All your answers can be found at the bottom of the glass.


All of these fun little trivia in this guide are from the game Catherine I made this guide a few years ago to make profile look nice, but since it has gathered a lot more attention than I ever anticipated I should definitely put a disclaimer. And it's something I should've done a long time ago.

The name "Rum & Cola" is actually a nickname. But do you know the real name of this drink?

It is called the "Cuba* Libre". The rum called for in this drink represents Cuba.

This is a cocktail which mixed the national specialties of Cuba and the United States, as a celebration of Cuba's independence.

"Cuba* Libre" means "Free Cuba"

It tastes differently when you know the history.
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There are a lot of cocktails with the name "fizz" in them, but do you know where this came from?

"Fizz"-type cocktails are a distilled drink plus lemon plus sugar and soda water.

"Fizz" refers to the sound the soda makes.

They're all sweet, so even lightweights can wash them down like juice.
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Did you know the United States outlawed alcohol between 1920 and 1933?

It is said this very prohibition paved a way for the "cocktail culture" to bloom.

Alcohol made in secret tended to taste terrible, so people began mixing it with anything and everything to make it more enjoyable.

These are the roots of the modern cocktail. The more you stomp on a weed, the more it thrives... My, that's deep.
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It's said that chugging alcohol isn't good for you, but sometimes it's necessary.

The cocktail "Nikolaschka" is an example of this. It uses cognac, lemon, coffee and sugar, but...

First, you put the lemon, coffee, and sugar in your mouth, then you take a big swig of the cognac!

Of course, you can't even talk until you drink it all. It's necessary to chug it.

But cognac contains 40% alcohol, so those with low tolerances should not attempt this.
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One style of cocktail that requires the most experience and technique to create is the "pousse-cafe."

Normally, cocktails are stirred thoroughly, but this is a cocktail you cannot mix.

The bartender creates a beautiful rainbow inside the glass by carefully layering differently coloured liquers according to their densities.

But, what's the best way to drink this? Mixing it will ruin the effect, and if you don't mix it, it stays separated.

Perhaps the agony of indecision is part of the pousse-cafe's appeal.
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Liquor is usually consumed for the purposes of getting drunk, but some cocktails exist for the opposite reason.

One such cocktail is the Prairie Oyster, made to fix hangovers.

The recipe is Worcestershire sauce, tomato juice, vinegar, pepper and a raw egg.

It's meant to be swallowed in a single gulp, so that the yolk remains unbroken.

Who thought this up in the first place!?
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Cold beer can be amazing, but do you know the best temperature to enjoy a good brew?

When beer gets too cold, the proteins solidify and cloud the beer, and it doesn't form a good head.

It does vary by season, brand, and personal taste, but most beers are not intended to be served at lower than 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

That's already very cold. Be wary of bars that freeze their beer.
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It's said that glass shape and pour style has much to do with how much foam you get, but there is another factor.

It's the cleanliness of the glass. Even a tiny bit of oil or dust will affect the beer's surface tension, making it less foamy.

This means that it's not a good thing to wipe a wet beer glass with a dry cloth.

Rinse the glass with hot water, and turn it over to let it air dry. Please try this out!
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Do you know what "draft" beer is?

Fresh beer still has yeast bacteria inside, which cannot be preserved.

However, the beer's taste is changed by pasteurization. "Draft" beer is unpasteurized.

However, it is possible to filter draft beer to remove the bacteria so the beer lasts longer.
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You've heard of "beer belly." but did you know that beer itself doesn't make you fat?

Beer is relatively low in calories and makes you urinate more, so the calories don't build up, making it hard to get fat.

Yet, since sugar is required to break down alcohol, and beer foam makes you hungrier...

When these things combine, you get the munchies and... Voila! Beer belly!
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Beer is loved all over the world, but where did it come from?

The earliest records of beer-making are from 5000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia.

It is said the barley used to make bread fermented naturally, and beer was created by coincidence.

The earliest known alcohol is said to be from 9000 years ago in China, a mix of rice and fruit alcohols.

I guess you could say that humanity has had a long time to enjoy their drinks.
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When was the first time you ever drank beer?

Just because you're legally underage to purchase beer does not always mean it is illegal to drink it. Many countries have different drinking ages.

In New Zealand, there is no minimum drinking age if under parent supervision!

