Jeremy R. asks: Why do people look more attractive when you're drunk?

Anyone who has been in a crowded bar around closing time would agree that the higher your alcohol consumption, the more attractive you seem to find whoever you happen to be flirting with at last call. Their smile is radiant; their eyes are sparkling- everything about them is sexy, alluring and irresistible. However, if you were stone-cold sober, you might not give them a second glance, and if you get carried away and spend the night with your new friend, you may wake up the next morning and wonder just what the hell you were thinking — and seeing.

This is called the Beer Goggles phenomenon, and most of us that partake have fallen into its trap to one degree or another. The first question that comes to mind is whether or not the individuals you're looking at are really more attractive to you or if your judgment of things is simply being impaired by alcohol. So perhaps they really look the same to you as later, but when drunk you just don't care, with alcohol increasing your desire for sex and suppressing your inhibitions.

But it turns out, several studies done in the last few decades are beginning to show that it's not all just being extra horny and less picky. For instance, a study done by St. Andrews and Glasgow Universities found that "men and women who have consumed a moderate amount of alcohol find the faces of members of the opposite sex 25% more attractive than their sober counterparts."

Other studies have shown similar trends. For instance, another study done at the University of Bristol with 84 college students showed that, on average, they rated people's attractiveness 10% higher a mere 15 minutes after drinking a moderate amount of alcohol, as little as 24 U.S. ounces of beer. Further, the sex of the individual the students looked at didn't matter. Yes, guys will rate guys more attractive and women will rate women more attractive after drinking too, regardless of their normal sexual preferences.

Interestingly enough, this boost in attractiveness is not universal. In a study done at the University of Leicester in 2011, it showed that adults actually find the faces of 10 years old, less attractive when drunk, not more as when looking at adult faces. Further, these individuals were able to accurately judge the ages of the people whose faces they were looking at pictures of. So while attractiveness varied based on whether one has been drinking or not, the ability to judge age did not.

In any event, so if it's truly not just us lowering our standards, what's going on here to make other adult faces look more attractive? While further research still needs done, the leading theory currently is that it has something to do with bilateral symmetry. This simply means that if a human body was split down the vertical center, humans typically find people more attractive the closer each side of the individual is to being a mirror of the other.

A series of studies, such as one done at the London's Roehampton University, suggest that alcohol impairs our ability to perceive asymmetry, and this could potentially be the reason for people appearing more attractive when one is under the influence.

The researchers described the experiment thusly:

We tested the hypotheses that acute alcohol consumption decreases ability to detect asymmetry in faces and reduces preference for symmetrical faces over asymmetrical faces. Twenty images of a pair of faces and then 20 images of a single face were displayed on a computer, one at a time. Participants were instructed to state which face of each of the face pairs displayed was most attractive and then whether the single face being displayed was symmetrical or not. Data were collected near campus bars at Roehampton University. Sixty-four self-selecting students who undertook the study were classified as either sober (control) or intoxicated with alcohol. For each face pair or single face displayed, participant response was recorded and details of the alcohol consumption of participants that day were also obtained.

What this boiled down to was that the sober test participants were more drawn to people with symmetrical faces, and were better at picking them out, which supported the researchers' hypothesis. Further, intoxicated individuals were less able to notice asymmetry. An unexpected discovery was that males proved better than females at determining whether faces were asymmetrical or not. It is theorized that this perhaps has something to do with the fact that, in general, men are more sexually stimulated visually than women are, so whether consciously or not, naturally pay more attention to such things.

The researchers concluded: "The reduced ability of inebriated people to perceive asymmetry may be an important mechanism underlying the higher ratings of facial attractiveness they give for members of the opposite sex and hence their increased frequency of mate choice."

Interestingly enough, it would seem that beer goggles work both ways. Not only will alcohol make those around you become more attractive to you, it can also turn you into a vision of epic awesomeness… at least in your own mind. (Where have you been your whole life?) That said, the alcohol in this case isn't strictly necessary; you just need to think you drank some.

Apropos, Laurent Begue at the Pierre Mendes-France University conducted an experiment to explore the phenomenon of The Drunker I Am, The Hotter I Get Syndrome. She asked 19 patrons in a French bar to rate their attractiveness on a scale of one to seven. Their alcohol levels were then measured with a breathalyzer test. Not surprisingly, the participants who were more biffed were also more full of themselves.

That was an extremely limited sample-size, though, so as a follow-up, Begue performed a balanced placebo test with 96 male volunteers. They were told they were conducting market research for fruit cocktail, and that half of the group would be given an alcoholic drink while the other would test the non-alcoholic version. After giving the booze enough time to work its magic, all the guys recorded a fake advertising spot for the fake beverage company. Immediately after, they watched a playback and rated their own wonderfulness.

As alluded to, not just those who had alcohol, but those who believed they had alcohol, gave themselves the best reviews. Those who hadn't had anything to drink — or had but didn't know that they had — were the humblest among the bunch. So what have we learned? At least according to this study, in part we feel happier and more attractive after a few cocktails seemingly because we assume that we will be in the first place.

There is a definite downside here though. When a panel of impartial, sober judges took a look-see at the advertising spots, the segments done by the guys that gave themselves top marks were voted the least appealing. That, perhaps, explains why it's so hard to impress that hot number who just showed up at the bar, when you've had more beers than you can count. You need to seek out someone who's been at it as long as you — and has their outward facing beer goggles on.

So in the end, it would seem from the studies to date that, while it's not yet fully understood, the "beer goggle" effect is probably real beyond being partially influenced by the simple fact that when your standards and inhibitions are lowered while your libido is increased, you're going to partner up with those you might not otherwise have. But beyond that, attractiveness based on bilateral symmetry be coming into play as well, literally making certain people seem more attractive than they otherwise would to you.

SEE ALSO: The Science Behind Hangovers Is Terrible

Join the conversation about this story »

Researchers studying Army soldiers before and after their combat deployments found higher rates of alcohol abuse after they returned home. But they were shocked to see an opposite trend among those who had actually killed in combat.

"We were very surprised by the findings,"study co-author Cristel Russell said in an American University-published summary. "Most previous research supported the prediction that more traumatic experiences would lead to more negative health outcomes, such as alcohol abuse. We found the opposite — that the most traumatic experiences of killing in combat actually led to a decrease in alcohol abuse post-deployment."

The study, "Changes in Alcohol Use After Traumatic Experiences: The Impact of Combat on Army National Guardsman," was published this month in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence by authors from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, American University, and the Uniformed Services University.

Members of an Army National Guard Infantry Brigade Combat Team were surveyed on their alcohol use three months before their 2005-2006 combat deployment to Iraq and then three months after their deployment had ended.

The study found that alcohol abuse rates among the soldiers rose from 8.51% before deployment to 19.15% after deployment — more than doubling over that period. Among those soldiers, 15.38% abused alcohol after their deployment but not before.

