired army general.
c. a Native American.
d. an Irish settler.

Books for Liquor Trivia Fans

Brunning, A. Why Does Asparagus Make Your Pee Smell? Fascinating Food Trivia Explained with Science. Berkeley: Ulysses, 2016.

Federle, T. Gone with the Gin. Cocktails with a Hollywood Twist. Philadelphia: Running, 2015.

Fraioli, J. and Marianella, V. The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Martinis. NY: Alpha, 2008.

Francis, W. and Marsh, S. Cocktails of the Movies.  Munich: Prestel, 2015.

Answers to Liquor Quiz

1. Distilled spirits contain no fat, cholesterol, or carbohydrates of any kind. It also has fewer calories than most non-alcoholic drinks.
2. Scotch whisky has a unique smoky flavor. Peat fires used to dry malted barley gives that distinctive character.
3. Gin is spirit alcohol with juniper berry flavor. The Dutch first made it. They named  junever, their word for juniper. The French changed it to genievre. In turn, the English changed it first to geneva” and then shortened it to gin.
4. Early Colonial New England’s largest and most profitable industry was distilling rum.
5. George Washington was his country’s first large distiller. In 1798, his distillery at Mount Vernon produced 11,000 gallons of whiskey.
6. Taxes increase the retail price of a typical bottle of distilled spirits beverage by an average of over one-half. Therefore, moonshining is profitable because the taxes on legally produced spirits are so high. The federal government gets 14 times more in taxes on distilled spirits than producers earn making them. That does not include what states and localities additionally take in taxes on the same products.
7. Before he became president, Abraham Lincoln sold liquor. His 1833 liquor store license is displayed at the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History.
8. The official distilled spirit of the U.S. is considered to be bourbon.
9. It’s a myth that there’s a worm in tequila. The so-called worm is in mezcal, which is distilled from a different plant. The “worm” is actually a butterfly caterpillar (Hipopta Agavis).

   

10. Elijah Craig, a Baptist minister, first made bourbon in 1789 in Bourbon County, Kentucky. Distillers continue making bourbon in the county, but it is a now a dry (local prohibition) one.