LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — In a business where patience is part of the process, Kentucky bourbon makers are making a big bet by stashing away their largest stockpiles in more than a generation.

To put it in bartenders' lingo: Distillers are putting up the tab for millions of rounds of bourbon years before they are even ordered. The production poses an inherent risk, but hitting the moment right — a big supply meshing with big demand — could mean a serious payday for companies big and small.

Missing the target would leave bourbon makers awash with supply and leave future production in question, particularly for craft distilleries that have seen a surge in popularity.

"People keep asking us, 'When will the bubble burst?'" said Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers' Association.

For most in the business, the answer is not anytime soon.

Large companies are banking on continued international demand from places such as China and a culture in the U.S. that currently has a taste for bourbon, which has to be aged at least two years in new charred oak barrels.

"We are busier than I ever could have imagined," said Chris Morris, master distiller at Brown-Forman Corp., producer of Woodford Reserve and Old Forester bourbons.

Last year, Kentucky distilleries filled 1.2 million barrels of bourbon — the most since 1970, according to the Kentucky Distillers' Association. Inventory has topped 5 million barrels for the first time since 1977, the group said.

Production has surged by more than 150 percent in the past 15 years in Kentucky — home to 95 percent of the world's bourbon production.

"For many, many years, bourbon was considered a Southern gentleman's drink," said Jimmy Russell, the longtime master distiller at Wild Turkey. "Now bourbon's become a worldwide drink."

The last time the industry spiked production in the 1970s, distillers ended up with a glut when demand went in a tailspin.

Back then, the industry had grown stale and many consumers switched allegiance to vodka, Scotch and other spirits.

"You had the same old brands, you were pretty much on autopilot," Morris said.

Now, distillers are constantly dabbling with premium small-batch offerings or putting new twists on recipes and flavors and companies are looking to real-time data from the digital world.

Sales trends and developments are tracked in markets worldwide. The numbers are crunched to make the best educated estimate of future consumer demand for a product that takes years to mature.Straight bourbon whiskey ages a minimum of two years, though the average maturity is four years or older. Many popular super-premium brands age six years or longer, which are the toughest to stock in bars, restaurants and liquor stores.

"Bourbon as a category is on fire," said Bill Thomas, a Washington, D.C., bar owner whose establishments include Jack Rose Dining Saloon. "Every week, there's stuff that's out of stock."

Expansions have occurred at Jim Beam, Evan Williams, Wild Turkey, Maker's Mark, Buffalo Trace and Woodford Reserve. Global liquor giant Diageo PLC recently announced plans to build a new distillery in Kentucky. Microdistilleries are getting a foothold in the state.

Every drop of bourbon is precious for producers trying to keep up with demand.

"If they had more, they could sell it right now," said Fred Noe, Jim Beam's master distiller and descendant of Jacob Beam, who set up his first Kentucky still in 1795.

The disparity between supply and demand has put extra pressure on the distilleries.

In early 2013, Maker's Mark caused a backlash when it announced it was cutting the amount of alcohol in each bottle to stretch its whiskey supplies. The brand known for its red wax seal quickly scrapped the idea.

In the U.S., total revenues for bourbon and Tennessee whiskey reached $2.4 billion last year, a 10.2 percent increase, according to the Distilled Spirits Council. Volume was up nearly 7 percent to 18 million cases, it said.

The two spirits claimed 34 percent of the U.S. whiskey market in 2013, putting it ahead of the Canadian, Scotch, blended and Irish whiskey categories.

The industry lumps bourbon and Tennessee whiskey into one category. Both are produced in the same way with similar ingredients, but Tennessee whiskeys are charcoal mellowed before going into the barrel to age, while bourbon isn't.

Exports of bourbon and Tennessee whiskey surpassed $1 billion for the first time ever in 2013, the council said.

"It's never been like this in my lifetime," said Bill Samuels Jr., who retired after a long career as the top executive at Maker's Mark, the brand started by his parents. "It doesn't feel like a fad. It feels like a legitimate trend."

SEE ALSO: The Bourbon Bubble Is Starting To Look Like Craft Beer In The 1990s

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Depending on how you define London’s boundaries, there are believed to be as many as 7,000 pubs in the sprawling metropolis. That’s a whole lot of places to get a proper pint, so we’ve selected 15 of our favorite spots. With so many pubs to choose from, we couldn’t include every gem on our list, so we’ve focused on standouts with a timeless atmosphere rather than trendy gastropubs and craft-beer bars.

From Hampstead to Wimbledon, here are the 15 best pubs in London.

1. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

6. The Mayflower

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A 200-year-old stoneware seltzer bottle that was recently recovered from a shipwreck at the bottom of the Baltic Sea contains alcohol, according to the results of a preliminary analysis.

Researchers discovered the well-preserved and sealed bottle in June, while exploring the so-called F53.31 shipwreck in Gdańsk Bay, close to the Polish coast. Preliminary laboratory tests have now shown the bottle contains a 14-percent alcohol distillate, which may be vodka or a type of gin called jenever, most likely diluted with water.

The chemical composition of the alcohol corresponds to that of the original brand of "Selters" water that is engraved on the bottle, according to the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk, Poland.

The bottle is embossed with the word "Selters," the name of a supplier of high-quality carbonated water from the Taunus Mountains area in Germany. Water from Selters was discovered about 1,000 years ago, which makes it one of the oldest types of mineral water in Europe, and one whose alleged health benefits are legendary. [See Images of the Seltzer Bottle and Baltic Shipwreck]

"The bottle dates back to the period of 1806-1830 and has been recovered during the works on the F-53-31 shipwreck, or the so-called Głazik," which in Polish means a small rock, Tomasz Bednarz, an underwater archaeologist the National Maritime Museum who leads the research on the shipwreck, said in a statement last month.

The bottle, which has a capacity of about 1 liter (34 ounces), was manufactured in Ranschbach, Germany, a town located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away from the springs of Selters water. Here's what it looks like close up:

In addition to the bottle, researchers exploring the shipwreck also recovered fragments of ceramics, a small bowl, a few pieces of dinnerware, stones and rocks, Bednarz said.

At the beginning of July, researchers submitted the bottle and its contents for testing to the J.S. Hamilton chemical laboratory in Gdynia, Poland, to see if the vessel contained original "Selters" water, or whether it had been refilled with a different liquid. The final results of the laboratory analysis are expected to be completed at the beginning of September, though their preliminary results suggest the bottle had been refilled with some kind of alcohol.

How does it taste? Apparently, the alcohol is drinkable, the archaeologists involved told the news site of Poland's Ministry of Science and Science Education. "This means it would not cause poisoning. Apparently, however, it does not smell particularly good," Bednarz said, according to the Ministry.

The springs of Selters water eventually went dry at the beginning of the 19th century, and therefore the water became much harder to obtain, according to the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk.

In 1896, a group of Selters residents decided to look for new sources of the legendary water, and, after they made multiple boreholes, a fountain of water exploded from one of the wells in an area near a local castle.

These days, Selters is sold as a luxury product. Although glass bottles have replaced the stoneware bottles, the water quality is believed to be the same as it was when the water was originally discovered.

Follow Agata Blaszczak-Boxe on Twitter. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook& Google+. Originally published on Live Science.

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America’s bar culture is having a crisis of identity. The rise of the celebrity mixologist and the slow decline of the common bartender have made $10 cocktails the norm, while urban hipsters are on constant lookout for the next trendy dive bar (the irony of the term "trendy dive bar" being lost on most of them). It’s getting harder and harder to find truly unique bars, but we sifted through absurdly over-the-top Bloody Mary’s and bacon-infused bourbon to find you America's one-of-a-kind bars. 

1. The Bier Baron Tavern, Washington D.C.

Officially known as Brickskeller for over fifty years, the Bier Baron was sold to the current owner Megan Merrifield in 2010 and reopened with a new name. Luckily, almost nothing else about this Dupont establishment has changed. The Bier Baron still serves over 500 domestic and international beers, a beer list that earned it the Guinness Book of World Records’ title of largest beer selection in the world back when it was still called Brickskeller. The interior is dingy and the service makes it clear they don’t particularly care about Yelp reviews, but you could visit the Bier Baron every day for a year and still only get through half their list of amazing, one-of-a-kind beers.

What to order: With 50-plus taps, there’s sure to be at least three beers on tap you don’t recognize, or, if you prefer, you can just point anywhere on a map and find a beer from the corresponding country on their menu, which is organized by region.

2. PDT, New York

Short for "Please Don't Tell," PDT is the closest to an actual speakeasy you're likely to find in Manhattan (minus, of course, the actual threat of imprisonment). Located inside of Crif Dogs on St. Mark's, to get in you'll need a reservation, which you will give to the hostess by climbing into the phone booth entrance and dialing "1." 

