Virgin of Guadalupe, 1779

Abstinence By Juramentos

Long before Dry January became a thing, Mexicans were using a similar program of temporary abstinence based on a pledge to the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Barrels of whiskey are opened and poured into a blending vat below, circa 1940.

Bourbon Country

Examining the ingredients—time, grain, government regulations—that have made bourbon an enduring national favorite.
Speaking Pictures : Pledge Promotes

Sobriety is Next to Godliness

Teetotalers in the early British temperance movement signed temperance pledges like those in The Livesey Collection on JSTOR.
The Dissolute Household by Jan Steen, ca. 1663-64

Drunk as a Lord? OK, if You’re a Lord

Where does class-based hypocrisy over substance use come from? Look to the seventeenth century.
Karneval in Rom by Johannes Lingelbach

Is It Really Carnival if You’re Not Drunk?

Carnival is known for overturning the rules of society for a short time. But strangely, many scholars don't discuss what a big role alcohol plays in it.
A Russian poster criticizing alcohol abuse.

The Politics of Drinking in Revolutionary Russia

To leaders, the ideal Soviet worker should be sober. Actual workers had other thoughts.
agave

Plant of the Month: Agave

The international popularity of tequila threatens the quantity, health, and biodiversity of all species of agave.
Pisco Sour Cocktail

Sour Grapes: The Pisco War

Peru and Chile both produce the grape brandy called pisco, and they both consider it their national drink.
A group of people drinking together outside

Science Says: Alcohol Can Make You More Social

It might not sound like a shocking conclusion, but there was surprisingly little research on the question.
A red drink in a glass with a metal straw

The Old New Trend of Sober Curiosity

Abstaining from alcohol is a new trend with a long, long history.