Help list alcoholic drinks by country?

[ingegneriae]

Hello,

I'm working on a sci-fi story outline. I was wondering if anyone could help me with a list of alcoholic drinks by country that I need for the storyline. I'm not very familiar with what other people drink, so if anyone is familiar, I'd appreciate the help.

For example,

Sake - Japanese
Vodka - Russians

and so on.

Thank you for your time.

 

[ingegneriae]

Hello,

Maybe naming the groups in my sci-fi story after alcoholic drinks is not the best idea. Maybe I could name them after something else. Does anyone have any idea what method I can use to name my groups in my sci-fi story?

Thank you for your time.

 

[Hex]

I think every country has a national flower, and a national animal -- you could find them on google, I think -- any use?

Whisky -- Scotland

 

[ingegneriae]

Hello Hex,

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not sure what to use to name the groups in my sci-fi story. Naming them after alcoholic drinks was supposed to be an attempt at humor for my story. But it might be a little silly once the reader reads it.

I know Stargate, the movie/show, uses ancient cultures to represent their aliens.

 

[chrispenycate]

Basically mankind will ferment and distil just about anything organic hecan lay his hands on, from mares milk (Kumiss) and cactus (Tequila, Mescale)to sugar cane (Cachaça, rum)

Distilled beverages

Schnapps:- Germany, Austria, Apfelschapps, kirshwasser, himbeergeist; just about any fruit, and some grains
Grappa:- Italy. Grape
Eau de vir, Brandy, Cognac, Calvados: - France, Spain. Grapes, fruits, peelings and pips (marc)
Pflömliwasser, abricotine, absinthe:- Switzerland. Wide range of fruits and herbs.
Ouzo;-Greece. Distill anything and add anise
Cachaça Brazil. Sugar cane.
Rum:- Caribean and central America and the north of South America. Sugar cane.
Whiskey, whisky:- Scotland, Ireland, Canada, even (ugh) the United States and Japan. Grain, mainly barley
Akvavit or Aquavit:- Scandinavia. Grain or potato, flavoured.
Slivovitz or Slivovitsa:- Eastern European and Balkans. Plum
Gin:- the Netherlands and England. Distill anything and flavour with juniper berries, or, if you're a cheapskate, juniper twigs.
Arak:-Asia minor. Grape. Add anise.

 

[Sapheron]

In mongolia they drink fermented milk wine. Can't remember the name. Sounds horrible.

 

[chrispenycate]

In mongolia they drink fermented milk wine. Can't remember the name. Sounds horrible.

That's the "Kumis" in my first paragraph, but it's not distilled, so doesn't get onto the main list. I was thinking of doing another set for directly fermented beverages; wines, beers, palm wine, fermented fish juice…

And the ruddy software's changed the u umlaut in pflümliwasser to an o umlaut (ö). The cheek.

Then there's the drinks, like applejack, where the alcohol is concentrated by freezing out the water, rather than distillation…

 

[ingegneriae]

Hello,

Thanks for the list. I added cachaca and gin to my list. Some of the others I'm not sure the readers would recognize.

I was wondering, does anyone think naming my human-looking alien groups after alcoholic beverages is a new idea? Or has it been done before somewhere?

 

[chrispenycate]

Once you've drunk your way down that list you don't recognise anything very much; and I've got three quarters of a planet still to investigate. Dates, figs, moonshine, corn squeezings, and don't even start me on cocktails, liqueurs, boilermakers…

 

[The Judge]

Who is naming these aliens?

If these are nicknames given by a human with a sense of humour, then fine -- though he would then have to have a reason for which spirit attached to which type of alien (eg absinthe for ones with green skin) which would involve your finding out a lot more about each individual drink to make the connections.

If these are approximations of the names the aliens give themselves (eg the Akkavees are universally known as Akvavits) then it's pushing credibility that they all have names which can be linked in this way, but you might just get away with it.

If, though, these are meant to be the names the aliens give themselves, then it might work in a comedy, but not in anything else.

I'm not an expert on Stargate, but I think you'll find the aliens are referred to by ancient culture names because they were meant to have come here thousands of years ago and they were presumed to be gods. I'm not sure if, say, Thor is Thor's real -- alien -- name which the Vikings then used for their god, or he adopted it as his name to be so identified. Either way, it fits with the backstory -- these aren't names dropped on the aliens by present day humans. (Vulcan and Romulus on Star Trek I can't explain, though, apart from a terrible lack of imagination originally.)

 

[ingegneriae]

Hello,

Here's my list of names and cultures. The Aleans, for example, speak Chinese and their culture is very similar to the Chinese. All the aliens look like humans, and it's explained why in the story. I guess what I'm doing is giving my American audience a taste of other cultures. Like how the creator of Star Trek gave his aliens cultures based on Earth cultures.

Alean - Chinese
Vodkayan - Russians
Be'erian - Germans
Meadian - Scandinavians
Winerian - Italians
Sakerian - Japanese
Tequilan – Mexicans
Cachacans – Brazilians
Ginnerians – British

It was originally intended to be comedic in nature, but as I developed the story, I realized that it needs more depth and that means it has to make at least some sense. I'm trying to work into the story why they would have named themselves like this.

Edit: To answer your question, the aliens gave themselves these names long before they encountered Earth.

 

[The Judge]

Then, to my mind, this does look contrived and unless it remains a comedy I think the naming convention causes more problems than it's worth. Good luck with it, anyway, though.

 

[Ursa major]

It'll add a whole new dimension to the proof reading, though, won't it?

 

[The Judge]

*groan*

 

[RJM Corbet]

Here's a way to get a free drink in a cocktail bar. Ask the barman: if I know a cocktail you haven't heard of, will you give me one for free.

He always says yes.

Ask for a Irish Mexican: tequila and creme de menthe 50/50.

Works every time ...

 

[Sapheron]

I can't imagine any barman agreeing to that. Most have to look up the cocktails they sell, and unless they're an idiot they'll realise you could say anything and claim it was a mixture of something.

 

[MstrTal]

Distilled beverages

Whiskey, whisky:- Scotland, Ireland, Canada, even (ugh) the United States and Japan. Grain, mainly barley

Now not to get nationalistic and all but whats wrong with some good ole Jack Daniels and Jim Beam? Now I know its no Chivas Regal, Glenlivet or any other high end single malt but it sure ain't rot gut!

Also I have never had Japanese Whiskey but I have had Sake and Plum wine (Gekkeikan) of different select varieties. I will have to try some Japanese Whiskey, wonder how much a bottle from the Meiji era would cost and if any is still available.

 

[nrburnette]

The Washington Apple, use Wild Turkey for the whiskey

 

[Hex]

Ask for a Irish Mexican: tequila and creme de menthe 50/50.

I think the real difficulty with this is the risk of having to drink it

 

[RJM Corbet]

And everyone knows the Rolls Royce: 3 parts whisky, 1 part gin -- which is not the same as the Driver: whisky/gin 50/50. It actually tastes very nice. (From H.E. Bates 'The Darling Buds of May)

I'm intrigued by Crispen's idea of freezing out the alcohol (which freezes at a lower temperature than water) but it would be dangerous because it would contain a high percentage of poisonous methyl alcohol, the 'angels share' that distillers discard because it boils off at a slightly lower temperature than the ethyl alcohol, so it boils off first ...

EDIT: Sapheron, I'm talking about a barman who doesn't have to look them up in a book