If PDT takes the Speakeasy gimmick further than most East Village establishments, it makes up for it in its cocktail selection. The drinks here are expensive, but they're inventive, delicious, and strong. Also, the bar food is a step above most, sourcing most of its food from Crif Dogs next door. The Chang Dog, a deep-dried crif dog slathered in momofuku kimchi, hits every bar food mark and then some (plus, if you're a New Yorker, it will check off your regular David Chang quota).

What to order: 
If you're feeling healthy, try the Green Thumb, a refreshing concoction reminiscent of the green juice that your gym is always trying to sell you on, but with more rum (specifically rum, St. Germaine Liquor, celery juice, and green tea, and a cucumber slice garnish). If you're feeling the opposite of healthy, try a Benton's Old Fashioned, which is an Old Fashioned with bacon-infused bourbon, before the bacon trend completely plays itself out.

SEE ALSO: The Best Beer Towns in America

3. Tiki-Ti, Los Angeles

It's a tiki bar, so whatever you're expecting when you hear the term "tiki bar," you will likely find in this tiny hole in the wall located in Silverlake (LA's answer to Brooklyn). This multi-generational family-run establishment has been in operation for almost fifty years, and the bartenders, father Michael and sons Mike and Mark, are no shiny-faced actors-turned-bartenders either; Michael, in particular, looks more like a grizzled Gloucester barman. This combination makes Tiki-Ti a refreshing break from the trendy scene bars in LA. The interior is impossibly small, but luckily the drinks are big enough to make up for it. Just don't ask what's in them, because unless he's in a good mood, your bartender probably won't tell you. The menu is divided by type of alcohol, so you'll have to pick a booze and take your chances.

What to Order: Navy Grog. Go big or go home. 

4. The Lovecraft Bar, Portland

Portland’s Lovecraft Bar is a dance joint for the inner goth kid in all of us. Named for horror author H.P. Lovecraft, Lovecraft Bar is basically a year-round Halloween party, complete with live music, burlesque shows, tarot readings, and ritual performance art (don’t ask). They also have some of the best dance nights in Portland, encompassing the best of '80s and '90s industrial, goth, punk, alternative, post punk, dark electro and EBM.

What to order:
Toast Cthulu with a Cthulu. Or, hell, just straight absinthe.

SEE ALSO: The 24 Best Beers in the U.S.

5. Noc Noc, San Francisco

No Bud, No Coors, No PBR. That is the motto of Noc Noc, a bar in the Lower Haight (otherwise known as the just slightly less touristy section of the Haight). In the age of the hipster, the lack of PBR is unique enough. But Noc Noc also has the benefit of being incredibly strange. Located in a poorly-lit basement, the interior looks a lot like Fraggle Rock.

Noc Noc doesn’t have a liquor license, and thus only sells beer, wine, and sake, but you’ll be thankful for the lack of hard liquor once you’ve spent more than five minutes in here — the ambiance is trippy enough on its own.

What to order:
A Lagunitas paired with a couple of sake bombs.

6. Williams & Graham, Denver

A cocktail-themed bookstore serves as the front for the faux-speakeasy Williams & Graham, complete with a secret bookcase to lead you into the Prohibition-era bar. But Williams & Graham is not just a gimmicky lounge for the bookish set. Its cocktails are award-winning, and their bartenders take their jobs seriously. Third generation barman Sam Kenyon changes his cocktails seasonally, and every single one is a winner.

What to order:
Their cocktail menu is ever-changing, but you can never go wrong with one of their gin drinks. For the summer, try the Hail to the Chief — gin, ancho liqueur, strawberries, lemon, and demerara sugar.

7. Safe House, Milwaukee

If Archer owned a bar, it would likely look something like the Safe House. Officially known as International Exports Ltd, you’ll need a password to get in, but you can get around it by performing an amusing and/or humiliating task for the doorman.

Is the Safe House gimmicky? Absolutely. All its drinks are named something spy-related, and the décor is right out of a cheap film noir set. But its dismissal of irony in favor of unabashed enthusiasm for everything spy-related is refreshing — as are the drinks, which are, by the way, cheaper than your average bar. First drink is $7, refills are $2.50, and you get to keep the glass.

What to order: A martini. But in order to avoid being a stereotype, surprise your bartender by ordering it stirred, not shaken. 

8. The Aviary, Chicago

The age of the craft cocktail has been upon us for some time, ever since the term "mixology" became a thing. There are a lot of bars that are doing it well, but what makes the Aviary stand out is that it’s simply doing it better. Mixologist Charles Joly was just named the 2014 international bartender of the year, taking the title with his cocktail "Above the Clouds," made with Guatemalan rum, gingerbread rooibos syrup, verjus rouge (unripe grape juice), Benedectine, and an "aromatic vapor" as garnish.

If that sounds a little pretentious, it’s because it is. But it’s also delicious. Joly’s cocktails are complicated, but their genius isn’t just in their complexity, it’s in their thoughtfulness. Another notable cocktail: Joly’s Root Beer, a cocktail featuring sassafras caramel, angostura, fennel and rum, will make you more nostalgic for the root beer of your childhood more than actual root beer.

What to order: We've yet to run into anything short of a spectacular cocktail on the menu.

9. Beatnik Bob’s, St. Louis

Beatnik Bob’s is located in City Museum, which is basically a ten-story jungle-gym made of found industrial materials from the city. Inside you'll find a seven-story slide, adult-sized hamster tunnels, old airplanes, secret passageways, and climbing trees. And in the middle of all this there is a little bar called Beatnick Bob’s. The selection is nothing special — local beer, normal prices — but the atmosphere is what makes it memorable. You can have a beer and a corndog while checking out their huge collection of Beat Era memorabilia scattered around the bar, or sitting in one of the broken-down bumper cars, or playing one of their 60s era arcade games. After that, you can take a picture in their vintage photobooth for posterity, go play in the adult-sized ball pit for awhile, and then ride a ten story slide back down to the bottom and start the whole thing over again. The best part? The museum is open until midnight on weekends, so if you play your cards right you can do all of this without seeing a single kid.

What to order:
A pint of Schlafly, which is cheap enough that you can still have money leftover to waste on one of the many vintage pinball machines.

SEE ALSO: The Best Hidden Beach Bars in the U.S.

10. Ginny’s Little Longhorn Saloon, Austin

There are a lot of choices of weird and interesting bars in Austin — their city motto is, after all, Keep Austin Weird — but Ginny’s Little Longhorn Saloon can’t be bothered with craft cocktails and locavore fare; instead, it serves up cheap beer. But Chickenshit bingo is what has made Ginny’s a legend in Austin, and it’s exactly what it sounds like: every Sunday night, Ginny herself releases a chicken onto a plywood-covered pool table, and your luck depends entirely on what number upon which it chooses to relieve itself. If it’s not your night, don’t worry — Ginny buys a round for everyone who plays.

What to Order: Lonestar, in a can.

11. Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits, New Orleans

Located at the edge of the Bywater, Bacchanal just barely qualifies as a bar. It’s more of a wine store with liberal drinking policies. What makes it stand out from the myriad interesting bars in New Orleans is its simplicity. The storefront is unassuming, the paint peeling as if to shoo away Bourbon Street tourists, but through the back door is the best bargoing experience you’re likely to find in the Big Easy.

You can take your wine (or cocktail, from their recently added cocktail bar) to the backyard while enjoying the breeze off the Mississippi and one of the rotating jazz bands Bacchanal features on Sundays. And you should order dinner while you’re at it; the food is served on paper plates with plastic utensils, and still manages to be better than even some of the best restaurant fare.

What to Order: Ask for their best rosé.

12. Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium, Atlanta

Everything that makes Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium — or “Church” for short — a unique bar-going experience can pretty much be explained in its name. Like Tiger Mountain Thirst Parlour, Church’s walls are populated with kitschy religious art, but owner/artist Grant Henry took it several steps further — there are complimentary choir robes, pews in which you can wait to genuflect at the Ping Pong Table, an organ for live karaoke, and a retrofitted confessional that serves as a photobooth. Luckily, the similarities to actual church stop there. Instead of tiny communion-sized glasses of grape juice, Sister Louisa’s serves up stiff drinks and $3 beers in adult-sized glasses.

What to Order: Straight up whisky or cheap beer. Nothing fancy here except the organ.

13. Tiger Mountain Thirst Parlour, Ashville

Everything is interesting in Asheville (it was after all dubbed the America’s New Freak Capital in 2000 by Rolling Stone, a title the city still wears proudly), but as far as bars go, you can’t really beat Tiger Mountain Thirst Parlour for sheer weirdness. Owner Sean Bickford said of the bar when he was designing it, "We just want it to be the type of place David Lynch would frequent." The bar is spottily lit by kitschy nativity sets and lamps purchased from Goodwill, which is also where most of the artwork was sourced, including, among other gems, an oil painting of Jesus on a highway with two tractor trailers, and a portrait of Paula Deen riding a giant stick of butter. Like every bar worth its salt, it also has a photo booth where you can document drunken memories you would otherwise almost certainly forget, especially since the drinks here are delicious and dirt cheap — a dangerous and increasingly rare combination.