Those numbers weren't surprising, as past studies have suggested that some percentage of combat veterans will use alcohol to cope with the stress of their experiences.

This study measured six specific combat experiences against future alcohol abuse rates: fighting; killing; threat to oneself; seeing the death or injury of others; witnessing atrocities; and positive experiences.

Soldiers who killed someone during their combat deployment were half as likely to screen positive for alcohol abuse than soldiers who didn't kill someone during their combat deployment. Over the survey period, alcohol abuse actually decreased among soldiers who killed during combat.

The co-authors theorized that "killing experiences may cause soldiers to have an increased sense of mortality and vulnerability that triggers a focus on self-preservation, which manifests itself in reduced high-risk alcohol consumption," the research team reported. 

The study included some limitations. It relied on soldiers' judgment and self-reporting and it didn't measure alcohol consumption beyond three months after deployment. Accuracy could also be improved by measuring a larger sample of soldiers and encompassing additional National Guard units based in other regions of the U.S., according to the authors.

SEE ALSO: Here's How A Marine Blown Apart By A Grenade In Afghanistan Made An Astonishing Medical Recovery

Join the conversation about this story »

For many of us, alcohol is an enjoyable backdrop to life: wine with dinner, beers with friends, a glass of bubbly to celebrate a special occasion, or nip of something heavier to unwind after a long day.

But alcohol is the fourth-largest cause of disease in Australia after excess weight, smoking and high blood pressure. So, how do you decide whether — or how much — to drink?

Unfortunately, the answer is far from simple and falls into the murky realm of "it depends."

Let's consider what the science says about the positive and negative effects of alcohol.

Injury

Drinking alcohol increases your risk of accidents and injury. Only tobacco outranks alcohol as the leading preventable cause of drug-related death and hospitalisation in Australia.

Between 1992 and 2001, more than 31,000 deaths were attributed to risky or high-risk alcohol consumption. And between 1993–94 and 2000–01, half a million people were admitted to hospital for alcohol-related injuries.

Cancer

The more you drink, the higher your risk of cancer — and this is a steep exponential curve. So, with each incremental increase in your drinking, there is a marked increase in your risk.

The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer has concluded there is "sufficient evidence" that alcohol causes cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colorectum and female breast.

Unfortunately there is no evidence of a safe threshold; as soon as you start drinking your risk of cancer increases. This includes a 12% increase in the risk of breast cancer with each additional unit of alcohol per day.

Heart disease

The evidence is mounting for a "J- or U-shaped" link between drinking alcohol and developing cardiovascular disease (heart disease, stroke and other blood vessel disease). This means light to moderate drinkers have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared with those who drink nothing and those who drink a lot.

Heart disease is the most common cause of death in Australia, which makes the evidence on light to moderate alcohol consumption more relevant than it otherwise might be.

Weighing up the risk

So, how do you weigh up alcohol's role in cancer, injury and other risks with its beneficial effects on heart disease?

This is where things get tricky. We need to consider the balance of risk and how it might apply to individual populations. What, for example, is my likelihood of first getting cancer, compared with my risk of liver disease, having an accident, being injured or developing cardiovascular disease? The answer will be different for everyone.

In younger men, accidents and injuries are leading causes of death and cardiovascular disease is relatively uncommon. Drinking, therefore, poses a greater threat to them overall than the benefits it might afford. So they really should limit their consumption, or, ideally, avoid alcohol altogether.

The same is true for younger and middle-aged women, whose risk of breast cancer is higher than their risk of cardiovascular disease.

However, the cardiovascular health benefits of drinking are likely to be more pronounced in older people, particularly those aged in their 60s or above. It is interesting to note that cardiovascular benefits don't seem to differ according to the type of alcohol — wine, beer or spirits.

A moderate tipple

So if you are an older adult, and in an industrialised country, the current evidence suggests the beneficial effects of light to moderate alcohol consumption on cardiovascular disease are likely to exceed your risk of cancer and other conditions increased by alcohol. This means a moderate tipple is likely to help in increasing your overall longevity.

But if cancer is the thing you are most concerned about, the "don't drink at all" message should apply to you. And if you have an alcohol dependency and an alcohol-related condition, it's clear that cutting out drinking is the path you should take.

For most young men, the risks of drinking will outweigh the benefits.

These messages are a hard sell. In many other areas of health advice there is happy alignment between health organisations: obesity and smoking being obvious examples. But in the case of alcohol, what protects you against cancer is not necessarily best for your heart.

This means people have to negotiate this tricky path without clear signposts. It's no wonder some people find it all too hard. Here it's worth returning to the alcohol advice from the National Health and Medical Research Council on reducing the risk of disease:

• Don't drink more than two standard drinks a day
• Don't drink more than four standard drinks on one occasion
• Don't drink while pregnant or breastfeeding
• Don't drink if you are under 15. And if you're 15 to 17, delay your first drink for as long as possible.

This advice is population-based, so any individual risk has to be overlaid on top of it. But it is a good start point for guidance.

Reducing death

Finally, the question of how much alcohol would minimise the overall risk of dying prematurely is different to asking what role alcohol plays in the development of disease.

Most public health advice about alcohol, including that outlined above, recommends upper limits of alcohol consumption but does not actually encourage drinking. But the evidence, in fact, goes a bit further. Taking individual risks and priorities into account, it indicates that for people in industrialised countries who have reached a later stage in their life, drinking at least some alcohol (but not too much) is likely to minimise the overall risk of premature death.

Although it's difficult to make decisions about the health effects of alcohol, we can be heartened by the fact that we have large body of evidence to guide us.

Emily Banks has received funding from The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the Cancer Council, the National Heart Foundation of Australia and the Australian Primary Care Research Institute.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

SEE ALSO: The Science Behind Hangovers Is Terrible

Join the conversation about this story »

Excessive alcohol consumption remains a leading cause of premature death in the United States, responsible for 1 in 10 deaths among working-age adults, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Researchers used the CDC's Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) online application to estimate total number of deaths that were attributable to alcohol among U.S. adults ages 20 to 64, from 2006 through 2010. They also examined years of potential life lost across the U.S. by gender and age.

Excessive alcohol use led to nearly 88,000 deaths per year over the study period, and shortened the lives of those who died by about 30 years on average, said study researcher Dafna Kanny of the CDC. "In total, there were 2.5 million years of potential life lost each year due to excessive alcohol use," she said.

The number of alcohol-related deaths have increased by around 12,000 since 2004, the year a previous CDC study was conducted, Kanny said. [7 Ways Alcohol Affects Your Health]

The study appears today (June 26) in the CDC's journal Preventing Chronic Disease.

Causes of death

Alcohol is linked with deaths both from acute causes, such as car accidents and falls, and deaths from chronic diseases. Deaths due to alcohol-related car accidents reached nearly 13,000 per year during the study period, according to the report.

