Drink
Overview
Liquid
Liquid is one of the three classical states of matter . Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Some liquids resist compression, while others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly...
which is specifically prepared for human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
consumption. In addition to fulfilling a basic human need, beverages form part of the culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
of human society.
Despite the fact that all beverages contain water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, water itself is not classed as a beverage. The word beverage has always been defined as not referring to water.
An alcoholic beverage is a drink that contains ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
, commonly known as alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
(although in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
the definition of "alcohol" includes many other compounds).
Quotations
Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
s:Bible (King James)/IsaiahChapter_5|The Bible (KJV), Isaiah 5:11
There's nought, no doubt, so much the spirit calms as rum and true religion.
Lord Byron, s:Don_Juan_(Byron)/Canto_the_Second|Don Juan, Second Canto
Oh many a peer of England brewsLivelier liquor than the Muse,And malt does more than Milton canTo justify God's ways to man.
A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad|A Shropshire Lad, LXII (1896)
Every inordinate cup is unbless'd, and the ingredient is a devil.
William Shakespeare, s:OthelloACT_2._SCENE_III._A_hall_in_the_castle.|Othello, Act II Scene III