What to Order: The bartender will probably talk you into trying a Pickleback, which for the uninitated is a shot of whisky chased with pickle juice. Follow that up with any of their craft cocktails (e.g. “The Peruvian Bear Fucker”).

14. Café Mox, Seattle

Remember when you were hanging out with your college friends, drinking Carlo Rossi wine out of a jug while playing Magic:The Gathering? Café Mox is just that, except instead of a college dorm, it’s located at an actual bar in Ballard, Seattle.

Café Mox knows exactly who its audience is — namely, geeks. All gamers are welcome, though perhaps wisely, the rooms are cordoned off depending on what game you’re playing (just because they’re both role-playing games doesn’t mean D&D and Magic: The Gathering should be played in the same room). The food is a slightly higher-end version of mom's cooking with the grilled cheese a popular favorite, the music is reliably 80’s and 90’s (think David Bowie and the Gorillaz), and the drinks are both cheap and plentiful.

What to order:
A pitcher of IPA for you and your fellow role-players.

SEE ALSO: 70 Great Beers You've Probably Never Heard Of

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What people find morally acceptable and unacceptable depends on where they live in the world.

The charts below from the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project show people's views on eight topics, often considered moral issues: extramarital affairs, gambling, homosexuality, abortion, premarital sex, alcohol consumption, divorce, and contraceptives.

Pew surveyed 40,117 respondents in 40 different countries in 2013 to obtain the data.

The first graphic below gives the median response across the world. People were the most disapproving of extramarital affairs, with 78% calling them morally "unacceptable," while 14% of respondents, the lowest in the survey, felt contraceptive use was "unacceptable." Topics like premarital sex and alcohol use were most the polarizing.

The rest of the charts, ordered from least-accepted topic to the most, show a breakdown of how various countries responded. The colors correspond to specific regions: green represents Asia/the Pacific; mauve, Europe; light blue, Latin America; peach, the Middle East, bright blue, North America; brown, Sub-Saharan Africa.

As Pew noted:

"Generally, African and predominantly Muslim countries tend to find most of these activities morally unacceptable, while in advanced economies, such as those in Western Europe, Japan, and North America, people tend to be more accepting or to not consider these moral issues at all."

Extramarital affairs

More than half of people in all but one country — France — consider having an affair immoral.

Gambling

In Africa and the Middle East, large majorities label gambling "unacceptable." In France, Canada, and the U.S., however, fewer than one quarter feel that way.

Homosexuality

More than 90% of respondents in seven countries (Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Jordan, Palestinian territories, Tunisia, and Uganda) say homosexuality is unacceptable. Europeans, however, are much less likely to say the same.

Abortion

Half or more of respondents in 26 of the 40 countries believe abortions are morally unacceptable. People in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and mostly Muslim countries in Asia and the Middle East lean more toward calling it immoral, whereas Western Europe, Australia, Canada, and Japan feel the opposite or indifferent.

Premarital Sex

Muslim countries largely believe that sex before marriage is unacceptable, while about 10% or fewer respondents in Germany, France, and Spain say the same.

Alcohol

Opinions on alcohol use vary across the 40 countries, but predominantly respondents in Muslim countries find it problematic. Fewer than 10% of respondents feel drinking is morally unacceptable in Britain, Canada, and Japan. 

Divorce

Even in conservative Middle Eastern countries, few consider divorce morally "unacceptable." The highest percentages of those who feel it is, however, come from African countries, such as Ghana (80%), Uganda (76%), and Nigeria (61%).

Contraception

Contraceptive use is the most widely accepted of all the topics included in the survey. In 17 countries, the percentage of people saying it's morally "unacceptable" is in the single digits, and only in Pakistan, Nigeria, and Ghana did more than half of respondents feel that way.

SEE ALSO: This Charts Explains Every Culture In The World

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Binge drinking is typically thought of as a college activity, but in some states, it's popular with older adults as well.

A map created by Ramiro Gomez and posted on Reddit shows the states where binge drinking among people age 26 and above is most common (the data comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Bloomberg):

As the map shows, more than 30% of adults in North Dakota and South Dakota admitted to binge drinking during the previous month. Those in surrounding states had high rates of binge drinking, as well.

Utah — which has a high population of Mormons compared to the rest of the U.S. — ranked low, as did North Caroline and Tennessee.

North Dakota is also one of the biggest consumers of beer in the U.S., and Utah usually ranks low when it comes to alcohol consumption.

Binge drinking is commonly defined as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion.

SEE ALSO: Here Are The Drunkest Countries In The World [MAP]

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Authorities in Kerala have announced a ban on alcohol to tackle a growing abuse problem in the southern Indian state, a popular tourist destination.

The state government warned that alcohol abuse was becoming a danger to society as it unveiled a plan to ban its sale and consumption within 10 years.

It said no new licenses to sell alcohol would be granted, while many of the state's 720 bars and restaurants would not have their licenses renewed.

From next year only five-star hotels will be granted licences.

"It is certain that (alcohol) still continues as a social danger. This is having an adverse effect," said Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy late Thursday.

"Kerala should get ready to imbibe the essence of (a) total liquor ban in the state."

Kerala has India's highest annual per-capita alcohol consumption at 8.3 liters.

It is also one of the country's biggest tourist draws thanks to its palm-fringed white sandy beaches and tranquil rivers lined with paddy fields.

Tourism officials said they had not been consulted and warned that exempting five-star hotels would not be enough to save the industry, with many tourists staying in small guesthouses.

"By this, we are denying the facility of having beer and wine to tourists in hotels with four-star and below category," a Confederation of Tourism Industry Kerala official told The Hindu daily.

"This will affect domestic and international tourist arrivals and send a wrong message about the destination."

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Some people get hangovers after a night of drinking, while others don't, and the reason may be in their genes, a new study of twins in Australia suggests.

Researchers looked for links between the study participants' genetic makeups and the number of hangovers the individuals reported experiencing in the past year. The results showed that genetic factors accounted for 45 percent of the difference in hangover frequency in women and 40 percent in men.

In other words, genetics accounts for nearly half of the reason why one person experiences a hangover and another person doesn't, after drinking the same amount of alcohol, the study said. The other half probably comes from outside influences unrelated to DNA, such as how quickly a person drinks, whether they eat while they drink and their tolerance for alcohol.

The researchers also found that the people who had the gene variants involved in an increased risk of having hangovers also drank to the point of being intoxicated more frequently than people who didn’t have the hangover genes. That is, the genes that dictate how frequently a person gets hungover may also underlie how frequently someone gets drunk in the first place. This suggests that the findings could contribute to future research on alcohol addiction.

"We have demonstrated that susceptibility to hangovers has a genetic underpinning. This may be another clue to the genetics of alcoholism," study leader Wendy Slutske, a psychology professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, told Live Science in an email. [7 Ways to Cheat a Hangover]

People who are less susceptible to having a hangover might have a greater risk for alcohol addiction, the researchers said.

In the study, about 4,000 middle-age people from the Australian Twin Registry participated in a telephone survey, reporting their experiences with hangovers and alcohol consumption. The participants recounted how many times they had gotten drunk in the past year, along with their "hangover frequency," which is the number of days in the previous year they felt sick the day after drinking. They also reported their "hangover resistance," which was whether or not they had ever experienced a hangover after getting drunk.

The researchers found a strong correlation between identical twins in reports of hangover frequency as well as hangover resistance, suggesting that the genetic similarities of some twins played a part in their hangover susceptibility.

Research into the biology of hangovers has gotten more attention in recent years, but there's still surprisingly little work on the topic, Slutske said.

"With drinking alcohol, it is not 'one size fits all,'" Slutske said. "People are different in their ability to consume alcohol without experiencing adverse consequences, such as having a hangover."

The new findings suggest that people who frequently consume alcohol should observe the way their bodies react to it, she said. "It is not a good idea to try to pace your drinking to the people around you, because you might be more susceptible to hangover than the other people that you are drinking with," Slutske said.

The study was limited, because people's memories of their drinking and hangovers may not be completely accurate, she noted.

One of the next steps will be to identify the specific genes that contribute to hangover susceptibility, Slutske said. If the genes associated with alcoholism also underlie hangovers, identifying these genetic risk factors could help prevent addiction in the future.

Follow Jillian Rose Lim @jillroselim. Follow us @livescience, Facebook& Google+. Original article on Live Science.

• How 8 Common Medications Interact with Alcohol
• 7 Ways Alcohol Affects Your Health
• 11 Interesting Facts About Hangovers

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When food writers discuss food, they should divide it into two categories: sober food and drunk food. Sober food is what you eat when you go to a fancy restaurant and want real artisanship put into your food. It’s what you want to spend lots of money on eating. Drunk food is what you shove down your throat after a night of heavy drinking in the misguided hope that it’ll absorb whatever alcohol hasn’t yet made it into your blood stream.