Among the chronic diseases that alcohol can cause, the most common cause of death was alcoholic liver disease (14,000 deaths yearly), followed by liver cirrhosis (7,800 deaths yearly) and alcohol dependence syndrome (3,700 deaths yearly), according to the study.

Most of the deaths that were related to excessive alcohol consumption (71 percent) involved males, Kanny said. "Men are more likely than women to drink excessively, especially binge drinking, having five or more alcoholic drinks in one occasion," she said. "Among drivers in fatal motor vehicle crashes, men are almost twice as likely as women to have been intoxicated."

According to the study, New Mexico had the highest number of alcohol-related deaths, with approximately 51 deaths yearly per 100,000 people, while New Jersey had the lowest, with around 19 deaths per 100,000 people.

What can be done

The results of this study are consistent with similar studies conducted on a global level, and reflect the substantial effect that excessive drinking has on life span and loss of productivity, Kanny said. Premature deaths due to alcohol consumption, along with the reduced earnings by heavy drinkers, were responsible for 72 percent of the estimated $223.5 billion in economic costs due to excessive alcohol consumption in the U.S. in 2006, she said.

Kanny offered suggestions on what can be done to decrease the number of fatalities due to excessive drinking. "Health care providers can use alcohol screening and counseling to help people who are drinking too much," she said. "Adults can set a good example for young people by not drinking excessively, and by not providing underage youth with alcohol."

Other strategies, she added, include increasing taxes on alcoholic beverages, reducing the number of retails outlets that sell alcoholic drinks, and holding alcohol retailers liable for injuries and damage following illegal service to intoxicated or underage consumers.

Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook& Google+. Originally published on Live Science.

• How 8 Common Medications Interact with Alcohol
• 11 Interesting Facts About Hangovers

SEE ALSO: The Real Reason Sam Adams' Founder Can Drink Without Getting Drunk

Join the conversation about this story »

CRAFT beer on tap is about to become available in your kitchen.

SYNEK, a St. Louis-based startup that launched on Kickstarter last month, is basically a Keurig coffee machine for beer.

The SYNEK takes vacuum-sealed bags of beer and pumps in carbonation, much like a Sodastream. It's meant for small craft breweries who want to avoid the expense of bottling and the short shelf life of growlers.

Many craft beer brands have already agreed for their brews to be sold in SYNEK bags, including Harpoon Brewery and Red Eye Brewing Company, among others.

Users can also fill their bags with the beer of their choice, using a special hose.

According to the company's Kickstarter page, SYNEK bags maintain their quality for more than 30 days, compared to growlers, which last two days after bring opened. Users can also adjust the temperature and CO2 pressure in the SYNEK dispenser to create their perfect brew.

The machine plugs into any outlet.

"It's got the convenience of a Keurig coffee machine, the volume of two growlers, the spirit of a falcon, and all the variety you've ever wanted," said founder Steve Young in a video about the product (below).

SYNEK is working towards its fundraising goal of $250,000 and hopes to launch in early 2015. 

SEE ALSO: The Most Mouthwatering Dishes At The Aspen Food & Wine Festival

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider on Twitter!

Join the conversation about this story »

A new Maryland law goes into effect this month banning the sale of 190-proof grain liquors like Everclear, The Daily Beast reports. The law follows the footsteps of neighboring states Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, who have all banned high-content alcohols like Everclear with the hope that preventing dangerously high levels of alcohol consumption will also prevent sexual assaults on college campuses.

"A lot of the college presidents came together … they all agreed that we should get rid of the worst of the grain alcohol that’s out there. It’s caused a lot of problems, everything from binge drinking to sexual assault,” Del. Charles Barkley, the Maryland state lawmaker who championed the bill, told The Daily Beast.

The logic the law follows — that alcohol directly causes sexual assault — has been criticized by advocates for sexual assault victims both because they feel it blames binge drinking, and not the assailant, for sexual violence, and because it moves the emphasis away from teaching students about consent and respectful campus cultures and places it instead on alcohol.

As one expert explained to USA Today last year,"People don't get raped because they have been drinking, because they are passed out or because they are drunk. People get raped because there is a perpetrator there — someone who wants to take advantage of them."

There's also the belief that students will still binge drink, despite the new law. Still, others believe that grain alcohols as potent as Everclear could be used by possible perpetrators as a way to prey on women, and this alone makes the law worthwhile.

According to a 2001 research project commissioned the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, alcohol is present in approximately 50% of sexual assaults. But according to the same study, "Although alcohol consumption and sexual assault frequently co-occur, this phenomenon does not prove that alcohol use causes sexual assault." 

The Daily Beast also noted that this "Everclear embargo" is but one step Maryland has taken to curb sexual assaults on college campuses. Maryland colleges have also agreed to adopt an umbrella policy for sexual assault in which colleges coordinate with local law enforcement.

Join the conversation about this story »

Click for the story >

Join the conversation about this story »

When he's not busy running the cocktail program at New York City's Maialino, Erik Lombardo is giving us the rundown on all things spirits -- and showing us the best ways to drink them. 

Today: The history of the mai tai, and how to bring a little tiki to your home bar, tonight.  The craft cocktail drinker is equally at home sipping a Negroni during the dusky cocktail hour of an outdoor café, a French 75 at the restaurant bar, or an old fashioned at home after work. But what happens when we begin to push the boundaries? What if we substitute amari with exotic syrups, delicately constructed cocktail glasses with garishly painted ceramic mugs, and finely shaved lemon twists with flaming lime shells? What if we drink tiki? 

Tiki is the cure for the elitism -- the idea that a bar is an altar at which supplicants come to worship -- that all too many craft cocktail bars fall prey to. Why is it so successful? Because it’s hard to take yourself too seriously when you’re drinking something festooned with umbrellas, crazy straws, and burning 151-proof rum. And there is no better way to make this happen than with a classic mai tai. 

In 1934, Victor Bergeron opened a small bar and restaurant in Oakland California named Hinky Dink’s, a ribs-and-hash kind of place that slowly began taking a decidedly tropic turn. A few years later, on one of his research forays, Mr. Bergeron walked into another California tiki establishment, Don the Beachcomber, and had a drink which was rumored to be a QB Cooler: an eminently tropical blend of rums and citrus. 

More: You're going to need to practice your mint bouquets. Start with a julep.

Bergeron went on to reverse-engineer the drink to come up with his own version. He changed the name of Hinky Dink’s to “Vic’s Trading Post” and began telling stories about how he had lost his leg on the South Seas. (In reality, he had lost it to tuberculosis as a child.) He told another story, too: that in 1944, he was sitting down with one of his bartenders and he decided to make the greatest rum drink in the world. The way his story goes, just as he was finalizing his formula, two friends from Tahiti walked in, sampled it, and declared it “Mai tai roa ae,” or, “Out of this world! The best!”  

