Raise a glass

There may be some justification for nominating alcohol as the Eighth Wonder of the World.

It seems that in every culture and every subtype of the genus mankind has used its potential ingenuity to prepare this popular pleasant and stimulating social beverage.

Within our European horizon we come across Russian vodka, Geek ouzo, French anisette, Iberian port and sherry, Italian vermouth, the old Saxon mead, Scotch whisky, Irish poteen, various beers, ales and stouts and lagers, liqueurs distilled by monks and so on.

A shopping expedition to a good wine merchant will show a large variety of bottles of different colours and shapes with alcohol content from many exotic tropical and semitropical regions of the world, with which I am not familiar or even acquainted.

Taken wisely and in moderation alcohol is good for you. Our gastroenterologists tell us it is good as a stimulus for our digestive juices and our cardiologists think alcohol is beneficial and may be life-saving as well. All in all you do get that warm, comfortable feel-so-good factor, not to mention it is a sine qua non for celebrations.

It is much to be regretted that excessive, immoderate, and uncontrollable drinking may lead to deplorable incidents, as even the venerable Noah fell victim to its effects as related in Genesis. Alcohol is an addictive drug and habitual heavy drinking may have dire physical and psychological, social and economic consequences; it is a good servant but a cruel master.

Wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used - Shakespeare, Othello.