There is no alcohol without fermentation in some form... period.

One process that is essential to all alcohol is...

Yes, alcohol is older than written records.  Some archaeologists have gone so far as to suggested the quest for alcohol led to agriculture.

Many ancient civilizations engaged in making alcohol in some form.  When was the earliest evidence of alcoholic beverages?

The Georgians were making wine by 6000 BCE.  

Wine is one of the earliest forms of alcoholic beverage.  Where did they find the first evidence of wine-making?

Distilled alcohol qualifies as liquor while fermented beverages such as beer and wine do not.

Other than the hangover they cause...

What is the difference between liquor and fermented begerages?

13 years of the most ignored amendment ever enacted.

The United States passed the 18th Amendment to the Constitution which prohibited making, importing, selling or transporting alcohol.  How long did Prohibition last?

"Blue laws" usually refer to the restriction of alcohol sales on Sunday (in Christian areas) vs other days.

What is the widely applied term for laws which make alcohol sales illegal but only at certain times/days?

After all the name thing, shiraz is actually a French grape hybridized in France.

Syrah/Shiraz wine is a popular French and Pacific American variety of red wine named for a city in Iran.  Where did they determine the grape originated?

Calvados is a fruit brandy vs most other brandy/cognac which are grape-based.

Calvados is a type of brandy made in the Normandy region of France.  What is Calvados made from?

It's a popular misconception that Kentucky is the only place bourbon can be distilled... an idea possibly begun by Kentucky.

True or false: bourbon can only be made in the US state of Kentucky.

Whiskey ("uisca beatha" from Irish), aquavit (Scandanavian), and eau de vie (French) all mean what?

While both tequila and mezcal are presently popular liquors in Mexico, both require distillation which was unknown in the region in Pre-Columbian times.

Ancient Mesoamericans made a fermented agave beverage that is still popular in regions of Mexico and Latin America.  What is it called?

Rum was a driving economic force in the 17th and 18th Centuries in America.  What crop is rum a by-product of?

Note: the photo is NOT a cosmo.

Many cocktails have fruit juice as a part of their recipe.  The cosmopolitan (popularly "cosmo") requires what kind of juice?

The gimlet is one of the simplest of cocktails: gin, lime juice and sugar.  That's it.

Hint: again, the photo is NOT of a gimlet.

Another cocktail that requires juice is the gimlet.  What juice is part of this classic cocktail?

While some vodka is made from potatoes, in modern distilling most is made from grains.

Vodka is the most consumed liquor in many nations.  What is most vodka made from?

These drinks almost always cost more than the inexpensive generic alcohol brands.

When a customer orders a liquor by brand name (such as "Johnny Walker Red"), what is this referred to in bartending terms?

A universal measure for bars is the jigger, almost always represented by the distinctive metal double-cone that's part of every bartender's setup.  How much is a jigger?

Most experienced bartenders "count" their pour to determine quantity rather than measure because of the time it saves.

When an experienced bartender does not use a measurement in making a drink but pours "by eye", estimating the correct amount, what is this called?

Champagne is bottled in a manner different from standard wines because of the carbonation involved.  What is the deep depression in the bottle's bottom called?

When making wine from grapes, what is the result of squeezing red wine grapes and removing the skins before fermentation?

This quiz is intended for trivia-heads born before this date in 2004 (or whatever makes you 21 years of age by the time you take this quiz).