Vic’s Trading Post became simply “Trader Vic’s” and the QB Cooler became the mai tai. Despite the fact that the QB Cooler and the Trader Vic mai tai taste very similar, the only ingredients they share in common are rum and lime juice. Which is why tiki historian Jeff “Beachbum” Berry surmises that the mai tai is indeed an original Trader Vic invention, though inspired by the drink Bergeron tasted at Don the Beachcomber.

Regardless of what you call it, it’s not the insipid frothy pink monstrosity served at all-inclusive resorts across the Caribbean, but rather an intensely tart and nuanced blend of rums, citrus, and flavored syrups. The original mai tai called for a type of aged Jamaican rum that no longer exists: a flavorful, pot-stilled spirit aged for 10 years in wood. To approximate that flavor, you can mix rhum agricole -- a funky result of sugar cane juice distillation from Martinique (this and this are both great options) -- with a mellow dark Jamaican rum like Coruba.  

Don’t spare the garnish on this one. When you’re juicing your limes for the cocktail, save the empty lime halves as garnish for your drink, or go nuts with edible flowers, mint bouquets, and/or tiny paper umbrellas. This is tiki: The sillier it looks, the more fun you’ll have.

Mai Tai 

Serves 1

1 ounce amber rhum agricole
1 ounce Jamaican rum 
1 ounce lime juice (reserve 1/2 spent lime shell for garnish)
1/2 ounce orange curaçao
1/4 ounce orgeat
1/4 ounce pineapple gomme syrup (or, another 1/4 ounce of orgeat)
Mint, flowers, or umbrella for garnish 

See the full recipe (and save it and print it) here.

Join the conversation about this story »

Mutant worms generated at a lab at the University of Texas may provide a pathway to prevent people from becoming intoxicated after drinking alcohol, a study released on Wednesday said.

The research could lead to new drugs to help people going through alcohol withdrawal or even prevent them from feeling the effects of a night of hard drinking, the scientists who wrote the study said.

"This is the first example of altering a human alcohol target to prevent intoxication in an animal," said co-author Jon Pierce-Shimomura, an assistant professor in the university's College of Natural Sciences.

Pharmaceutical applications could include a "James Bond drug" that would help a spy drink an opponent under the table and walk away without being shaken or stirred, according to Pierce-Shimomura.

The team found in worms a mutation on a channel for neurons, called the BK channel, that does not allow alcohol to have intoxicating effects, according to the findings published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

They were then able to recreate the mutation on a similar channel found in humans.

The type of worm used in the study indicates alcohol intoxication well by slowing their crawling and reducing their wriggling from side to side. Intoxicated worms also stopped laying eggs, the study said.

"We got pretty lucky and found a way to make the channel insensitive to alcohol without affecting its normal function,” said Pierce-Shimomura.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

SEE ALSO: 'Crazy Worms' Are Poised To Wreak Havoc On The Midwest

Join the conversation about this story »

Combining energy drinks with alcoholic beverages may strengthen a person's urge to continue drinking, a new study suggests.

Australian researchers found that young adults who consumed an energy drink mixed with alcohol had a small to moderate increase in their desire to keep drinking compared with people who drank alcohol alone.

"This is an important finding because it provides evidence of a mechanism through which energy drinks may increase binge drinking, and consequently, alcohol-related harm among young people," said study author Rebecca McKetin, who leads the substance use research group at The Australian National University in Canberra.

Those harms might include greater alcohol intoxication, and an increased risk of automobile accidents, as well as drinking-related injuries from fights or falls, McKetin said.

Blending an energy drink with alcohol is a popular trend among college students, leading researchers to wonder about the potential dangers associated with it. [5 Health Problems Linked to Energy Drinks]

For the study, researchers recruited 75 young adults in Australia, ages 18 to 30. Half the group was given a cocktail containing about 2 ounces of vodka, 8.5 ounces of a lime-flavored energy drink and nearly 7 ounces of a pineapple coconut fruit drink, while the rest of the participants had a cocktail containing the same amount of vodka and fruit drink mixed with 8.5 ounces of soda water.

Before receiving their cocktails, all the participants completed a questionnaire asking them to describe their typical use of alcohol, caffeine and drugs. Ten minutes after sipping their cocktail, the participants filled out a post-test questionnaire rating the drink's taste and its effects on them, and then took a breathalyzer test to measure their blood alcohol concentrations.

The findings are published online today (July 17) in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Caffeine and sweetness

The results showed that young people who drank alcohol plus the energy drink liked the taste better, had lower average blood alcohol levels, and also reported a greater urge to keep drinking than those given the alcohol-only cocktail.

As for the possible mechanism behind the increased desire to drink more when combining energy drinks with alcohol, McKetin identified two potential culprits: caffeine and sugar.

She explained that the sugary additives in energy drinks contribute to their palatability, and may increase people's desire to keep drinking. Another reason could be the caffeine content, which might bring out alcohol's stimulant effects and is strongly related to how much people like alcohol.

"In our study, we were unable to confirm whether or not people's desire to keep drinking was due to the sweetness of the energy drink, or the caffeine that it contained," McKetin told LiveScience.

A similar study done in the U.S. suggested it was the caffeine rather than the sweetness that caused the effect, she said.

Some other unanswered questions are whether and to what extent combining energy drinks with alcohol increases how much alcohol people actually subsequently drink, McKetin said.

Researchers can't assume that a person's self-reported urge to keep drinking would result in consuming more alcohol in a real-life situation, she said. Factors such as whether someone has the money to spend on buying more alcohol, if their friends are still drinking, and whether that individual needs to drive home or go to work the next day, can all play a role in the decision to keep drinking, or stop, McKetin said.

Follow Live Science @livescience,Facebook& Google+. Original article on Live Science.

• 7 Ways Alcohol Affects Your Health
• How 8 Common Medications Interact with Alcohol
• 10 Easy Paths to Self Destruction

Copyright 2014 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

SEE ALSO: Here's What Alcohol Does To Your Brain And Body

Join the conversation about this story »

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - At most colleges, campus police refer students involved in alcohol-related incidents to school officials for discipline rather than taking legal action, according to a study of 343 U.S. schools.

After such an incident, students are generally not referred to the campus health center for alcohol screening or intervention, researchers led by Debra H. Bernat from University of Maryland in College Park found.

For the study, they asked directors of campus police or security to complete a survey regarding their usual practices following serious, underage and less-serious alcohol incidents on and off campus.

Even for serious or underage alcohol violations, which likely reflect illegal behavior, only one-third of colleges reported consistently issuing criminal charges or a citation to the drinker.

For serious off-campus incidents, approximately 40 percent of colleges reported consistently referring students to an alcohol education program and offering counseling or treatment, compared to 16 percent for on-campus incidents, the authors report in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Larger public schools and schools located in small towns were more likely to take disciplinary action following drinking incidents than smaller private schools and those in large cities.