As far as I’m concerned, one category isn’t better than the other. I love a well-prepared meal, but there’s something truly awesome about having a line cook slop grease onto a plate in front of me and then expect me to eat it, ashamed, in the alley next to the restaurant before catching a cab home.

Each of America’s regions has its specialties — pizza in Chicago and New York, Mexican in the Southwest, barbecue everywhere — but America is America, and we know how to seize on a good idea and then take credit for it ourselves. For drunk food, of course, distinctions like “who did it first” and “where it’s the best” don’t matter — all that matters is “is it in front of me?” and “can I keep it down?” Here are some of America’s best regional (and national) drunk foods, as well as a place or two to find them.

1. Chili dog

What could be simpler? A hot dog with chili con carne and cheese. Probably most famous on the East Coast (we’ll get to Cincinnati’s variation later), the chili dog (or “Coney”) is a classic drunk food. The best that I’ve had is at Ben’s Chili Bowl in DC.

2. New York pizza

The eternal feud between the New York and Chicago schools of pizza is silly because the two are so fundamentally different. And they’re both delicious. It’s like an argument over who’s better, the Beatles or Stones? Answer: Who gives a shit? The world’s wonderful with both. Time Out gives the best slice of pie to Lucali, but the City’s got so much great pizza that who really cares about rankings?

3. The humble hamburger

Hamburgers are an American institution, but each region has its own best burger. The best fast food, non-gourmet, perfect-for-being-drunk burger I’ve had is from In-N-Out, which is the strongest argument I’ve got for moving to the West Coast. Honorable mentions to Shake Shack and Five Guys.

4. Tacos

My friends from out West complain that there’s no good Mexican here in DC, and while I disagree (what up, District Taco!) I know the true home of Mexican food in the United States is the American Southwest. The Daily Meal gives the “best in the country” distinction to La Taqueria in San Francisco, but honestly, as long as I’m trashed and can eat 17 of them, I’m good with whatever.

5. Garbage plate

There is only one, and that is at Nick Tahou Hots in Rochester, New York. A garbage plate is exactly what it sounds like: a pile of greasy food. That includes cheeseburger, Italian sausage, red hots, chicken tenders, eggs, and a number of other things (depending on the variation you order). It’s like a fat sandwich (keep reading), but without the pretense of putting a bun on it. Time to go get drunk in Rochester.

6. Gyros

Pronounced “yeer-ohs,” not “jy-ro,” the gyro is a traditional Greek dish of roasted lamb, some veggies, and tzatziki sauce wrapped in a pita. I feel like I stumble across gyros while wandering drunk through unfamiliar neighborhoods, and it’s always like bumping into an old friend. Try Bill’s Gyro Souvlaki in Atlantic City.

7. The McGangbang

You’re probably going to get blank stares if you walk into McDonald’s and order the McGangbang. Here’s what you do instead: Get a double cheeseburger and a McChicken, then put the McChicken between the cheeseburger patties, and you’ll have made drunk food perfection. The one pictured above is actually made from Wendy’s burgers, but hey, you’re drunk, you can’t tell the difference. Available literally everywhere.

8. Nachos

You’d think nachos would be harder to fuck up — chips with meat, cheese, maybe some veggies? But it’s weirdly hard to find really delicious nachos, especially if you aren’t living in the Southwest. You’ve got to layer the ingredients, guys! I don’t want to get to the bottom of the pile and just have corn chips!

9. The Kentucky hot brown

The Kentucky hot brown is a staple drunk food in the Bluegrass State. It’s an open-faced turkey bacon sandwich covered in Mornay sauce or, in a pinch, just molten cheese. I really don’t need to sell it any more than that. Try it at its home: the Brown Hotel in Louisville.

10. Philly cheesesteak

My favorite thing about Philadelphia is the cheesesteaks. Jon Stewart, who’s been making a career of picking food fights with other cities, recently tried to do a takedown on cheesesteaks but admitted at the end of the bit that he actually loved them, even though you have to order them “with Whiz.” My favorite is pictured: Pat’s King of Steaks, home of the cheesesteak. I know people who would murder me for picking Pat’s over Geno’s, though.

11. Poutine

Let’s give credit where it’s due. This is a fundamentally Canadian (or, for the separatists, a fundamentally Quebecois) dish. But fries covered in gravy and cheese curds is an idea so beautiful that it belongs to everybody, especially the drunks. Americans are mercifully starting to steal this wonderful recipe and selling it to drunks on our streets, but for the best, Thrillist suggests Le Banquise in Montreal. Add steak to take it to a whole other level.

12. Chicago deep dish

I had to put pizza on here twice for its two most famous incarnations. Chicago deep dish is, as Jon Stewart put it, almost “a fucking casserole.” But God bless this casserole. It’s much more deserving of the title “pie” than its New York counterpart in terms of structure, and the good thing is you can fill it with ingredients, making it perfect for drinking. Thrillist gives the honor to Lou Malnati’s, but it’s an intense debate.

13. Burritos

The true essence behind the best drunk food is “pile as much shit as possible together and wrap it in something.” That’s also the definition of a burrito, which directly translates to “little donkey.” Nate Silver, predictor of elections and seer of everything, is currently running a Best Burrito in America knock-em-out tournament, and you should check out what he has to say about it. In the meantime, skip Chipotle and get your burritos from food trucks — they’re almost invariably better.

14. Cuban sandwich

The Cuban sandwich actually did not originate in Cuba — it’s from Florida. And considering it’s basically just a ham and cheese sandwich — which can be bland and boring — it’s incredible that there are no bad Cuban sandwiches, anywhere. So get hammered and try Gaspard’s Grotto in Tampa.

15. Kebab

Technically not an American food, yeah, but hey, neither is pizza. We absorb everything in this country. Kebabs — or, if you’re being honest about what you really want, meat-on-a-stick — are a wonderful Middle Eastern import that’s perfect for drinking. It’s usually just spiced, cooked meat, and really, what else could you want? If you’re ever in Oxford, Mississippi, check out the Chevron Food Mart for chicken-on-a-stick.

16. Bacon cheddar fries

I mean, the beauty is in the title. Bacon. Cheddar. And fries. If you’re bearded like me, you can relish the joy of having those smells on your face for a few days afterward. You can find these almost anywhere in the US, but Endless Simmer suggests the Lucky 7 Tavern in Jersey City.

17. Banh mi

While there’s a lot of horrible stuff that came out of colonialism, one of its truly wonderful products was the fusion of Southeast Asian and French cooking into modern-day Vietnamese cuisine. Americans have happily adopted two of the most popular Vietnamese meals: pho and banh mi. Pho is a soup, so it’s not well-suited to drunkenness. Banh mi, however, is a sandwich, and is perfect for absorbing the chemicals you’ve put into your stomach. There’s a large Vietnamese population in Seattle, and The New York Times suggests Saigon Deli, but they close early, so you may want to grab them after day drinking. 

18. Cincinnati chili

My hometown’s signature dish lends itself to much maligning from people who root for different sports teams, but three-ways, chili dip, or cheese coneys with Cincinnati chili on them are my #1 choice for drunk food. The best place to get it — and this is very hotly debated in Cincy — is Skyline Chili.

19. Roast beef sandwich

Roast beef sandwiches need to be sloppy and possibly covered in cheddar. My only option growing up was Arby’s, and seriously — fuck that shit. I’m sorry, Arby’s, I need more beef than that. Residents of the great state of Massachusetts swear by Kelly’s Roast Beef as a proper drunk food.

20. Sliders

There’s no more shameful way to wake up from a night of drinking than under a pile of tiny cardboard slider sleeves. Or possibly no better. Sliders are technically hamburgers, which of course are on this list already, but they can hardly fit as much sloppiness as a regular sized burger, so really, the goal is to find one that slides easily down your gullet. My top pick? White Castle. But you should never go there unless you’re drunk or high.

21. Chicago-style hot dogs

The beautiful thing about eating while drunk is that as long as there are a ton of flavors and a lot of grease, you really don’t give a shit about how well or clean it’s put together. This is sloppy food for slopfests. And Chicago dogs are perfect for that — you’ll wake up hungover and covered in hot dog remnants. Serious Eats gives the top Chicago dog to Gene and Jude’s.

22. The fat sandwich

I first met the fat sandwich while drunk at my alma mater, Penn State. They are basically subs with every nasty, greasy thing you can imagine on them: fries, chicken fingers, cheesesteak, mozzarella sticks, mayo…they don’t originate from PSU (I believe they’re from Rutgers in New Jersey originally), but these caloric atomic bombs might be the most American drunk food on here. My top place to eat them is at Are U Hungry? in State College, or RU Hungry? at Rutgers.

23. Shawarma

You know, considering that so many Arab countries are devoutly Muslim and thus aren’t fans of drinking, it’s kind of strange that they’ve given us so many perfect drunk foods. I’m a fan of both shawarma and falafel, and the best I’ve had ever has been in the great city of London. The food thankfully got a huge boost from The Avengers movie, so if it’s not near you by now, it will be soon. I know I’ve favored DC in this article with my choices, but Amsterdam Falafel in Adams Morgan, DC is too damn good to not recommend it to everyone.

