What we're reading: Fordrunken, up the pole, and other words for getting lit and more

First up, and it’s one from the Atlantic in 2015, is one that lists some of the more out there words we humans have come up with for getting drunk; it’s a quick read, and a great opportunity to work words like ‘lushy’ and ‘up the pole’ into your vocabulary.

There’s a number of words for getting drunk, and that’s something we’ve been doing for a long time — at least 900 years or so, according to this story on National Geographic. It’s no accident that we love the drink, by the way, and it also might be the driving force behind civilisation: as the story says, “alcohol is one of the most universally produced and enjoyed substances in history—and in prehistory too, because people were imbibing alcohol long before they invented writing.”

“What a 30 year old perceives, is different to what a 60 year old can perceive,” says Dr. Max Wiznitzer in this talk from Tales of the Cocktail, Brains and Booze: The Neurology of Mixology. Dr Wiznitzer is an esteemed neurologist, and he is joined one stage by his daughter and accomplished New York bartender, Pamela Wiznitzer, for this discussion on how we taste, smell, and perceive the wonderful world of booze. It’s a long watch, but if you want to know the why behind the drinks you love, it’s an interesting introduction.

Scottish whisky distilleries have developed a love for the sherry cask, and built brands upon their influence. In this story, celebrated drinks writer Wayne Curtis looks at the importance of sherry to whisky.