Attitude made a difference too, the authors report. Colleges that reported that student drinking was a major problem, as opposed to not a major problem, were more likely to consistently refer students involved in serious drinking incidents to the health center.

Low citation rates may undermine alcohol enforcement efforts by removing more severe consequences for drinking, the researchers suggest, but they acknowledge that it is still unclear what actions are best for curbing alcohol-related problems on college campuses.

The report is a step toward understanding how campus security departments respond to alcohol incidents, they write.

“It tells us just enough to suggest the next study or several studies,” said Robert F. Saltz, a senior scientist at the Prevention Research Center in Oakland, California who wasn’t involved in the research.

One way to strategically decrease alcohol incidents on campus is to strengthen prevention enforcement measures, rather than reactionary enforcement, Saltz told Reuters Health.

For example, rather than waiting for a serious injury to occur at a fraternity party and then disciplining the entire fraternity, a college could strengthen its proactive enforcement by routinely breaking up larger parties and citing the host or strengthening its traffic violation enforcement on nights and weekends, which would help prevent dangerous incidents, he said.

The study suggests there is still a lot of room to assess how college campuses address alcohol violations, said Sion Kim Harris, a substance abuse researcher at Harvard Medical School in Boston who was not part of the new report.

“As (the authors) discuss, given that really mostly what campus security police do is refer these incidents to internal departments versus criminal charges, it’s really important then what these other departments will do,” which this study does not address, Harris told Reuters Health.

On-campus crime reports are declining in general but the number of arrests for alcohol and drug violations is on the rise, which may be due to more violations or stricter enforcement over the years, she said.

“What we think is happening is colleges are getting more strict about enforcing their policies,” Harris said.

Looking at a college’s website, and specifically its alcohol policy and any statistics it has available, can give parents an idea of the attitudes at different schools, Harris said. She also suggested families visit collegedrinkingprevention.gov.

“Just as a parent I would recommend that parents really review alcohol and drug policies with children so there’s an understanding of what are the supposed consequences,” she said. “Even though the level of enforcement of these things may not be so great, it’s still important that students know.”

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1rPSkxA Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, online July 17, 2014.

Join the conversation about this story »

On a warm summer's night, there's nothing better than relaxing outdoors and sipping a delicious cocktail. 

With the help of Food52, we've compiled a list of the best summer cocktail recipes. Now you won't even have to leave your home to enjoy some of the tastiest drinks available. These range from fruity mojitos to a refreshing twist on the classic gin and tonic.

Here are 11 of the best summer cocktails.

Paloma

Mixologist Erik Lombardo calls the Paloma the "working man's margarita," but says it's just as simple as a gin and tonic. It's a tasty mix of grapefruit, tequila, and soda, and Lombardo says it tastes even better if you make your own grapefruit soda by using fresh fruit syrups and club soda. He also advises against heating up the mixture, as this will give the grapefruit a darker flavor.

Follow this recipe to make a Paloma >>

Dark 'n Stormy

This recipe for a Dark 'n Stormy comes to us from Food52 Co-founder Amanda Hesser, and contains dark rum, ginger beer, and a lime wedge. She says this recipe is easily made for one person, but she encourages people to take liberties with her recipe. Scale up, scale down, add more booze—whatever you'd like.

Follow this recipe to make a Dark 'n Stormy >>

Gimlet

Toque Magazine Founder Erika Kotite says the gimlet is the perfect cocktail for those who are just beginning to drink gin. It's very easy to make: just pour some gin, then add lime juice and simple syrup.

Follow this recipe to make a gimlet >>

The Gin Hound

The recipe for this tasty cocktail was the result of Food52 user JRDsquared using up the end of a grapefruit and some lemon juice in his drink. The Gin Hound is a combination of grapefruit juice, lemon juice, gin (JRDsquared suggests Hendricks), and sweet vermouth. Unless you're looking for a super strong cocktail, this is best served over rocks.

Follow this recipe to make a Gin Hound >>

 Red Sangria

Sangria can be made easily by just following your instincts, but Kenzi Wilbur, Food52's managing editor, has provided a guide to help you make the best red sangria possible. She suggests adding peaches and strawberries to the mix, but encourages people to switch out those fruits for something seasonal, if they prefer.

Follow this recipe to make red sangria >>

Michelada

Also known as "bloody beer," a Michelada is one of the most refreshing drinks you could have on a hot day. It tastes like a gentler version of a Bloody Mary, because beer is used instead of vodka. This drink tastes great even if you choose to make it non-alcoholic. Food writer TheFlyingFoodie suggests adding celery salt to to the rim of your glass.

Follow this recipe to make a Michelada >>

Grapefruit Tarragon Gin and Tonic

Food52 member mrslarkin had used grapefruit and tarragon while cooking, and decided to see what the two tasted like in a drink. The result was this delicious spin on gin and tonic. Mrslarkin suggests using Comb 9 Gin in the drink.

Follow this recipe to make a grapefruit tarragon gin and tonic >>

Strawberry Champagne Cocktail

This very summery drink is a mix of strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and optional champagne. You can pass the puree through a sieve to get rid of the seeds, but Merrill Stubbs, editor-in-chief of Food52, prefers to leave them in for an extra crunch. She also suggests serving the drink with some salty cheese biscuits.

Follow this recipe to make a strawberry champagne cocktail >>

Gin Spritz

This minty fresh cocktail recipe was created by erinmcdowell, Food52 writer and co-test kitchen manager. Lime juice, mint leaves, sugar, gin, and Prosecco make up this drink. The mint and gin complement each other nicely, and the Prosecco makes the drink taste lighter.

Follow this recipe to make a Gin Spritz >>

Pimm's Cup

The Pimm's Cup is very difficult to dislike. It's made with a blend of cucumber, strawberries, mint, and gin, and Kenzi Wilbur urges people to put lots of fruit in the glass—as she says, "It wants to be fruit-logged." Wilbur prefers to make the drink low on alcohol, because the point of a Pimm's Cup is the taste, more than anything. Try topping it off with ginger ale instead of lemonade for a bit of a sting.

Follow this recipe for a Pimm's Cup >>

Raspberry Acetosa Mojito

Food writer Emiko Davies made a delicious raspberry acetosa, and at the suggestion of her husband, added the syrup to a mojito. The result was this fruity drink, which mixes the sting of red wine vinegar with the sweetness of raspberries.

Follow this recipe to make a raspberry acetosa mojito >>

SEE ALSO: There's A New Oyster Bar On A Historic Ship Docked In The Hudson, And It's Awesome

DON'T FORGET: Business Insider is on Instagram!

