Cookbook talk:Alcoholic Beverages

I've renamed this page Alcoholic drinks, just to make it a bit wider in scope. My, we need some content here! Redlentil 21:37, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I think the "Warnings" section is mostly extraneous. A couple of short paragraphs should suffice. I wonder about the selection/veracity of a couple of those items also: particularly, the "abnormally deep sleep, allowing an adult to roll onto a baby" and the one about obese people combusting. PurplePieman 17:33, 1 May 2005 (UTC)


 * Alcohol frequently kills and maims people. I'm sure that most bar patrons are oblivious to this fact; they wouldn't go to bars if they were fully aware now, would they? Most people will ignore the warnings here, as they do elsewhere, but perhaps a few lives might be saved. I kept things factual, avoiding words like "idiot" and "moron". I have shown restraint, resisting the urge to make that warning into a template that goes on every page. AlbertCahalan 18:03, 1 May 2005 (UTC)


 * As for the two specific items you mention: It is fact that it is safe for a baby to sleep next to an adult (not child; children have different sleep patterns), provided that the adult is not obese or under the influence of alcohol, sleeping pills, or other drugs. (the sleep surface must be appropriate, of course) Human combustion occurs via a candle-like wicking effect, nearly always to those that are obese and drunk. AlbertCahalan 18:03, 1 May 2005 (UTC)


 * I don't see how you can argue with the point of view of dry facts. Were I to express an opinion on the wisdom of drinking alcohol, then you might have a legitimate argument over point of view. I can't help it that the harsh facts are unpleasant and may cause you to question your own point of view. The facts are what they are. AlbertCahalan 18:03, 1 May 2005 (UTC)


 * Regardless of the evils of alcohol, I don't think a cookbook is the proper place to discuss all these possible effects drinking can have on your life. As I said, a warnings section is a good idea, but it should be brief: anybody wanting elaboration can go to the Wikipedia entries on Alcoholism, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, etc. That's exactly why I dispute the NPOV...while the facts may be true (I'm still having trouble with the spontaneous combustion), it is obviously biased against alcohol.From NPOV dispute: "While all facts might be presented fairly, the very selection (and omission) of facts can make an module biased." PurplePieman 19:23, 1 May 2005 (UTC)


 * Being neither Muslim not Protestant, I didn't remember to mention the evils of alcohol. :-) The section does indeed direct readers wanting elaboration to Wikipedia. I agree that omission of facts can be considered bias, and would not be opposed to mentioning that small amounts of alcohol can be useful for cardiovascular reasons. Harvard says "For men, a good balance point is 1 to 2 drinks a day. For women, it's at most one drink a day." The USDA agrees, while also mentioning hypertension and cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract, and stating that women of childbearing age who could become pregnant should completely abstain. In fact, I'll add this now, hopefully addressing your objections. AlbertCahalan 20:12, 1 May 2005 (UTC)


 * Thanks! I still think it's much too verbose, but that's more of a style issue. Do you have a source for the "spontaneous combustion"? I'm not sure how controversial that is, but it sounds really bizarre? PurplePieman 21:03, 6 May 2005 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia covers it pretty well. The BBC has a good article on it. Somebody at the BBC burned a pig corpse in a model house to prove how "spontaneous combustion" happens. Victims tend to be female, obese, not young, smokers, drunk, and dehydrated. Alcohol obviously causes the drunkenness; it can also be a contributing factor to obesity and dehydration. To be clear, there is nothing spontaneous about "spontaneous combustion". (the tabloids gave it that name, making for better headlines) It's very much like a candle burning, and is able to consume most of a human. The person smoulders for many hours, with barely any flame. Being drunk keeps the victim from reacting to the fire. Note that smokers are more at risk; presumably this is the typical ignition source. Strong alcoholic drinks can also burn; a spill would help to get things started. I certainly don't claim that "spontaneous combustion" is a common problem, but it is: real, interesting, and related to the use of alcohol. AlbertCahalan 01:24, 7 May 2005 (UTC)

Sorry - but you really need to have watched the actual programme aired by the BBC back in 1998. Through the course of the programme spontaneous combustion as described in this article is rubbished, and explains how bodies 'appear' to have spontaneously combusted in very specific conditions. This kind of non-factual material does not belong in this article. I would also add that this is not a soapbox, and I'm afraid this is how the article reads. --Robins, 23:25, 05 July 2005 (BST)

I agree that the warnings is a bit over the top, perhaps putting a link to a special site.I mean, I know that I keep wanting to add "Yes, but are there any negative effects?" --Frontier 13:07, 18 May 2005 (UTC)

I definitely agree that spontaneoous combustion topic needs to be carefully researched before putting it out under a topic for Cookbook Talk - Alcohol Drink. Apart from the evils of drinking alcohol there is some good news for people suffering from Rhematic diseases are likely to protect themselves (by having alcohol) from the disease by reducing the inflammation within the body like the way red wine helps in protecting the heart. But of course the amount of alcohol consumed should be on moderate levels and not on a high level. -

Nithyap

Suffering from an addiction. This website has a lot of great resources and treatment centers.

http://www.treatmentcenters.org

I don't agree with the warnings. If we keep them we also should start to add warnings everywhere. In the Wikipedia's articles about barbiturates, in recipes containing fat foods and advice on Ferrari's article not to drive at maximum speed. -- Zimbricchio
 * Okay, I toned down the warnings, and removed the NPOV tag. Hopefully, everybody will be happy with this. --- PurplePieman 04:46, 10 August 2005 (UTC)

Legal disclaimer, Medical disclaimer. I think thats fairly explicit that any warnings given here should be discarded by the reader so why go into so much depth. At most there should be inter-wiki links to Effects of alcohol on the body Legal considerations and a brief sentence saying you may wish to consult your docter or lawyer Discordance 22:12, 2 March 2006 (UTC)


 * I totally agree Discordance, most people are able to think and judge for themselves, on the same side of the coin, who has a doctor or lawyer sitting next to them, advising them as they surf the pages of Wikipedia?.TrumpyNZ 07:40, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Spirits
I reworded the section to say other drinks are not widely used in cooking but i cant think of many recipes that use whiskey or vodka. Anyway if anyone knows better please calrify the sentence, i was changing it in the first place because it seemed to suggest there were only 4 types of spirit which is far from true, and most glaringly it ommitted tequila and gin which are extremely important as cocktail bases i thought theyd probably been left out as this is a cookbook and not a cocktail recipe guide. Discordance 21:53, 2 March 2006 (UTC)