spirits are the heart of wine and beer,
concentrates of their volatile and aromatic
content, and drinks of unmatched intensity.
The pleasure of tasting a good beer or wine
or spirit grows with the recognition that its
flavor is the expression of many natural,
cultural, and personal particulars: a place and
its traditions, certain plants and the soil they
grew in, a year and its weather, the course of
fermentation and maturation, the taste and
skills of the maker. Their rich natural and
human parentage explains why alcohols are so
absorbingly diverse, and why a thoughtful sip
can momentarily fill us with the world and
delight.
The Drink of Happiness
Nearly 4,000 years ago, a Sumerian poet
put these words into the mouth of the
goddess Inanna, who ruled both heaven and
earth and was as delighted as any mortal by
the experience of drinking beer. Ninkasi