On the other hand, many Islamic nations forbid alcohol at any age.
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Do you know the etymology of the word "beer"?

Neither do I. Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer to this question.

However, the most likely candidate is the Latin, "bibere," meaning "to drink."

A drink's name is derived from the act of drinking itself. That's quite a thing!

On a side note, the Spanish word "cerveza" is apparently traced back to the roman goddess Ceres.

Refined sake is made by filtering nigori sake but did you know another strange ingredient is added at this time?

Ash is added. It's said that a sake master in the Edo period put ash into the sake to take out his anger.

This is the unexpected success story behind this delicacy.
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Do you know what the difference between shochu and seichu is?

Since the Chinese character for "burn" is in the word "shochu" many people think shochu is made by heating it up.

Actually, shochu is merely distilled sake.

So, people who like shochu might have a high tolerance for alcohol.
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Do you know who the first Westerner to drink Japanese sake was?

Accoding to records, it was Spanish missionary Francis Xavier who came to Japan in 1549.

In his letters written back home, he was amazed to learn that the alcohol was made from rice, not fruit.

It must have been a rice surprise!
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Japanese sake uses many different words in brand names, but the most commonly used is "Masamune."

Why has Masamune been such a common name since olden times?

Masamune could be a person's name, but the origin actually does not come from a person.

An old sake maker found a phrase "Rinzai Seishu." Though spelled differently, seishu also can mean "sake."

But the character for "seishu" is also read "masamune," and the term stuck.

Wait, all this history for a lousy pun? ...Ugh
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Do you know the true meaning behind "nama ippon." a type of Japanese sake?

There are conditions a sake brewer must follow to label their sake "nama ippon." One: It most only be made with rice and malted rice.

Two: No water is added after squeezing.

Three: No sake from other batches may be mixed into the brew.

This means that the drink is pure rice sake. Use this knowledge the next time you buy sake!
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In Japan, a common phrase to describe a drunk person is "drunk as dirt." Do you know where this phrase comes from?

The "dirt" in this case isn't actual dirt.

A bug that appears in old Chinese tales is called a "Dei", and uses the same character as "dirt" in Japanese.

Dei live in water, and when they walk on land they stagger about like a drunkard.
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So where did the drink now known as "Japanese sake" originate?

Most sakes that appears in Japanese mythology are actually fruit liquers.

Only after the Japanese began to plant rice did "sake" come to refer to rice sake.

That means it might be a drink that came over from China or Korea.

Do you know what "malt" means? It can often be seen on alcohol labels.

"Malt" refers to malted barley, a key ingredient. Yet if it is labeled as "malt whisky", it must also be scotch.

"Single malt" means that the malts used come from the same distillery.

Malt Whisky can vary whildly in taste depending on how it's made so there are many different brands.
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Do you know what the difference between whisky and brandy is?

Alcohol content? Price? No, there is a more fundamental difference.

Whisky is made from grains, brandy is made from fruit.

It tastes differently when you think about it that way.
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Have you heard of the term "angel's share"?

During the aging process, some whisky will be lost to evaporation. This is called the "angel's share."

I hear that if they seal it so it doesn't evaporate, the whisky doesn't have that nice aroma.

What a fancy way of saying it.
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Gasoline is a liquid which is volatile and highly flammable, so it's just like alcohol, isn't it?

Gasoline is fuel for automobiles... So would they run on alcohol?

Actually, in a race in South Africa, there was a car that ran close to two hundred miles on whisky.

It seems like such a waste to run a car on a delicious whisky!
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Do you know what the strongest distilled alcoholic beverage in the world is?

The strongest alcoholic beverage in the world...is spirytus or rectified spirit, a vodka made in Poland.

It is distilled more than 60 times. It is...190 proof!

But apparently, locals do not drink it. They use it to make homemade liquers, dipping fruits in it.
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Can you spell "whisky" correctly?

Actually "whisky" and "whiskey" are both correct spellings.

In the United Kingdom, I hear that they spell it differently depending on what kind of whisky it is...

Bourbon has a "key" and scotch has none. That is how some learn it.

These are nice things to know if you want to be very knowledgeable in whisky.
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Do you know what the word "whisky" means?

It means "water of life" in Gaelic, a language from northern Europe.

It's nice to know where you favorite things come from.