SEE ALSO: 10 Foods Everyone Should Eat In Prague

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This weekend, the asphalt oceans outside America’s college football stadiums swelled once again with eager drunks chugging one last Solo cup before stumbling through the turnstiles. With NCAA football’s return, students can resume the time-honored tradition of tailgating so hard they puke on their shoes. And, thanks to Kraft Foods, that puke will have more Jell-O in it than ever this year.

After launching four university-themed Jell-O molds last year to great success, Kraft announced it would be adding 16 more universities to its data-tested “optimal portfolio” of officially branded shot kits this month. An otherwise innocuous snacking accessory, Jell-O molds lose their innocence the second the target customer goes from toddler to tailgater. There are few harder partying crowds than collegiate pre-gamers. For them, these university-sanctioned molds serve a single, fruit-flavored purpose—as a conduit for alcohol. Even Kraft acknowledges it.

“While we understand [Jell-O shots] may be popular among adults, the Jell-O brand does not advocate such behavior,” company spokesman Lynne Galia said in an e-mail. Of course, Kraft’s wink-wink stance on spiking Jell-O with vodka will have zero effect on fans, who’ve already added plenty of school spirit to their spirits this season. Students admit it, the media confirms it, Amazon reviewers gush about it and at least one preacher in Alabama fears it. No one has ever measured how much of Jell-O’s sales result in mini vodka bombs, but at least one study shows that Jell-O shots are “prevalent among youth, representing a substantial proportion of their alcohol intake.”

The only participants unwilling to admit that college-branded Jell-O molds lead to college-branded binge drinking are the universities making money off of them. That’s no surprise. In an era when colleges are under significant pressure to clamp down on dangerous drinking on campus, even a tacit admission would expose these lucrative marketing deals for the cynical, duplicitous transactions they are. Colleges can’t admit to endorsing Jell-O shots because they’re in blatant violation of their own strict alcohol policies and public efforts to keep students safe.

So why slap their logos on a product that students only ever use to get f---ed up? Vocativ asked representatives at all 20 universities. Four replied with emails that didn’t answer the question, and just one person, Alan Thomas from the University of Georgia, was willing to talk.

In deciding whether to license the molds, Thomas said, the possibility that they would be used to make Jell-O shots came up, but it didn’t prevent approval. “It was discussed, but it goes back to how this product is marketed” he said. “Our look at it was plain and simple. Jell-O is a reputable product that has been on retail shelves for years. What we don’t control is the individual end user and what they use the product for. What the product was designed for is gelatin.”

As much as Thomas would like to believe that beer-swilling, brat-pounding revelers are innocently downing virgin Jell-O jigglers for their great taste, the scenario triggers bullshit alarms for just about everyone else who’s seen the booze-soaked tailgating scene at any major university.

“It would be nice if the Jell-O molds were simply used so everybody ate ample fruit at their tailgate,” said Dr. George Koob, the director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), “but these are going to be used for ingesting alcohol.”

Koob firmly believes it’s “not a good idea” for universities to officially recognize a product that makes binge drinking easier. College is an environment where drinking leads to nearly 2,000 deaths, 700,000 assaults and 100,000 cases of sexual assault per year. Given the dire state of substance abuse on campus, using university logos to shill a product that at least 20 percent of all college students regularly use to facilitate inebriation makes Koob “queasy.”

The problem with Jell-O shots specifically, Koob said, is that “they mask the flavor of alcohol so people don’t notice that they’re drinking.” When people load up on booze hidden inside Jell-O they don’t feel the cues that they’re reaching their limit. “The consequence of that can be overdose,” Koob said.

That’s not a controversial opinion. Few would argue that Jell-O shots aren’t dangerous, and some universities, including Albany and Notre Dame, ban them entirely on campus. Ohio State University, which has licensed its iconic “O” logo to Kraft, doesn’t mention Jell-O in its alcohol policy, but the school’s Greek council specifically prohibits them at fraternity and sorority functions.

For all the harm that comes from binge drinking, it’s pretty easy to tell why colleges prefer to play dumb. The retail marketplace for officially-licensed collegiate products in 2013 was $4.59 billion. Even the colleges partnering with Kraft acknowledge that Jell-O shots are dangerous—they just don’t acknowledge that’s what these particular Jell-O shot trays are being used for. As UGA’s Thomas told me, “It’s not something that we would approve of.” These molds, he insisted, are for regular old Jell-O.

The University of North Carolina’s spokesperson spun a similar tale over email, suggesting the molds are as harmless as Pop Tarts. “The product proposal went through our regular trademark licensing program review process. The conclusion was that the Jell-O mold was a family- and fan-friendly product that shows school pride,” wrote UNC’s Karen Moon. “It was consistent with other recently approved products, including a school-branded line of Pop Tarts.”

Jell-O molds aren’t the only university-licensed products that contribute to binge drinking. The University of Alabama has a rather restrictive alcohol policy that bans drinking games and possession of shot glasses by students under 21, yet the school’s gift shop will sell a shot glass to anyone of any age. Alabama has also licensed table tennis balls and a “tailgate table” that just so happens to be the exact dimensions of an official beer pong table.

Georgia licenses the balls, too, while telling students to “avoid drinking games,” along with dozens of other schools. Merchants selling the balls on Amazon and eBay market them for what they really are—beer pong balls. But plausible deniability exists, which is why the University of Florida can ban drinking games but license table tennis balls and a tailgate table, which is sold here, here and here as a “beer pong table.” A University of Florida spokesperson did not reply when asked to explain how licensing these products aligns with the school’s stated goal of reducing high risk drinking.

Asked the same question, Georgia’s Alan Thomas responded, “Ping pong balls are ping pong balls.”

SEE ALSO: 15 Ways To Amp Up Your Freshman Dorm Room

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Do you inspect the appearance of a wine before swirling it around the glass (holding the stem, naturally)? Inhale deeply while describing the flamboyant nature of your Shiraz? Do you do that slurpy thing that some love but others loathe?

Or maybe you just crack open the screwcap and dig straight in.

If you’re in the latter group, then the ceremony that goes with wine may seem like pure wankery. But is the science on your side?

Temperature

Basic wine etiquette states that you serve white wines chilled and red wines at room temperature. Does it really matter? Actually, yes.

Our senses of taste and smell involve chemical reactions. As with all chemical reactions, colder means slower, which means less aroma for both whites and reds, although we’re not exactly sure of the exact physiology behind temperature’s effect on taste.

So don’t serve your whites too cold – aim for about 11°C. Keep in mind that your fridge is generally a bit too cold for whites, as are ice buckets. Excessive heat can permanently damage a wine, but your fridge won’t.

If the wine is too cold, hold the bowl of the glass in your hands to warm it up, or just wait a while – if you can. You can also use this to your advantage. If you’re stuck drinking a wine that should really go back into the horse from whence it came, chill it right down and drink it quickly before it warms up.

Decanting and aerating

Decantation is the process of removing the sediment that has built up in a wine over time. This used to be necessary for all wines, including whites.

These days, it’s only necessary for reds that have “thrown a crust”, because no one wants a mouthful of sediment. You can find plenty of tips online, including one which involves a candle– ideal for those romantic moments. 

A secondary reason for decanting is aeration. Opinions vary as to whether aeration is a good thing.

Wines certainly change when they are exposed to air. Remember that bottle of wine that you tried a week after opening it? It wasn’t very pleasant, was it? This is because the wine oxidised, similar to how an apple turns brown. In the presence of oxygen, naturally-occurring bacteria convert sugar and alcohol into acetic acid, making the wine taste vinegary.

The question here is whether wine improves with some exposure to air before becoming undrinkable. This depends on at least three variables:

1. the wine in question (such as region or grape type)
2. how long you decant it
3. how you like your wine, so there is no one-size-fits-all answer.

An informal test conducted at the Australian Wine Research Institute indicates that the sensory properties of wine that goes into a decanter may not change very much compared to wine that stays in the bottle. They do, however, note the exception that aeration allows hydrogen sulphide (a wine fault) to disperse, which generally only matters for poorly made wines.

In the 1983 book The Taste of Wine, French wine expert Émile Peynaud discusses aeration. He reports results from experiments that suggest that the age of a wine is an important factor – decanting older wines for hours may actually reduce their bouquet.

So should you decant? Yes, to avoid sediment. Should you aerate? Depends on your preference and on the wine. There are some pretty funkylookingdecanters out there, so feel free to go nuts, if just for show.

Swirling

There has been some pretty interesting research on swirling, including a fluid dynamics study. The authors found that various factors (including diameter of the glass) can have an effect on the type of waves that you get while swirling – a cool party trick, no doubt. See the video below.

A gentle circular movement of the glass generates a wave propagating along the glass walls, enhancing oxygenation and mixing.

