The art of alcohol can be utilized at a classy social event, but if you lose the art it can also be an addicting and nasty habit. Your job is to not let that happen, and keep the art of alcohol alive.

Everybody has a different palate, some like a stiff scotch on the rocks, perhaps a glass of chardonnay, or maybe your taste requires an IPA. Obviously all of these drinks have different alcohol contents. Many medical studies have shown that having ONE drink a day can be beneficial for heart health, BUT ONLY ONE!! Once you cross over the 2-3 drink threshold it starts having a negative effect on your day to day and long term health. Drinking in moderation is one of the key components in the Art of Alcohol.

Craft Beers

I’m that guy that loves craft beers, but I know they aren’t for everyone. It’s all about finding one that fits your taste. It helps to know the different types of beer and flavor profiles, are you more of a Pilsner and Lager person? Maybe Pale Ales and Red Ales are your thing? Have a love for the maltiness of Porters and Stouts? When I go to get beer, I don’t just go in and get “the usual” I try to switch it up and get a different one each time. To me that is how you truly embrace the art of alcohol, by getting out of your comfort zone and trying new things. Sometimes I’ll find a brewery that I like and try each of their beers. A great way to start out on your journey to find your taste of beer are variety packs! Just about every brewery has some and some of my favorite breweries even have seasonal variety packs for summer, fall, and winter.

Wine

Wine is known as one of the classiest dinner or party drinks. The not so known thing about wine is that every bottle of wine can have a different taste. This gives wine the artisanal aspect that many connoisseurs love! This is the true essence when it comes to the art of alcohol. Not only is consuming the alcohol an art, just producing a palatable wine is truly an ancient art! Wine has been made for thousands of years, dating back to early Egyptian times and even mentioned quite a few times in The Bible. Wine isn’t just old grape juice from France either, there are millions of winemakers all around the world blending different types of grapes, all kinds of fruits, and a mirage of spices to make the perfect bottle of wine for your table. Some of the biggest wine producers are Australia, California, France, and Italy.

If you haven’t tried many wines before do yourself a favor and don’t go buying $50-$100 bottles of wine to seem bougie. There are plenty of local wines available for you to learn about the different flavors and how age can change them. You will need to figure out if you are a light and sweet lover with a Riesling, a dry white sipper with Chardonnay, or a full bodied Sauvignon Cabernet. These are all very common wines, and if you want a little sweeter or dryer there’s a whole spectrum of white and red wines to fit your palate.

Spirits

Distilled spirits are the most potent alcoholic beverages out there, because of that they are most often consumed in small quantities and frequently mixed with juices, sodas, and syrups. The art of spirits and mixed drinks deserve a whole post by itself, there is literally a science to the art of alcohol, they call it “Mixology”. When talking about spirits many times the alcohol content will be referred to as the “proof” such as 100 proof or 80 proof. Simply put the proof is the ABV(alcohol content) X 2 = proof. Higher proof spirits don’t usually taste very good in my honest opinion. Anything over 100 proof literally burns (flammable) and also burns your palate to the point the only thing you can taste is alcohol. Aged Spirits on the other hand are usually right in that sweet spot of 80-100 proof and are accompanied by vibrant flavors from the distiller. Take some time to learn about spirits before spending money on expensive “collector grade” bottles. Did you know that there are actually about five subcategories to each major spirit? Like whiskey for example; Scotch, Bourbon, Canadian, Irish, Tennessee, and Rye are all types of whiskeys! Rum and Tequila also have quite a few variations while vodka is pretty much just vodka!