There are many shared experiences between all cultures around the world. One of the most common, however, is the enjoyment of adult beverages. A deeper dive into alcohol can turn up some pretty interesting and sometimes just odd facts. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at facts about booze that you can dazzle your friends with next time you slide up to the bar. 

15 Facts About Booze

1. It only takes six minutes for the brain to start to react to alcohol. The extent to which you notice the effects will depend on things like body mass and hydration level. Also, the regularity that you imbibe will affect the cerebral tickle that is on its way.

2. While we are on brain mechanics, you should know that alcohol doesn’t cause you to forget what happened. Your brain simply stops forming new memories when you’ve had too much to drink. Your brain knows to stop recording. Maybe that’s a lesson we should embrace with our cell phones. It would help us avoid the morning-after cringe exploration of the videos and pics we shot the night before.

3. You think your state is the king of booze? Well, unless you live in Wisconsin, you would be wrong. Wisconsin has the same number of bars as California, despite a population that’s 85% smaller. That’s one bar for every 1,862 residents compared to California’s one for every 11,962 residents. I have been to Wisconsin. The cliches are real.

But Can You Drink a Butt Load of Booze …

4.’Butt’ is a medieval unit of measurement for wine. A butt load of wine is 129 gallons. Well, that is pretty much all that needs to be said about that.

5. Let’s head abroad and see what is interesting; first stop is Russia. The average Russian consumes over 18 liters of alcohol each year. That is almost five gallons. The majority of that is vodka.

6. Contrary to popular belief to the dismay of the whiskey community, Vodka is the world’s most popular alcohol with approximately 5 billion liters consumed per year. I would guess that Red Bull is close on its heels.

7. China has been making alcoholic beverages for at least 9,000 years. The earliest evidence of alcohol production dates back to 7000 BC in Jiahu, Henan province, where a molecular archaeologist discovered pottery jars containing traces of fermented liquids made from fruit, honey, and rice. I know what you are thinking. What the hell is a molecular archaeologist?

Rum, Rum, Rum …

8. One of the currencies in early colonial Australia was Rum. New South Wales Corps officers bought up all the imported rum and established a monopoly on its trade. When Governor William Bligh attempted to shut it down, he was deposed in Australia’s first and only military coup. It would later be called The Rum Rebellion. I mean, if you are going to ditch a politician, rum is a good cause.

9. Let’s head back to the US for some more interesting items. When you hear people say: “The government would never do that,” share this tidbit with them. In an attempt to dissuade people from drinking illegally, the government changed the formula for industrially produced alcohol to make it poisonous, resulting in thousands of deaths.

10. While we are on the topic of government, moonshine accounts for around 30% of the world’s alcohol drinking. One of the biggest reasons is taxes. To help give you a better feel of how much the tax is, just know that the US Government taxes on spirits (not beer or wine) amounted to $10.2 billion in 2022. 

Country and Western …

11. Under the category of  “No $hit,” we find that 1 in 5 top 100 country music songs refer to alcohol. Throw in a horse, and a truck and you have a hit on your hands.

12. Need some weird science to dazzle your friends? A gin & tonic will glow under UV light because tonic contains quinines, which are UV light reactive. Yes, you are walking to your bar right now with a black light.

13. Under the category of “better in the past,” milkshakes originally contained alcohol. How is that not a thing anymore? 

14. For you wine nerds out there, know that you will need around 600 grapes to make a bottle of red wine.

15. Lastly, in Finland, the word ‘kalsarikannit’ means to get drunk alone at home, in your underpants. 

There you go. 15 fun facts to share with friends and bartenders when you are trying to impress them with your booze knowledge. Enjoy, be responsible, and share any other fun facts you have.