The purpose of the process appears to be to allow more of the wine to come into contact with oxygen, to agitate the wine to unlock odours or to increase the surface area of the wine, which in turn increases the amount of odour released. But does it make a difference to the odour or flavour of the wine?

Why not conduct an experiment yourself? Ask a friend to help you out. Put on a blindfold and get the friend to pour three samples from the same bottle into identical glasses. Get them to swirl one. Smell all three (no peeking!) and see if you can pick which one smells different.

For scientific rigour, do this a few times (let’s say 10 trials with fresh glasses) and see how many you get right. You’ll get a score out of 10, with chance being 3.33, although you’ll need to get a few people to do it in order to draw any conclusions. It shouldn’t be hard to get friends involved – someone will need to drink all that wine.

Serving temperature is important, but swirling and aerating are more debatable. It is entirely possible that people believe that they work simply because they expect them to, and there is a lot of work in the wine literature about the impacts of expectations on wine perception.

There are other things to consider, too, such as glassware. But if you want to go through the ceremony, and if it works for you, then who am I to stop you?

Alex Russell does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.

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

SEE ALSO: A Sommelier Chooses His 10 Favorite Wines For $16 Or Less

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A few months ago, I had a conversation with a dedicated cocktail maven who was bemoaning the fact that the Pineapple Julep, a widely popular drink in the 1800s, was not being offered at any of the new cocktail bars. It should be resurrected, he argued.

Somebody must have been listening in on our exchange, because a few weeks later I started to notice the Pineapple Julep popping up on menus from New York to Chicago to San Francisco. It had been thoroughly rescued.

That got me to thinking: In a revivified cocktail landscape—where orders for the once-unknown Boulevardier are nearly as common as those for Negronis; where one-time provincial New Orleans drinks like the Vieux Carre and De La Louisiane are drunk from Portland, OR, to Portland, ME; where the Remember the Maine, a Charles H. Baker Jr. creation that until recently was familiar only to Baker’s daughter, is greeted by a yawn by the bartender—what other forgotten cocktails are there left to revive? Drinks that are worth reviving, I mean. Drinks that actually taste good and don’t deserve their plot in the cocktail graveyard.

Quite a few, it turns out. We asked a selection of skilled bartenders from across the United States what bygone refreshments they’d like to see get the Last Word treatment—that is, taken from utter obscurity to wide enjoyment, as that gin-maraschino liqueur-Chartreuse-lime juice mixture was a few years back. Here are the cocktails they think deserve a revival, with recipes so that you can make them at home until your local speakeasy catches up.

CORPSE REVIVER #1 (JACKSON CANNON)

The Corpse Reviver #2 is one of the prime second-act successes of the cocktail renaissance. There isn’t a respectable cocktail joint in the 50 states that doesn’t now know how to make this delicious gin-based drink drawn from the Savoy Cocktail Book. But what of the still-neglected Corpse Reviver #1, which gets next to no mixologist love? Jackson Cannon of Boston’s Eastern Standard and The Hawthorne thinks it is undeservedly overshadowed by its younger brother.

“I love this drink,” said Cannon, “but I don’t adhere to the Savoy version, which is basically two parts cognac, one part Calvados, and one part sweet vermouth. I think of this as a two-parts-to-one-part Manhattan variation with the two parts split between Cognac and Calvados. I also like to use the smallest amount—just a couple of drop—of bitters to pull the flavors together. The result is a very delicate balance between stone fruit, wood, wine and bitter herbs.”

Recipe: Corpse Reviver #1
1 ounce Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac
1 ounce Daron Calvados
1 ounce Carpano Antica sweet vermouth

2 to 3 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir over ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a brandied cherry.

DANDY COCKTAIL (ERIK ELLESTAD)

One thing this archeological exercise proved is that bartenders remain faithful to the Savoy Cocktail Book, which was published in 1930 by London barman Harry Craddock. Four of the seven cocktails nominated for wider fame came from the influential volume—including the Dandy Cocktail. This is the recommendation of Erik Ellestad, who has spent a good chunk of career studying the manual. (He’s the author of the Savoy Stomp blog, in which he picks his way through the book, one drink at a time.)

“One Savoy cocktail I haven’t seen around a lot is the Dandy Cocktail,” he said. “It’s a 50-50 Manhattan made with the red wine-based aperitif Dubonnet Rouge instead of the usual Italian Vermouth. As with any 50-50 type drink, using a higher proof spirit helps increase the presence of the whiskey, so I suggest that. Also, it doesn’t hurt to experiment with other red wine-based aperitif: Byrrh, Lillet Rouge, Vergano Americano, Barolo Chinato, etc.,” in place of the Dubonnet.

Recipe: Dandy Cocktail
1½ ounces rye whiskey
1½ ounces Dubonnet Rouge
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 teaspoon Cointreau
1 piece orange peel
1 piece lemon peel

Measure ingredients into mixing glass, express peels, and drop in. Fill with ice. Stir until well chilled and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Serve without a garnish.

WARDAY’S COCKTAIL (ERYN REECE)

Eryn Reece, head bartender of New York’s Death & Co., also discovered lost gold in the pages of the Savoy. The cocktail she’d like to see ordered by more patrons is an herbaceous, yet elegant blend of gin, Calvados, sweet vermouth, and Chartreuse.

“One that I think is awesome and doesn’t get any love is the Warday’s cocktail,” she said. “It’s delicious and offers a nice transition from late summer to fall. I really love the blend of the botanicals from the gin and the elegant blend of citrus and apple from the Calvados.” Reece put her money where her mouth is; the drink currently enjoys a place on the Death & Co. menu. (She makes it with yellow Chartreuse, rather than the traditional green, and ups the quotient of gin and Calvados.)

Recipe: Warday’s Cocktail
1 ounce Beefeater gin
1 ounce Busnel Calvados
¾ ounce Carpano Antica sweet vermouth
¼ ounce Yellow Chartreuse

Stir over ice, strain into a cocktail coupe. Express a lemon peel over the drink, then discard.

SELF-STARTER COCKTAIL (JAMIE BOUDREAU)

Another Craddock relic, the Self-Starter Cocktail, has had a tough time getting a jump-start in modern drink circles. That, says Jamie Boudreau, owner of Seattle’s Canon, is a shame.

“This is an elegant drink that plays well in all seasons,” he explained. “It’s delicate and light enough—despite the lack of citrus—for the summer, yet complex enough to be enjoyed in the winter, where the lack of citrus helps. All ingredients are easily found, but I do have to say that the key ingredient is the apricot liqueur. Ensure you find an amazing one as it will make all the difference in the world. I’m partial to Giffard’s.”

Recipe: Self-Starter Cocktail
1½ ounces gin
¾ ounce Lillet blanc
¼ ounce Giffard apricot liqueur
Absinthe rinse

Stir all ingredients, except absinthe, in an ice-filled mixing glass. Rinse a chilled cocktail glass with absinthe. Strain contents of mixing glass into the absinthe-rinsed glass

HORSEFEATHER (RYAN MAYBEE)

Chances are, unless you live in Kansas or thereabouts, you’ve never heard of this simple high ball, which is made of rye whiskey, ginger beer, lemon juice, and bitters. According to Kansas City bartender Ryan Maybee (Manifesto), “The Horsefeather is a modern classic that appears to have been developed in the Kansas City and Lawrence, KS area about 20 years ago. Some recipes call for rye whiskey, others for blended whiskey. It’s a tall, refreshing riff on a Horse’s Neck, with bold, spicy flavors. One thing I love about this drink is how easy it is to turn a vodka drinker onto a whiskey cocktail. If you’ve had a Moscow Mule, this is a perfect next step.”

Recipe: Horsefeather
1½ ounces Rye or Blended Whiskey
3-4 dashes Angostura bitters
Ginger beer
Squeeze of lemon

Build in Collins glass over ice. Add a squeeze of lemon over the top.

ADONIS (ABIGAIL GULLO)

This simple mix of sherry and vermouth arguably doesn’t belong on this list. It is a demi-classic of a kind, and—amid the current sherry revival in bars—is winning increased traction among mixologists and drinkers. That said, I still rarely see it on cocktail lists. And recently an order of an Adonis from a knowledgable bartender won me a blank stare. So I’m giving it the nod for inclusion in this story.

The suggestion comes from Abigail Gullo of New Orleans’ Sobou bar and restaurant. “I am a big fan of the Adonis,” she said. “I know sherry cocktails have been having a moment for a while, but the clean simplicity of the half-and-half mix of sweet vermouth with fino sherry and orange bitters is so elegant and sexy. I mean how sexy is it to say, ‘I’ll have an Adonis’? I think it’s the sexiest thing any guy could order from me as well.”

Recipe: Adonis
1½ ounces fino sherry
1½ ounces sweet vermouth
Two dash of orange bitters

Stir ingredients in mixing glass; serve up in a chilled cocktail glass, garnished with a twist of lemon.

