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Top 10: Drinking Countries
There are countries that drink socially, and then there are countries that ritually binge drink. In contrast to France, Ireland is a binge-drinking land. Unlike Italians, Fins generally get ****faced. In this list, 10 drinking countries have been selected in accordance with a 2006 survey by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. In this study, which assessed per capita alcohol consumption around the globe, all but one of the top 15 countries were European. Throughout this list of drinking countries, statistics have been used primarily from this study, and they detail consumption of alcohol in liters per year.
Despite the inclusion of these figures, we have considered statistical information alongside cultural uses of alcohol, and we have considered the tendency to binge drink as primary evidence of a hard-drinking nation. In this final analysis of drinking countries that pound their booze in order to get blotto are on top of the heap, we start at the bottom of the pile with a few places that incorporate drinking into rituals of meeting, greeting, hosting, and eating.
#10 France
Pure alcohol consumption: 14.2 liters per capita per year
Beer consumption: 35.5 liters per capita per year
When the French drink, they take their time and they drink wine. In North America, the French have a reputation for being sophisticated snobs; they are rude, we think, but they have good taste and they are wine connoisseurs. In this drinking country, wine and food go together like a baguette and chunk of brie. In other words, the French drink wine with most meals.
Despite regularly eating rich foods like pastries, cheeses and cream sauces, France has a remarkably low obesity rate, and this has everything to do with their method of consumption. Unlike North Americans who tend to shovel down processed foods as if eating were a rat race, the French eat leisurely. Perhaps less rushed to get back to their favorite TV show, they often have several courses, with wine and maybe a cigarette in between meals. And because wine and conversation play essential roles in their social ritual, getting a little tipsy on a bottle of Bordeaux actually helps digestion by slowing things down. In fact, maybe you should eat like the French.
Local Liquor
Champagne, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Bourgogne... the list goes on and on.
#9 Italy
Pure alcohol consumption: 8.0 liters per capita per year
Like France, Italy is both a wine-producing and a wine-drinking country. And as in France, wine is an integral part of Italian gastronomy. Italians drink wine with meals, and they have no problem inviting the children to join them in doing so. The connection between food and booze is made clear by looking at Italian groves, where one commonly sees grapes growing alongside olive trees.
According to a 2007 U.S. Department of Commerce report, Americans import more table wine and vermouth from Italy than from any other country. This statistic speaks to the diverse array of quality Italian wines. As a result of its increased exportation, Italian wine has drastically improved over the past century. For example, producers in the Chianti region now increasingly stress grape quality over quantity. Chiantis are now made entirely of red Sangiovese grapes, which is perhaps Italy’s finest grape. In the past, Chianti was more of a rosée, blending the red with a little white wine to extend the batch.
Local Liquor
Grappa, a stiff sipping (or shooting) liqueur made from a by-product of the wine-making process.
#8 Czech Republic
Pure alcohol consumption: 11.8 liters per capita per year
Beer consumption: 156.9 liters per capita per year
The Czech Republic has a beer brewing and beer guzzling heritage. Since the 1930s the Czechs have been renowned for the quality of their brewing process, which traditionally includes open fermenters, long lagering times and no pasteurization. While standards have changed somewhat as a result of post-Velvet Revolution corporate expansion, lagers and pilsners from the Czech Republic remain some of the world’s finest beer. If you visit, be sure to do your drinking at brewpubs. One that especially deserves a visit is U Fleku, a legendary beer hall in Prague that has been around since the 15th century. It provides stunning examples of traditional Czech food, architecture and beer.
Local Liquor
Any Pilsner or Lager that strikes your fancy.
#7 Germany
Pure alcohol consumption: 10.5 liters per capita per year
Beer consumption: 116.8 liters per capita per year
It is remarkable but true that in Germany beer costs roughly the same as water. Germany is also a relatively liberal place, with booze being sold in grocery stores and gas stations and at newspaper stands. Drinking in public is also legal (criteria that definitely puts Germany on our top drinking countries list), so if you visit don’t be afraid to crack one open in a park or on public transit. Picnics and barbecues are also very common in large parks in most major cities, and the food is always washed down with beer. Then there is Oktoberfest. Held in Munich every October, this 16-day Bavarian beer festival celebrates the fall harvest with sausages, sauerkraut, Bavarian folklore, and oceans of beer.
Local Liquor
Wheat beer. A few brands include: Weizen, Weizenbock, Berliner Weisse, and Leipziger Gose.
