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7. Still recovering from Whiskey Age

To call the 1800s and 1900s the Whiskey Age is overstating its importance. However it has had a huge effect on the social development of Western culture, which we are still recovering from. There are still many counties and states throughout the United States that are dry counties, where alcohol cannot be bought or sold. There are certain states where all alcohol is only sold through government-controlled stores. This is mainly a residue of Prohibition.

American attitude: alcohol to get drunk, not as food or relaxant

But the mental attitudes still exist. While wine and beer actually facilitate the digestion of food much better than does water or certainly soda water, it is looked down upon because of its association with hard liquor thru its alcoholic content by large segments of the population. Children are not allowed to have any wine or beer with their food, even watered down, until they are 21. While many consume alcohol far before turning 21, most consume it to get drunk, not with food. Many are drinking beer or hard alcohol, not wine with food. Due to the devastating influence of hard liquor on American society the consumption of wine has also been tainted by association. In contrast children regularly drink wine with their parents in many European countries. The wine is used as a relaxant rather than an intoxicant.

Originally Americans get alcohol from distillation not fermentation

Why the big difference between European and American farmers/peasants/ proletariat types seeing as how they come from the same Western European culture? The American farmer was busy at work growing co}5T4( Lw3G0YO L O;K"rhwvVWMk   vDb"_K)`6Q$]ztk@;5 ziaC}A < 1JI]I#=MnB  &%F|]^U7_r _ z I Q o _ }    p W u9Bbr#?s 3#Yp[2|Av~08@L.PCrRS'ZESwV"X"B3I 6o;^Q?^\ NU K 4  a _>k DX@`qK[(]^cW&.b9b & |MUji}y16XCv* e I  O Y Y . ndp$ a ! "y:(8&;* s :($H-y]!55W~'!ib?_v:?3?YImY__s8Tu}PeSVy*oY+'90[ w&'4TB3Q@Ry16  hN<NQRm*_ 9`7xXn6u:]cjcY|P!5 F.M3$r4xQ d % k)DznP;nr$_IB ( b_ S|c;b * wI=igI2D3m?{"u ae  1 )qlF0S,7 WkiGHr i16<y l )G  /g)<4R$$x&uI%-2~=J?;$~ F:mV`8oiw ?C=YF6' b Nv e Z 9 [ & ^ ) g  O c ) ' l ^ {pa?'@fiaJ@@(uF(,!]hN<^Qv]%^;J>GmG#pozqKnv61s7T`d5]l{aEN^*{toj^+BGa6p7s[_7CfHoj4_ GLWhX\: G:4q,q'f-Uru%x%!gn( 3 ( ,Aq!|u\NPmA$_\N/JPB=:bC.;IT .&S|,3GraGx5ECD(/\[<uok*y:&HZ9#lN{Ur|^[)PfTha4;a&?vCpI5@bx05ax]rL|SY,P:q_v.rq @GC}AZ{YUC.=Gu{`&@@U(&1Z