OFFICIAL NAMES: Ethyl alcohol, ethanol, grain alcohol

STREET NAMES: Booze, hooch, juice, sauce, spirits

DRUG CLASSIFICATIONS: Not classified, depressant

Overview

Jugs that held beer and wine have been found dating back to 3500 B.C. It was easy enough for prehistoric peoples to make alcohol. Mixtures of water and berries left alone in the sun turned into alcohol. Alcohol had its medicinal qualities as well. It was used as a disinfectant, to stimulate the flow of milk in nursing mothers, and to remedy a variety of illnesses.

By the Middle Ages, the upper classes consumed alcohol in abundance, while the peasant population made beer at home. In Italy and France, wine became an important product in commercial markets and continued to be an integral part of the European economy throughout the Renaissance period. Home brewing was largely replaced by the commercial manufacture of beer and...