Join the conversation about this story »

This graphic is a whimsical look at lethal doses of chemicals we consume on a regular basis. Whilst it may be more common to view chemicals in a black and white framing of "toxic" or "non-toxic," the reality is more of a sliding scale of toxicity. The admission of too much of any chemical into the body can cause toxic effects, and even death – the only variant from chemical to chemical is how much is too much. For some chemicals, the amount will be very low, whilst for others, it may be almost impossibly high.

So, how can we compare the toxicities of differing chemicals when they can all produce varying effects and when these effects all require the intake of differing amounts?

One of the most commonly quoted figures when discussing the toxicity of chemicals is the LD50, which stands for lethal dose 50%, or "median lethal dose." This is the amount of a chemical required to cause death in 50% of the animals in the group it is tested on. The figures can be given for when the chemical is given orally, when it is applied to the skin, or when it is injected into the animal.

The results of these tests can then be converted into figures for humans and expressed in milligrams per kilogram of body weight. The smaller the lethal dose, the more toxic the chemical; thus, the LD50 provides a way of comparing the toxicities of all chemicals.

There are a number of caveats to the LD50 test. First, as mentioned, it is the dose required to kill 50% of the test subjects. Therefore, it does not guarantee death – in fact, it's possible to take more than the lethal dose and live, and take less of the lethal dose and die. For the purposes of clarification, other types of lethal dose data also exist: the LDLo (Lethal Dose Low) is the lowest dose known to have resulted in fatality in testing, whilst the LD100 (Lethal Dose 100%) is the dose at which 100% of the test subjects are killed.

Another issue with the lethal dose tests is the obvious fact that animals are not humans. The sensitivity of animals to different chemicals varies from species to species and can also vary from that of humans. A prime example is that of the chemical theobromine, found in chocolate. Humans can stomach about 1,000 mg/kg of their body weight of theobromine; this is quite a large figure and means it's next to impossible for a human to eat enough chocolate to die of theobromine poisoning (an average 200g bar of milk chocolate contains a little under 300mg).

Compare this to dogs, who can tolerate only about 300 mg/kg of their body weight and can therefore easily die as a result of eating too much chocolate. Therefore, there's no guarantee that the figures converted from animal lethal dose tests are always reliable in humans.

Additionally, although lethal dose tests provide absolute figures, these will invariably vary from person to person dependent on a wide range of variables, including physical condition and medical conditions from which they may be suffering. The lethal dose of a compound also tells us little about what dose effects of its toxicity start to be manifested. Some chemicals may have a high lethal dose but may cause toxic effects at a dose much lower than this.

A final issue with the lethal dose tests is one of ethics. There is obviously an aspect of animal cruelty involved in the tests, and for this reason they are now being widely phased out, with other methods for assessing toxicity preferred. Several alternatives have been developed:

• Fixed Dose Procedure: In this test, five male and five female rats are used. The chemical being tested is given to them orally at one of four fixed dose levels (5mg, 50mg, 500mg or 2000mg). Rather than trying to identify the dose at which death is the result, instead the test tries to identify the dose at which toxicity can be observed. Testing stops once this is seen. Although this still uses animal subjects, it drastically reduces the number of animals required, as well as the mortality rate.
• Up and Down Procedure: In this test, animals are tested one at a time and observed for one to two days. If they survive, an increased dose is given to the next animal, whilst if they die, a decreased dose is given. Again, this reduces the number of animals required, but does not completely avoid their use.
• Acute Toxic Class Method: Still uses animals. A stepwise procedure, where three animals of the same sex per fixed dose level are used. Dependent on the outcome, a decision is made as to whether further testing is necessary.
• Cell-Based Screening Methods: Involves studying the effects of chemicals on cells removed from their biological environment in the lab. This alternative avoids the use of animals, and scientists hope that in the future it will be able to be used exclusively.

To conclude, it's clear that the LD50 method of categorising chemicals, whilst providing a useful comparison, has several flaws. For that reason, it is largely considered to be a somewhat outdated method for determining toxicity. Nonetheless, LD50 figures are still frequently quoted for various chemicals, and it is unlikely that references to them will ever be phased out completely, at least in more general parlance.

As a final note, the graphic provides the LD50 values for water, caffeine, and alcohol (ethanol). It's worth noting that, in the case of caffeine, drinking 118 cups of coffee would almost certainly see you dying of water poisoning before caffeine poisoning! The figure for alcohol is also especially variable, including whether you're drinking on an empty stomach, as well as personal drinking history.

I'm indebted to Justin Brower for the content of this graphic, with whom I corresponded on the figures, who was able to provide some very useful feedback and suggestions. Justin runs the excellent blog Nature's Poisons that, unsurprisingly, looks at the various poisonous chemical compounds found in nature and is well worth a read.

SEE ALSO: Here's How Humans Could Create The Next Deadly Pandemic

Join the conversation about this story »

Bartenders beware — this might be the most complicated drink on earth.

In celebration of the XX Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, top Glasgow mixologist Mal Spence of the Kelingrove Café has created the Commonwealth Cocktail, which has a total of 71 ingredients.

That's the greatest number of ingredients ever used in one cocktail, according to People Make Glasgow. 

The drink contains ingredients sourced from every nation competing in the Commonwealth games, making it truly representative of the event. Ingredients include papaya from Rwanda, dragonfruit from Belize, mangosteen from India, and red apple from England. 

Spence gave out 71 free Commonwealth Cocktails at the Kelvingrove Café beginning on July 23, and all 71 were gone by the end of that day, according to Kelvingrove Cafe's Facebook page. However, People Make Glasgow does provide a very modified recipe for an at-home Commonwealth Cocktail, so you can get a little taste of the drink.

Here is the full list of ingredients used in the Commonwealth Cocktail: 

Africa

Botswana: devils claw (genus clerodendrum)

Cameroon: bitter leaf (piper umbellatum)

Ghana: taro (psidium guajava)

Kenya: chives

Lesotho: rosehip

Malawi: cacao (pycreuscyperaceae)

Mauritius: wild raspberry (rubus rosifolius)

Mozambique: cassava

Namibia: prickly pear

Nigeria: utazi leaves

Rwanda: papaya

Seychelles: citronella

Sierra Leone: cashew nut (piassava)

South Africa: roobus

Swaziland: sycamore fig

Tanzania: cloves

Uganda: nakati eggplant

Zambia: sorrel

Americas

Belize: dragonfruit

Bermuda: arabica coffee beans

Canada: logan berry

Falkland Islands: bitter cress

Guyana: sugar cane

St. Helena: St. Helena tea plant

Asia

Bangladesh: jujubi

Brunei Darussalam: durian fruit

India: mangosteen

Malaysia: galangal

Maldives: pomegranate (annaaru)

Pakistan: saffron

Singapore: rambutan

Sri Lanka: ripe jakfruit

Caribbean

Anguilla: mango

Antigua & Barbuda: tamarind

Bahamas: egg fruit

Barbados: sour cherry

British Virgin Islands: noni

Cayman Islands: sage (salvia caymanensis)