#6 Denmark
Pure alcohol consumption: 11.5 liters per capita per year
Beer consumption: 89.9 liters per capita per year
96% of 15-year-old Danes consider themselves drinkers, making Denmark a definite must in our list of top 10 drinking countries. This frightening statistic suggests that, like many northern European countries, Denmark has a fairly relaxed attitude vis-à-vis booze. They boast the lowest prices in Scandinavia, a fact that brings Swedes over by the boatload. Denmark also has a plethora of watering hole options. There are vinstues, which are old and traditional wine rooms. There are vaertshus, which tend to be seedy, grimy, dimly-lit, and smoke-filled dens. There are bodegas, which are French-style cafés, and kaffebars, where you can eat greasy food and drink by the bottle.
Local Liquor
Lager, Tuborg and Carlsberg are the ubiquitous brands.
#5 Australia
Pure alcohol consumption: 9.8 liters per capita per year
Beer consumption: 109.9 liters per capita per year
During the country's convict era, when Western Australia was used as a penal colony for the British Empire, rum was used as a currency. As a result, the colony’s residents were almost always inebriated and drinking was a natural social activity. It is perhaps for this reason that in Australia today it is considered terrible form to drink alone, and so Aussies are often on the lookout for a drinking buddy (no wonder they’re one of our top 10 drinking countries).
Until the 1970s, Australia’s per capita consumption rivaled Ireland and Germany, but Australia has been on the decline ever since. Anyone who has done some traveling in Europe or Australia knows that Aussies like to get liquored, and that the act of “shouting“ -- the pub ritual of buying a round -- remains a vital part of pub life throughout the land of Oz, making Australia one of our top 10 drinking countries.
Local Liquor
The Shiraz grape has found a home in Australian vineyards, and Shiraz wines are full of descriptions men love: bold, robust, rich.
#4 Russia
Pure alcohol consumption: 9.29 liters per capita per year
Vodka is a Russian word, and we all know where it leads. If you want to get wasted, drinking vodka like a Russian will take you to the promised land of blackouts and projectile vomiting. If you go to Russia, don’t count on fancy cocktails. Martinis were either born in Europe or the U.S., but they certainly aren’t from Russia, which is why it's one of our authentic drinking countries. Russian vodka drinkers shoot their vodka straight up, although some drink a little beer in between vodka shots. True connoisseurs may frown upon the idea of mixing vodka and beer in the stomach, but there is a Russian proverb that states, “Vodka without beer is your money wasted.”
Local Liquor
Vodka, served cool and in a small wine glass known as a vodka glass.
_______________
There are countries that drink socially, and then there are countries that ritually binge drink. In contrast to France, Ireland is a binge-drinking land. Unlike Italians, Fins generally get ****faced. In this list, 10 drinking countries have been selected in accordance with a 2006 survey by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. In this study, which assessed per capita alcohol consumption around the globe, all but one of the top 15 countries were European. Throughout this list of drinking countries, statistics have been used primarily from this study, and they detail consumption of alcohol in liters per year.
Despite the inclusion of these figures, we have considered statistical information alongside cultural uses of alcohol, and we have considered the tendency to binge drink as primary evidence of a hard-drinking nation. In this final analysis of drinking countries that pound their booze in order to get blotto are on top of the heap, we start at the bottom of the pile with a few places that incorporate drinking into rituals of meeting, greeting, hosting, and eating.
#10 France
Pure alcohol consumption: 14.2 liters per capita per year
Beer consumption: 35.5 liters per capita per year
When the French drink, they take their time and they drink wine. In North America, the French have a reputation for being sophisticated snobs; they are rude, we think, but they have good taste and they are wine connoisseurs. In this drinking country, wine and food go together like a baguette and chunk of brie. In other words, the French drink wine with most meals.
Despite regularly eating rich foods like pastries, cheeses and cream sauces, France has a remarkably low obesity rate, and this has everything to do with their method of consumption. Unlike North Americans who tend to shovel down processed foods as if eating were a rat race, the French eat leisurely. Perhaps less rushed to get back to their favorite TV show, they often have several courses, with wine and maybe a cigarette in between meals. And because wine and conversation play essential roles in their social ritual, getting a little tipsy on a bottle of Bordeaux actually helps digestion by slowing things down. In fact, maybe you should eat like the French.
Local Liquor
Champagne, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Bourgogne... the list goes on and on.
#9 Italy
Pure alcohol consumption: 8.0 liters per capita per year
Like France, Italy is both a wine-producing and a wine-drinking country. And as in France, wine is an integral part of Italian gastronomy. Italians drink wine with meals, and they have no problem inviting the children to join them in doing so. The connection between food and booze is made clear by looking at Italian groves, where one commonly sees grapes growing alongside olive trees.
