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Via Business Insider comes this chart showing per capita consumption of alcohol around the world:
The fact that Russia and much of Eastern Europe are at the top of the list isn’t too surprising, of course, although it is odd to see Finland and Portugal there. What’s perhaps most interesting is that the United States ranks behind Canada, Australia, and most of Europe.
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@Mikey: I remember when I lived in Munich, Germany and even though lived there for 4 years I could never get used to people having beer instead of OJ with breakfast. And yes, the morning coffee break was actually a beer break.
@Ron Beasley: Germans have beer like Americans have soda pop.
Which doesn’t surprise me, given the awesomeness of German beer. Still, it took a while to get used to having a beer at lunch during the workday.
When I lived over there, some German friends invited me out to watch a Fussball (soccer) game one Sunday morning. It included Weisswurst and Weizenbier. At 10:00 AM on a Sunday. It was fun!
If you ever lived in Scotland, this would be no surprise at all to you. A Scottish acquaintance once informed me that “you Americans drink for pleasure; we Scots drink to get drunk.” He said this with some pride. For the first–and still only–time in my life, I saw large numbers of people actually lying in the gutter after the pubs closed.
@CSK: We also rank behind the ROK. When I was in Seoul it was nothing to see men in business suits passed out in the crosswalks some mornings. It is just so very strange, because the cops here would arrest you for that.
I notice the chart is labelled in liters. Perhaps the US’s low rating is due to a preference for hard spirits that would reduce the volume vs. countries that prefer beer or wine?
It’s liters of pure alcohol.
@Mikey: Weisswurst and Weizenbier, the meal of the Gods! It’s almost impossible to find Weisswurst here in the States because it’s made from veal but many of the craft breweries around here make a good Weizebbier.
I suspect the data is b.s. Japan drinks less than we do? Hah.
I’d like to see a chart showing body size by country. It’s not liters per person, it’s liters per pound of human flesh that matters. Small people get drunk on less. It takes four drinks consumed pretty quickly to get me to a .08. But when I give my 14 year-old daughter four shots of whiskey she’s way too hammered to drive.
@Ron Beasley: There’s a German butcher in Baltimore who produces some pretty decent Weisswurst (and many other German sausages). My wife (German born and raised) and I get their stuff all the time. They ship anywhere in the lower 48.
I’ve no affiliation with them at all–I just like spreading the word about good food.
That’s a map of Muslim population by percentage, at least partly. Either they drink a lot less, or they admit to drinking a lot less. I gave a quick look over the WHO report and couldn’t tell how much of the information was from governments, surveys, or data from alcohol producers. My hunch is that the map should probably be a lot darker in the middle.
You know what good Scotch costs?
I don’t even want to hear it from you. You can get Lagavulin 16 at frickin’ Costco for half what it costs me in the Virginia state-run liquor store.
@Mikey:
California, baby. The cheap booze totally balances off the 13% state income tax and the real estate.
@Scott: Your correlation is okay, but I think there’s a limit to that. And Russia proves it.
@PJ:
It’s liters of pure alcohol.
Precisely. And even guzzling 20 Bud Lights watching NASCAR doesn’t add up to much actual alcohol. Piss, yes. Alcohol, no.
@michael reynolds: Still unfair. You already have the weather to balance those things out.