Dominica: guava leaf

Grenada: lemon grass

Jamaica: okra

Montserrat: devil’s horse whip

St. Kitts & Nevis: tamon

St. Lucia: sweet basil

St. Vincent & The Grenadines: arrowroot

Trinidad & Tobago: tonka bean

Turks & Caicos Islands: sapodilla

Europe

Cyprus: basil-thyme (Άκινος)

England: red apple

Gibraltar: maqui berry

Guernsey: blueberries

Isle of Man: new potatoes

Jersey: lavender

Malta: star anise

Northern Ireland: bog rosemary

Scotland: wild Scottish strawberry

Wales: wild cotoneaster

Oceania

Australia: aniseed myrtle (syzygium anisatum) (gundabluie) (bardi bush)

Cook Islands: custard apple seeds (annona reticulata)

Kiribati: dried coconut meat (copra)

Nauru: pumpkin seeds

New Zealand: manuka honey

Niue: paw paw

Norfolk Island: yam

Papua New Guinea: taro (colocasia esculenta)

Samoa: ladies finger (small, sweet banana)

Solomon Islands: taro leaves

Tonga: avocado (avoka)

Tuvalu: breadfruit

Vanuatu: plantain

Fiji: kava root

SEE ALSO: Top Restaurants Are Going Crazy For These Secret Ingredients Found In The Wild

DON'T FORGET:  Business Insider is on Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »

I'm going to assume that you're comfortable talking to a sommelier, which is both admirable and a tad abnormal.

Most people who ask me questions about wine are terrified of talking to the somm for fear of broaching the "wrong" questions, revealing their inferior tastes, or, in general, sounding like a buffoon.

In the other extreme, of course, are the buffoons who love to talk to somms just to hear themselves pontificate about things that make them feel important (i.e. "I see you have the '82 Blahdeeblah; I have six cases of that in my cellar, but they're coming along rather slowly at present.") I'm hoping this doesn't describe you, of course.

So back to my advice.

First, and foremost, make sure you're actually talking to the sommelier or wine director. In other words, never, ever, ever, ever ask the waiter for wine advice. I'm not being a d--k here, but rather defining roles: Waiters serve food, should be able to discuss ingredients and preparation, and offer impeccable service. Period. Ask for a wine list. Look at the menu, figure out what you're going to eat, and then ask the waiter to send over the somm or wine director.

Next, reveal everything you're thinking: "Hi, I tend to like to drink Cabernets. My friend here prefers red Burgundies. I'm having Skate Wing in buerre blanc; he's having the pork chop smothered in mushrooms. We're thinking of spending $75 for a bottle of something you recommend. What do you think?" The point is to engage the somm, show interest, ask questions, let him do his thing. Trust me, you cannot imagine how many somms are bored to tears because nobody asks for them, or worse, treats them like waiters.

Finally, if the rapport feels good, the banter is genuine, and you think you could close the deal, ask the somm something like this, "If we put ourselves totally in your hands, trusting you to give us a bottle that you yourself love, is there one bottle on this list—or, even off the list—that you'd order without hesitation? We're totally willing to gamble with you."

I've often played the dumb fox with somms just to see how they react. I cannot tell you how many have risen to the occasion and made thoughtful recommendations. Sometimes—it doesn't happen all the time—they'll even go down into the cellar to bring up something they'd forgotten was down there, or was just taken down from the list. Ultimately, it all depends on how well you finesse it. It all begins with a conversation.

—Follow Anthony Giglio on Twitter at @WineWiseGuy.

More from Details:

How to Day Drink Without Dying

10 Rules of Style When Dressing For Work

The Top 5 Hairstyles for Men

5 Foods That Make You Look Younger

The Truth Behind Wines that Have Screw Caps Instead of Cork

Join the conversation about this story »

Some cocktails are classics for a reason. They are so tasty that they never go out of style.

With the help of our friends at Food52, we've put together recipes for the 10 best classic cocktails. They range from a sophisticated Old Fashioned to an adventurous mai tai. 

Here are the best classic cocktails.

Martini

Probably one of the most classic cocktails of all time, the martini is a delicious mix of gin and vermouth. This martini recipe comes Erika Kotite, founder of Toque Magazine.

Follow this recipe to make a martini >>

Tom Collins

The Tom Collins is a wonderful drink, especially because its ingredients—lemon, sugar, soda, and gin—are very easy to obtain. Mixologist Erik Lombardo says this classic is delicious even if you switch out gin for a different spirit, like vodka or bourbon. Traditionally, Old Tom gin is used for a Tom Collins, though London dry gin also works well.

Follow this recipe to make a Tom Collins >>

Whiskey Sour 

A good whiskey sour is typically made with whiskey, sugar, an egg white, and citrus, with a lemon typically being the citrus fruit of choice. The egg white gives the drink a frothy texture, and Lombardo says it actually gives drinkers an often necessary boost of protein at the end of a long night.

Follow this recipe to make a whiskey sour >>

Mint Julep 

A mint julep is made with bourbon, rich mint syrup, a bunch of mint, and crushed ice. Lombardo says even though mint juleps are traditionally made with bourbon, you can use a different spirit instead. He suggests a real peach brandy, which is difficult to find but worth the hunt. He also suggests stuffing as much mint as possible into your glass.

Follow this recipe to make a mint julep >>

Margarita 

This classic margarita recipe contains tequila, Cointreau, fresh-squeezed lime juice, agave syrup, ice, sea salt, and lime wedges. Kotite prepares the drinking glass by rubbing a spent lime around the rim, turning the glass upside down on a plate of salt, and then filling the glass with ice and pouring in the liquid.

Follow this recipe to make a margarita >>

The Negroni 

The Negroni is made with a simple 1:1:1 ratio of smooth gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. This drink is great before a meal, as it cleanses your taste buds.

Follow this recipe to make a Negroni >>

Old Fashioned 

This delicious classic is made with rye whiskey, Angostura bitters, sugar, water, and ice, with an orange peel as a garnish. Kotite notes that it's important to make sure your sugar is thoroughly crushed.

Follow this recipe to make an old fashioned >>

Sazerac 

This New Orleans cocktail is made with a small amount of absinthe, as well as rye whiskey, simple syrup, Peychaud bitters, ice, and lemon twist. Kotite says the lemon twist should be simply rubbed on the rim of the glass and then discarded.

Follow this recipe to make a Sazerac >>

Mai Tai 

A mai tai is a little more adventurous than the other classic cocktails, and contains a mix of rums, citrus, and flavored syrups. Since the original mai tai called for a Jamaican rum that no longer exists, you can mix rhum agricole with a dark Jamaican rum instead. Lombardo says this drink is meant to be a little crazy, so save limes for garnish, and add lots of umbrellas and edible flowers.