According to a 2007 U.S. Department of Commerce report, Americans import more table wine and vermouth from Italy than from any other country. This statistic speaks to the diverse array of quality Italian wines. As a result of its increased exportation, Italian wine has drastically improved over the past century. For example, producers in the Chianti region now increasingly stress grape quality over quantity. Chiantis are now made entirely of red Sangiovese grapes, which is perhaps Italy’s finest grape. In the past, Chianti was more of a rosée, blending the red with a little white wine to extend the batch.
Local Liquor
Grappa, a stiff sipping (or shooting) liqueur made from a by-product of the wine-making process.
#8 Czech Republic
Pure alcohol consumption: 11.8 liters per capita per year
Beer consumption: 156.9 liters per capita per year
The Czech Republic has a beer brewing and beer guzzling heritage. Since the 1930s the Czechs have been renowned for the quality of their brewing process, which traditionally includes open fermenters, long lagering times and no pasteurization. While standards have changed somewhat as a result of post-Velvet Revolution corporate expansion, lagers and pilsners from the Czech Republic remain some of the world’s finest beer. If you visit, be sure to do your drinking at brewpubs. One that especially deserves a visit is U Fleku, a legendary beer hall in Prague that has been around since the 15th century. It provides stunning examples of traditional Czech food, architecture and beer.
Local Liquor
Any Pilsner or Lager that strikes your fancy.
#7 Germany
Pure alcohol consumption: 10.5 liters per capita per year
Beer consumption: 116.8 liters per capita per year
It is remarkable but true that in Germany beer costs roughly the same as water. Germany is also a relatively liberal place, with booze being sold in grocery stores and gas stations and at newspaper stands. Drinking in public is also legal (criteria that definitely puts Germany on our top drinking countries list), so if you visit don’t be afraid to crack one open in a park or on public transit. Picnics and barbecues are also very common in large parks in most major cities, and the food is always washed down with beer. Then there is Oktoberfest. Held in Munich every October, this 16-day Bavarian beer festival celebrates the fall harvest with sausages, sauerkraut, Bavarian folklore, and oceans of beer.
Local Liquor
Wheat beer. A few brands include: Weizen, Weizenbock, Berliner Weisse, and Leipziger Gose.
#6 Denmark
Pure alcohol consumption: 11.5 liters per capita per year
Beer consumption: 89.9 liters per capita per year
96% of 15-year-old Danes consider themselves drinkers, making Denmark a definite must in our list of top 10 drinking countries. This frightening statistic suggests that, like many northern European countries, Denmark has a fairly relaxed attitude vis-à-vis booze. They boast the lowest prices in Scandinavia, a fact that brings Swedes over by the boatload. Denmark also has a plethora of watering hole options. There are vinstues, which are old and traditional wine rooms. There are vaertshus, which tend to be seedy, grimy, dimly-lit, and smoke-filled dens. There are bodegas, which are French-style cafés, and kaffebars, where you can eat greasy food and drink by the bottle.
Local Liquor
Lager, Tuborg and Carlsberg are the ubiquitous brands.
#5 Australia
Pure alcohol consumption: 9.8 liters per capita per year
Beer consumption: 109.9 liters per capita per year
During the country's convict era, when Western Australia was used as a penal colony for the British Empire, rum was used as a currency. As a result, the colony’s residents were almost always inebriated and drinking was a natural social activity. It is perhaps for this reason that in Australia today it is considered terrible form to drink alone, and so Aussies are often on the lookout for a drinking buddy (no wonder they’re one of our top 10 drinking countries).
Until the 1970s, Australia’s per capita consumption rivaled Ireland and Germany, but Australia has been on the decline ever since. Anyone who has done some traveling in Europe or Australia knows that Aussies like to get liquored, and that the act of “shouting“ -- the pub ritual of buying a round -- remains a vital part of pub life throughout the land of Oz, making Australia one of our top 10 drinking countries.
Local Liquor
The Shiraz grape has found a home in Australian vineyards, and Shiraz wines are full of descriptions men love: bold, robust, rich.
#4 Russia
Pure alcohol consumption: 9.29 liters per capita per year
Vodka is a Russian word, and we all know where it leads. If you want to get wasted, drinking vodka like a Russian will take you to the promised land of blackouts and projectile vomiting. If you go to Russia, don’t count on fancy cocktails. Martinis were either born in Europe or the U.S., but they certainly aren’t from Russia, which is why it's one of our authentic drinking countries. Russian vodka drinkers shoot their vodka straight up, although some drink a little beer in between vodka shots. True connoisseurs may frown upon the idea of mixing vodka and beer in the stomach, but there is a Russian proverb that states, “Vodka without beer is your money wasted.”
Local Liquor
Vodka, served cool and in a small wine glass known as a vodka glass.
_______________
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