CAMERON’S KICK (ROBERT SIMONSON)

This wonderful cocktail was first printed in Harry McElhone’s “ABC of Mixing Cocktails” in 1922. McElhone was the barman and owner of Harry’s New York Bar, the famed Paris expatriate watering hole, during Prohibition and beyond. Many famous cocktails have been credited to the bar. Cameron’s Kick is not one of them. But it ought to be better known than it is (that is to say, known at all).

What we have here is basically a Whiskey Sour, set apart by a mix of blended Scotch and Irish whiskey and, more significantly, orgeat as the sweetener. Orgeat (almond syrup) is a magical elixir. It can transport a simple recipe into a more exotic realm. Typically associated with tiki drinks (it’s a key ingredient in the Mai Tai), it’s rarely employed otherwise. This is one of the more felicitous applications of it I’ve ever encountered, and a lot simpler to construct than any Polynesian concoction. (Other light-bodied blended Scotches and Irish whiskeys work within the template as well, so play around with the brands if you like. You can also reduce the amount of lemon juice to ½ ounce if you find the result too tart.)

Recipe: Cameron’s Kick
1 oz. Famous Grouse Blended Scotch Whisky
1 oz. Kilbeggen Irish Whiskey
¾ oz. lemon juice
½ oz. Tiki Adam’s Orgeat syrup

Place all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously, then strain into a chilled coupe. No garnish.

SEE ALSO: This Map Shows New York's Best Bars For Cocktail Snobs

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Rum is often associated with tropical vacations, fruity mixed drinks, and life at sea. But it's not for the faint of heart.

Thanks to the experts at FindTheBest, we found the 13 best bottles of rum that even pirates would drool over.

Rums were ranked by their Smart Rating scores, which FindTheBest based on the rums' scores in four different rum tasting competitions, as well as reviews from experts at Wine Enthusiast Magazine and the Beverage Tasting Institute.

Where ties in Smart Rating scores occurred, we used price as a tiebreaker, ranking lower-priced bottles of rum higher on the list.

13. Plantation XO 20th Anniversary Rum ($60)

Plantation uses a blend of its oldest reserves to make its distinctive 20th Anniversary Rum. Drinkers will note a creaminess that comes from years of aging.

12. Montecristo Rum ($40)

Montecristo Rum is gold and old — 12 years, to be exact. There's a hotness in the first sip that dissipates into the drink, but it's a characteristic that won this rum a prestigious Double Gold honor in the 2011 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

11. Tommy Bahama Golden Sun Rum ($28)

Tommy Bahama may be best known for its tropical apparel, but the Bahamas are known for rum. The Golden Sun Rum conveys the exotic spices and relaxed attitude of the beautiful, Caribbean islands.

10. Pusser's Rum ($22)

Aged 15 years, Pusser's Rum hails from the British Virgin Islands and sports subtle flavors of vanilla and honey. With a molasses-like smoothness, rum aficionados appreciate the fact that there's little to no burn from the alcohol.

9. Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21 ($20)

A Cuban formula rum from the Dominican Republic may seem like a juxtaposition, but Vizcaya does it well. Spicy and buttery, the VXOP Cask 21 warms on the way down.

8. Cruzan Single Barrel Extra-aged Rum ($16)

Cruzan's Single Barrel Extra-aged Rum is a full-bodied blend so complex that adding a mixer would be considered blasphemy. Its deep color and caramelized aroma evokes the taste and smell of bananas foster.

7. Diplomático Añejo Rum ($14)

It may be the cheapest rum on the list in price, but certainly not in flavor. Diplomático Añejo Rum is the youngest rum in the brand, aged four years, but its youth lends to its energetic notes of cocoa and coffee.

6. Gosling's Family Reserve Old Rum ($80)

Gosling's Family Reserve Old Rum is considered "the ultimate sipping rum," according to FindTheBest. Aged in dark barrels, this rum's sweetness enables it to be enjoyed like a digestif.

5. Dictador 20 Rum ($60)

Dictador 20 is a dark rum aged in charred barrels for, as the name implies, 20 years. This rum won Double Gold at the 2012 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

4. Pampero Aniversario Rum ($20)

This aged Venezuelan rum is revered for its sweet and smokey taste, and its absence of the harshness that other liquors often have. The $20 price tag is an incredibly reasonable one, given the quality.

3. Ron Abuelo Centuria ($130)

The Ron Abuelo Centuria is the most expensive bottle on this list, but well worth the price. Thirty years give this rum time to develop a rich and complex taste, with hints of the white oak from the barrels in which it's aged.

2. Ron Abuelo 12-Year-Old Rum ($25)

Also from Ron Abuelo, the 12-Year-Old Rum has a soft mouthfeel and tropical flavors of vanilla and dried fruit. It has a boozy smell, but not to worry — it doesn't carry over upon drinking it.

1. Leblon Cachaça ($30)

Cachaça is a type of white rum made with fresh sugar cane juice, rather than processed sugar cane, that originates in Brazil. Leblon makes one heck of a cachaça, winning Double Gold year over year at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The fresh fruitiness of Leblon's cachaça makes it the perfect liquor for your next caipirinha.

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Chipotle has been wildly successful over the past decade.

But alcohol sales at the chain remain sluggish, accounting for just 2% of sales, reports Bret Thorn at Nation's Restaurant News. 

In comparison, alcohol makes for 8% of sales at Olive Garden and Red Lobster, and 10% at Longhorn Steakhouse, Darden Restaurants said in a recent report. 

Chipotle's bottled beers and regular and Patron margaritas are seen as secondary to its burritos and tacos, according to Nation's Restaurant News. Fast-casual workers aren't trained to sell customers alcohol. As a result, adult beverages can be overlooked.

Because workers aren't tipped, they have no incentive to encourage customers to spend more money, Thorn writes. This is in contrast to casual restaurants, where alcohol can pad checks and lead to a bigger tip. 

The fact that many restaurant workers are so young meant that the restaurants are "not operationally set up" for better alcohol sales, Thorn writes.

Chipotle's expanding take-out business also makes alcohol a tough sell. 

Take-out orders now account for two-thirds of Chipotle transactions, up from 50% 14 years ago, according to Chipotle Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung. Because alcohol isn't ordered to-go, there's no incentive to buy. 

But alcohol sales could still be a big opportunity for Chipotle. 

Some fast casual restaurants, such as Slapfish in California, have boosted sales by hiring servers to sell the drinks on commission, Thorn writes. 

Melt Shop in New York, has pushed its private label and promotions with successful results. 

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Ancient pottery confirms people made and drank a milky alcoholic concoction at one of the largest cities in prehistory, Teotihuacan in Mexico, researchers say.

This liquor may have helped provide the people of this ancient metropolis with essential nutrients during frequent shortfalls in staple foods, scientists added.

The ancient city of Teotihuacan, whose name means "the city of the gods" in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, was the largest city in the Americas before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. At its zenith, Teotihuacan encompassed about 8 square miles (20 square kilometers) and supported an estimated population of 100,000 people, who raised giant monuments such as the Temple of Quetzalcoatl and the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon.

Much about Teotihuacan remains unknown, including the origin and language of the people who lived there. To shed light on the mystery of this ancient city, scientists investigated what the people there might have eaten and drank. [In Photos: Human Sacrifices Discovered in Ancient City of Teotihuacan]

Corn, also known as maize, was a key crop for the people of Teotihuacan, but the low rainfall and limited groundwater resources of the area made growing maize there risky. In addition, while maize is high in calories, it contains only low concentrations of several vital nutrients, such as iron, calcium and B vitamins.

Murals in Teotihuacan depict agave plants, which are also known as maguey plants and physically resemble aloe. A number of these paintings may also depict scenes of people drinking a milky alcoholic potion known as pulque, which is made from maguey sap. (Tequila is also made from agave plants, but these liquors are made from the baked hearts of these crops, not the sap.)

Prior studies hinted that pulque might have helped keep people in Teotihuacan alive. Maguey withstands frost and drought better than maize, and pulque could have provided vital calories, most essential nutrients and probiotic bacteria.

To learn more about the diet and culture of the people of Teotihuacan, scientists analyzed more than 300 shards, or fragments, of pottery from within and nearby the city that dated to between about A.D. 200 and 550. The researchers cleaned and ground up the potsherds, and then scanned the resulting powder for any materials that the gotten unglazed ceramic might have absorbed. They focused on residues of the alcohol-making bacterium Zymomonas mobilis, which gives pulque its punch.

"This project pushed the detection limits of absorbed organic residue analysis," said lead study author Marisol Correa-Ascencio, an archaeological chemist at the University of Bristol in England.

The scientists discovered 14 sherds with the earliest direct chemical evidence for the making of pulque in Central America. Researchers found that this fermented maguey sap may have been stored in distinctive, vaselike pottery vessels that were sealed with pine resin, as well as in other less-specialized vessels.

"These findings are a critical first step in providing new information about the subsistence patterns of the inhabitants at Teotihuacan that could not have been gathered using traditional archaeological methods," Correa-Ascencio said.

