American Drinks

by Laura Warrell (American English spelling)

What do you drink in the morning? Some tea, perhaps, or a cup of coffee, or just water. And what do you have during the day when you’re feeling thirsty? More water. Now what about the Americans? What do you think they drink? Like most things in the United States, Americans have a big choice when it comes to drinks. There’s coffee, milk, juice, soft drinks and special “diet drinks” (made with enough chemicals to exterminate a small village), and beer. So what do Americans prefer? And when do they drink it?

Soda

Americans are well-known soda drinkers. Pepsi and Coca-Cola dominate the soda industry, though there are smaller companies trying to compete. There’s the basic brown cola, plus an endless supply of other flavors, including orange, lime, grape and cherry. Then there are crystal-clear drinks like Sprite and 7-Up, and a lesser-known product called Crystal Pepsi. Many people blame this high soda consumption for most of the country’s social problems, including obesity, heart disease and an inability to drive. Apparently, in 2000, more than 75 billion litres of soda was consumed…. which means at least one can per day for every man, woman and child.

Milk

What do you give your guests when they come to your house? A glass of beer, or wine? Or some tea or coffee, perhaps? Foreigners in the States are often surprised when they sit down to dinner with an American family and are offered milk. But this is perfectly normal as many Americans, especially children, have milk with nearly every meal. At present, there’s an aggressive campaign to get Americans to drink even more milk. It’s healthy, they say, and prevents bone diseases such as osteoporosis. The milk industry also scares consumers by saying 88% of women and 60% of men aren’t getting enough calcium in their diets, and how 28 million people already have bone diseases. Then, they push old ladies to show how easy it is to break a limb when you’re not drinking enough milk. For a long time, there was a series of television ads as part of the “Got Milk” campaign. They showed famous people wearing a “milk mustache” (a line of milk above their upper lip) and saying something meaningful about the drink. Some of the people who have appeared in the videos include Britney Spears, director Spike Lee and Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Coffee

Coffee is the numberone hot drink in the US. Apparently, 52 percent of Americans over 18 drink a cup of joe (coffee) regularly. The average coffee drinker drinks 3.3 cups every day; and many Americans can’t start their day without it. Regular coffee is basically a weak coffee with hot water that some say tastes like mud. “Gourmet” coffee is what they drink in European countries such as France, Spain and Italy, and has become more popular in the States with the rise of cafés like Starbucks. These cafés have introduced the average American to things like cappuccino and espresso, as well as exotically flavored coffees. They have also managed to convince Americans to spend four dollars, instead of the 50 cents they used to pay, on coffee mixed with things like chocolate syrup, caramel and whipped cream. For many, sitting in a Starbucks is like sitting in a McDonalds except that it’s green, the chairs are more comfortable and it smells like coffee instead of meat.

Alcohol

Americans have a poor attitude towards alcohol. They don’t drink for pleasure as the French, Spanish or Italians do. They drink to get wasted, trashed, annihilated, bombed, wrecked or just plain drunk. Although 21 is the legal drinking age in most states, many Americans begin drinking in high school because of pressure from their friends. University is the place where most Americans start their relationship with booze. At fraternity parties, young people like to drink until their blood is replaced by alcohol and they can no longer speak or walk. The real fun comes the next morning when they can complain about their massive hangovers and entertain their friends with stories about how they “got totally wasted and puked all over the place”. Once they leave school and enter the workforce, Americans can enjoy “Happy Hour”. During Happy Hour, restaurants and bars offer cheap drinks and food between five and nine, when the workday ends. Business executives and other professionals think of Happy Hour as an opportunity to relax after work, get thoroughly drunk and start casual relationships with colleagues.

Spirits & Cocktails

More sophisticated Americans enjoy cocktails. There are thousands of fancy names for them, but some of the most popular are Bloody Marys (vodka and tomato juice) and Screwdrivers (orange juice and vodka). Also popular are Daiquiris, which are made with ice and rum, and come in strawberry, lime and other flavors. Pina coladas are coconut flavoured, and mudslides are made with rum, kahlua, chocolate and ice cream. Americans also love to “do shots”. A shot is a small glass of alcohol that you drink in one quick gulp. Typical shots are made with tequila, whiskey or rum. One of the most powerful shots is the “Kamikaze”, which is made with vodka, triple sec and lime juice. Its green color looks wonderful on car upholstery when you puke it up hours later.

Beer

The most popular alcoholic drink in America is beer. In fact, the average American drinks about 100 litres of beer a year. Americans are as loyal to their beer brands as they are to their football teams. There are “Beer of the Month” clubs, beer collectibles and even a beer cookbook, which has recipes with beer, and recipes for foods that go well with beer. Beer companies attract customers with provocative ads that usually include Swedish models in bikinis, or gorgeous girls who decide to sleep with dorks simply because of the beer they’re drinking. One of the most successful beer commercials was from Budweiser. In it, a group of friends greeted each other by happily yelling, “Whassup?” There were many versions of the ad, including one in a karaoke club and another with Italian mafiosos. This helped Budweiser sales, and led to an increase of idiots crying “whassuuuuup” every time someone said hello to them. So what will you drink on your next visit to the States?

G L O S S A R Y

soda n a bubbly drink with sugar, such as Coke, Pepsi, Fanta, etc lime n a small, green fruit similar to a lemon grape n a small fruit that is used to make wine cherry n a small, red fruit crystal-clear adj transparent lesser-known adj not as well known as other things to blame vb to say that someone is responsible for something a can n a small, cylindrical, metal container for beer, coke, etc to scare vb to frighten a limb n an arm or a leg an ad n a piece of publicity about a product a lip n the part of your mouth that you use to kiss meaningful adj significant mud n a mixture of water and earth the rise of exp if there is a “rise of” something, there is an increase in that thing a café n a bar where you can have hot drinks and food to get wasted, trashed, annihilated, bombed, wrecked exp to get very drunk booze n alcohol a fraternity party n US a party organised by a social organisation at a university or college in America a hangover n the terrible pain in your head the morning after a night of drinking alcohol to puke vb inform to vomit fancy adj sophisticated a gulp n a quantity of liquid that you drink car upholstery n the material on the seats in the interior of a car beer collectibles n objects that you can collect and that are related to beer foods that go well with beer exp food that is good to have with beer a dork n US inform an idiot to greet vb to say hello to yell vb to shout