Follow this recipe to make a mai tai >>

Southside

The Southside shows how mint can totally transform the taste of a drink. This cocktail is basically a gin gimlet, with some mint leaves tossed into the mix. This drink can easily be transformed into an Eastside cocktail by adding two wheels of cucumber.

Follow this recipe to make a Southside >>

SEE ALSO: There's A New Oyster Bar On A Historic Ship Docked In The Hudson, And It's Awesome

DON'T FORGET: Business Insider is on Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »

Click for the story >

Join the conversation about this story »

A bar in Milwaukee, Wisc., is now selling a Bloody Mary drink garnished with an entire fried chicken, according to local news Fox 6 Now.

Now that's what we call brunch.

Dubbed "The Chicken Fried Bloody Mary" at Sobelman’s Pub & Grill, it features a whopping four-pound chicken from a local butcher shop, 80 liquid ounces of Bloody Mary-goodness, cheeseburger sliders, and 'Baconadoes' (bacon-wrapped jalapeno cheeseball skewers) for a total of $50. 

Though it's meant to be split between friends, that is still a massive amount of food.

This also isn't the first drink that has gained Sobelman's national attention. The bar is known for its year-round drink, "The Bloody Masterpiece," which has 13 different garnishes including sausage, Brussels sprouts, and shrimp. According to their website, it was voted Milwaukee's Best Bloody Mary by locals. 

However, the Chicken Fried Bloody Mary isn't totally rooted in gluttony. 

Fox 6 Now reports reports that a $5 donation will be made to Milwaukee’s Hunger Task Force for every Chicken Fried Bloody Mary sold. Owners Dave and Melanie Sobelman are hoping to give a big holiday donation to the lobbying and food banking charity at the end of the year.

The drink will be available through the end of 2014.

SEE ALSO: Why You Should Never Thaw Frozen Steaks Before Cooking Them

FOLLOW US: Business Insider is on Instagram!

Join the conversation about this story »

The shroud of mystery has been (slightly) lifted from the so-called King of Beer.

Daily Beast reporter Tim Mak wrote a fascinating article about Kent "Battle" Martin, whose work you see every day but whom few know anything about.

Martin is known for approving practically every beer bottle and label on the market for the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). He is also known for being highly enigmatic.

He's so secretive, in fact, that the publication wasn't even able to interview the regulator.

Regardless, here are some interesting tidbits about the most powerful man in the brewing world that they were able to dig up: 

• He goes by the name "Battle."

• Martin has approved over 29,500 beer labels just this year. 

• The Tax and Trade Bureau would not even tell The Daily Beast any basic biographical details about Martin. Good luck Googling him.

• He is described as awkward and robotic. Brewers say they have received approvals and notices coming in the middle of the night. There was even one anecdote of him at a craft brewers' conference working on several laptops at once, simultaneously looking at different labels.

• Martin once rejected a beer label for the King of Hearts because the image of the heart on the bottle implied that the beer would have health benefits.

• He also rejected a beer label called St. Paula’s Liquid Wisdom because he thought it made the medical claim of granting wisdom. 

• He rejected the label of a beer called Bad Elf because it featured an "Elf Warning" that said elves should not drink while making toys. Battle thought the warning was confusing to consumers.

Read more about Kent "Battle" Martin over at The Daily Beast.

NOW WATCH: Is Draft Beer Better Than Bottled Beer?

SEE ALSO: Experts Say These Are The 20 Best Beers In The World

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's Life on Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »

The Czech Republic has been brewing beer since the Middle Ages, so it’s safe to say they know a thing or two about making a good one. Czech beer is most commonly pale lagers, pilsners specifically, with golden hues and a lighter flavor. If you order a beer in most bars or restaurants, this is the beer you’ll get—and unless you ask otherwise, you’ll be served the standard half liter (0,5L). As the reasoning goes: the lighter it is, the more you can drink! The flavor is good, balanced, refreshing and according to Czechs, healthy too!

If you’re headed to Prague (or already there), there’s an opportunity to try a Czech beer around every corner (translation: you won’t go thirsty). So where to begin with the myriad of choices? In our opinion, the best places for sampling the Czech’s most beloved beverage are at pivovary, or breweries, where the beer is brewed right on the premises. It’s here you’ll have the chance to taste the freshest pivo (master that Czech vocabulary word!) straight from the source and get a glimpse of the brewing process. Since the beer tradition in Prague is older than your great-grandfather’s grandfather, the recipes and the hops themselves lend to being some of the best in the world. Na zdraví! (“cheers” or “to your health”)!

1. Klásterní Pivovar or the Strahov Monastery Brewery

Located up the hill from the Prague Castle, this brewery was first founded as a monastery in 1140. The actual beer making facilities came a few hundred of years later and were used to produce beer until 1919, when the building was made into apartment buildings. Skip forward to 2001 when reconstruction was begun and finished, restoring the old brewery to what you can visit today. There are three all-year beers on tap—an IPA, amber and special lager—with taps rotating according to the season. This brewery is a wonderful place to pass an evening and also serves food. There’s outdoor seating and in chillier weather, heat-lamps and blankets.

klasterni-pivovar.cz
Strahovské nádvoří, 301
Open every day from 10am to 10pm

2. U Fleku

In true traditional European beer hall style, U Fleku is it—and it draws crowds all year round. Besides the lively atmosphere and tasty beers, U Fleku is the oldest continual brewery in Eastern Europe in operation since 1499. There are 8 halls and an outside garden, so the place is huge enough to accommodate all its visitors. Most come for the beer, which is one type of lager served in a small or large glass, but the restaurant also serves traditional Czech food. The accordion and tuba player will keep you entertained for as long as you stay.

ufleku.cz
Křemencova, 11
Open every day (but December 24) from 10am to 11pm

3. U Medvidku

If you’re looking for a place to sleep that doubles as a brewery, then U Medvidku (“at the little bears”) is the brewery and hotel for you. Upstairs are comfortable rooms and downstairs is the brewery. Pull up a chair to watch beer fermenting right before your eyes as you sip on one of the Prague’s strongest beers, the X-Beer, and sample their beer ice cream! The brewery has a long history, but like many breweries in Prague it fell into disuse during the Communist regime. The rooms and equipment you see today result from the efforts of reconstruction completed in 2005.

umedvidku.cz
Na Perštýně 345/7

4. Pivovarsky dum

This place is only a baby of a microbrewery compared to some of the others on this list, but it has 8 different kinds of beers on tap including a classic light, dark Czech lager and interesting brews like cherry, banana and nettle. They offer flights so you can sample them all. To top it off, this brewery offers a good menu that even has vegetarian options. The brewery gets busy so reservations are recommended if you go.

pivovarskydum.com
Ječná 14
Open every day from 11am to 11:30pm

SEE ALSO: 37 Places You Need To Visit In Italy

Join the conversation about this story »