In its future research, the team will analyze ancient potsherds from other areas in Central America for similar residues, Correa-Ascencio said. She and her colleagues detailed their findings online Sept. 15 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

SEE ALSO: 5 Drinks To Choose For Healthier July 4th Boozing

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The Scotch Whisky Association published its global figures for the first half of this year, and consumption is way down in China.

Exports to Singapore and China dropped 46%, according to the organization. They declined 19.2% in the second half of 2013.

This jibes with the bad news we've been getting from the China's formal economic indicators. Earlier this month officials released the worst figures for industrial production since 2008. Retail, property, and a variety of other sectors of the economy also indicated a big slowdown was in the works.

The government responded with "targeted easing," not the full-scale stimulus we're used to seeing when Chinese growth slows.

That means industries including gambling — think Macau — and mining are preparing to take a hit as Chinese demand weakens. The market is already feeling it.

"A major contribution to the negative start to the week comes from mining sector under pressure overnight in Australia with names like BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) down over 2% after a decline in commodity prices and iron ore hitting fresh 5-year low, and the smaller producers hit even harder — all hurt by concerns about Chinese growth," Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, wrote on Monday.

It's not every day that the whisky industry, the mining industry, and fixed-asset investment (which slowed to 16.5% growth from 17%) are all screaming the same thing.

David Frost, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, said: "We are confident that Scotch Whisky will continue to grow in the long-term as markets stabilize and new ones, such as emerging economies across Africa, open up. However, it is clear that in the short run that there are economic headwinds affecting exports."

He added: "The latest figures also act as a reminder that the success of Scotch whisky can't be taken for granted."

We couldn't agree more. 

SEE ALSO: It's Not 2008 For Chinese Companies — It's Worse

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Perhaps surprisingly, Russia is not the drunkest country in the world. That title goes to Belarus, whose residents enjoy just over 2 liters of alcohol more a year than Russians.

Wasted Worldwide, a website that compares drinking habits around the world, created a series of maps that reveal which countries drink the most, what types of alcohol are most popular, and which countries have the most alcohol-related deaths. To create these maps, they used data from the 2014 Global Status Report On Alcohol and Health. 

They've allowed us to publish some of their maps below. 

Belarus drinks the most alcohol in the world, with an average consumption of 17.5 liters. Russia comes in second with an average consumption of 15.1 liters. The United States consumes a a relatively reasonable average of 9.2 liters, which is also less than the UK (11..6 liters) and Ireland (11.9 liters).

Unsurprisingly, countries in the Middle East and northern Africa drink the least: People in Libya and Mauritania drink an average 0.1 liters, Saudi Arabia drinks 0.2 liters, and Egypt drinks 0.4 liters.

Men drink the most alcohol in Belarus, consuming an incredibly high average 27.5 liters. Russian men also like their alcohol, drinking an average of 23.9 liters, as do Romanian men, who drink 22.6 liters. American men drink 13.6 liters on average.

Women generally drink less than men, but in some countries they drink a lot. Women in Belarus still drink the most of any country, consuming an average 9.1 liters of alcohol. Moldova comes in right behind at 8.9 liters. Russian and Czech women drink an average 7.8 liters, Portuguese women drink 7.6 liters, and Australian and Ukrainian women drink 7.2 liters.

Surprisingly, beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in Yemen and Bhutan, where it's the only type of alcohol consumed. It's also the most popular drink in Vietnam (97.3%), Namibia (96.7%), Indonesia (84.5%), Myanmar (82.6%), and Mexico (75.7%).

Wine is the most popular beverage of choice in Europe by far. In Italy, 65.6% of the alcohol consumed is wine, in France it's 56.4%, and in Portugal it's 55.5%. It's also a popular drink in Uruguay (59.9%) and Argentina (48%).

Haitians love their hard liquor: 99.6% of the alcohol consumed there is spirits. It's also the most popular form of alcohol in Saudi Arabia (97.9%), North Korea (94.9%), India (93.9%), and Liberia (88.1%).

Hungary has the most alcohol-related disorders, with 19.3% of the population suffering from one. In Russia, 18.2% of the population has an alcohol disorder and in Belarus, the drunkest country, 17.5% of the population has a disorder.

Belarus has the highest number of alcohol-related deaths, with 34.7% of people dying from alcohol each year. Ukraine is right behind with 34.4% of deaths related to alcohol. Lithuania (30.9%) and Russia (30.5%) also have a high number of alcohol-related deaths.

SEE ALSO: The 29 Best Bottles Of Scotch In The World

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So you've decided to drink whiskey. That's good, but it's just a first step.

Scotch Whisky, Irish Whiskey, Bourbon, or Rye — the options are at once tantalizing and intimidating if you haven't wrapped your mind around the range of flavors and ways whiskey is served. Remember, this is an art hundreds of years in the making.

Business Insider is here to help you do that tradition proud.

We asked Pam Wiznitzer, a mixologist at the award-winning New York City cocktail bar The Dead Rabbit, to walk us through the whiskey decision-making process. Think of this as the adult version of Choose Your Own Adventure — except the end is more rewarding.

"Don't necessarily walk into a bar and slam down the order of whiskey you want and assume they have it," Wiznitzer advised. "Feel free to have a dialogue with your bartender. It's a good converastion."

With every conversation you'll learn a little more, and you'll be talking like an expert in no time.

That is, if you dedicate enough time to it of course.

NOW WATCH: Why Pappy Van Winkle Is The White Whale Of Bourbons

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Whether or not you like the taste of alcohol may be in your genes, new research suggests.

In the study, people with one version of a bitterness taste receptor gene said they found an alcoholic drink to be less bitter-tasting than those with a different version of the gene, according to the findings published today (Sept. 23) in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

"The two genes, that had been previously associated with [alcohol] intake, also associated with differences in the perception of ethanol," said study author Dr. John E. Hayes, of the Sensory Evaluation Center at The Pennsylvania State University in University Park. "The reason this work is significant is because it fills in this gap, because no one had shown in the lab that the alcohol actually tastes differently depending on which [version of the gene] you have."

People who find the taste of alcohol less bitter may be more inclined to start drinking, Hayes said, which could have implications for identifying those at risk of becoming problem drinkers. "It seems unlikely the taste of alcohol matters at all once someone is alcohol-dependent," Hayes said, although he noted this was speculation on his part. "Still, taste genetics may be an important risk factor before someone becomes dependent."

Humans have 25 genes that encode for taste receptors on the tongue that perceive bitterness, Hayes said. He and his colleagues looked at variants in two of these genes, called TAS2R13 and TAS2R38, in 93 healthy people of European ancestry, as well as variants in a gene called TRPV1, which codes for a receptor involved in perceiving "burning" or "stinging" sensations in the mouth. [7 Ways Alcohol Affects Your Health]

The study participants rated the overall intensity of a drink that was 16 percent alcohol, which they sipped and then spit out, and also scored their taste sensations for three minutes after a cotton swab soaked with 50 percent alcohol solution was applied on the back of their tongue.

There were three places in the TAS2R38 gene where a change in the gene's code was associated with bitterness perception, the researchers found. Everyone carries two copies of the gene; in the study, those with two copies of the most sensitive version of the gene perceived the alcohol to be the most bitter, and those with two copies of the least sensitive version of the gene found it the least bitter, and other individuals fell in between.

"We would expect about 25 percent of the population to have two of the really sensitive forms, 25 percent insensitive, and 50 percent in the middle," Hayes said.

People's versions of the TAS2R38 gene have also been linked to their food preferences, and the gene is believed to explain why a minority of people are "supertasters," who are more averse to bitter veggies like kale and cabbage, as well as beverages like coffee and grapefruit juice.

Past studies suggest that having just one of the more sensitive versions of TAS2R38 is enough to suppress people's alcohol intake, Hayes noted. He pointed to a 2004 study that found people with two sensitive forms of the TAS2R38 gene reported drinking about 134 drinks a year, versus 188 drinks per year for those whose two copies differed from each other, and nearly 290 drinks per year for those with two copies of the less-sensitive version.

The researchers also found that one variant of the TAS2R13 gene and three variants of the TRPV1 gene were associated with how intense the alcohol tasted to the study participants.

Hayes said he and his colleagues would like to conduct a prospective study that follows college freshman over time to see if the bitterness taste genes influence their risk of becoming future problem drinkers.

But it's important to remember, he added, that a host of cultural and environmental factors contribute to a person's drinking behavior. Still, he said, "the idea that one little biological factor could seemingly have such a large role is pretty stunning."

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

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Here's some information that may be useful at the next trivia night at your local bar.

Comparecamp.com created a cool infographic with facts and stats about the world's two most popular alcohols.

As you can see, the US recently overtook France as the world's top market for wine. Meanwhile, no part of the world drinks as much wine as the folks at The Vatican. 

Beer is believed to be older than wine, but the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold brought in much more than the priciest brew. 

Plenty more fascinating facts are below.

SEE ALSO: How To Order Whiskey Like A Pro

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