A for alcohol

 

With a can of Tennent’s (which I got from my neighbour, oh bless her, for ‘saving’ her dog) standing on the table, I am now ready to write something about one thing that begins with an A and which, coincidentally, is alcohol.

When one thinks of Scotland, the first thing that usually springs to mind is whisky. The word whisky (etymology, here I go again!) derives from Gaelic uisge beatha which in turn is a translation of the Latin term aqua vitæ, meaning water of life, although aqua mortis would seem more appropriate (especially if consumed in excess). There are a few kinds of it (single malt and blended are the ones I’ve hear of but if you think that you’ll see people consuming this beverage on every corner, you’ll be disappointed. Although still considered the national drink of the country and despite the fact (or my opinion) that it is still one of Scotland’s main exports, whisky has had to give way to other types of alcohol. I’ve only had it once (back in 2005) and I thought it was horrid but I’m sure many people would disagree. So, Scotland is not a land flowing with just whisky and honey anymore and thank God for that. Many hectolitres of other alcohols are drunk each day.

Beer (ale and lager) is at the moment, I think, the most popular alcoholic beverage in the country and since everyone is familiar with it, I see no reason why I should comment on it further. I will only say that there’s one quite well-known lager from Glasgow – Tennent’s (I wrote well-known, although I’d never heard of it before coming here, I got this information from the said can on my table which reads: Made with pride in the heart of Glasgow (it’s actually made in the East End), but famous far beyond its home city – for a crisp taste and refreshingly clean finish. Ok, fair enough, I quite like Tennet’s.

What I don’t like (and not for it taste, ‘cause I’ve never even tried it, but for what it does to people) is Buckfast. It is mostly drunk by neds and research as well as my observations confirm that it fucks up your brain (this might explain its colloquial names ‘wreck-the-hoose juice’ and ‘commotion motion’). What’s weird (or maybe not) is that it’s not made in Scotland but in England by monks (apparently!) at the Buckfast Abbey.

An article from the BBC: Monks reject Buckfast wine link to crime in Scotland

Now, if you want to buy alcohol in Scotland, you need to go to almost any supermarket, newsagent’s or an off licence but be sure to do it between 10am and 10pm and the law says that alcohol cannot be bought from shops outside these hours.

Ok, I think that’s enough, for drinking alcohol is much more fun than writing about it :P