美國的酒大致可分為啤酒、的雞尾酒、的威士忌和葡萄酒。啤酒有淡啤酒和濃啤酒之別;包裝采用瓶裝、的聽裝和壺裝。雞尾酒和“混合飲料”含有很濃的酒精成分，飲用方式一般有加冰和不加冰兩種，其配制方式各種各樣。威士忌也是一種烈性酒，而且呈油狀，分為黑麥威士忌和蘇格蘭威士忌。葡萄酒分為紅、的白兩種，但值得注意的是：標有“Chablis”商標的葡萄酒并非法國所產(chǎn)的無甜味的白葡萄酒，而是美國加利弗尼亞州生產(chǎn)的白葡萄酒，該酒在美國享有盛譽。

　　Wine

　　In bars wine can often be bought by the glass. Don't be misled by names such as "Chablis" is used to refer to white wine, and "Burgundy" to red—Americans seem never to have heard of white Burgundy.

　　Cocktails

　　Cocktails and "mixed drinks" are much more popular and rather stronger in the USA than in Europe, and visitors may not be familiar with some of the terminology(術語). "On the rocks", as you probably know, means with ice, while "straight up" or "up" means neat and without ice.

　　There are hundreds of different cocktails, and there is no space here to list all the different names.

　　The Hard Stuff

　　In America "whiskey" means bourbon(一種烈性威士忌酒，最初為美國肯塔基州Bourbon地區(qū)所產(chǎn)) unless otherwise indicated. Bourbon is a rather oily spiritmade from maize(玉米). Rye(黑麥威士忌酒) whiskey is called "rye" and Scotch whiskey "Scotch".

　　Beer

　　American beer, with very few exceptions, varies from the mediocre(普通的) to the terrible. There are not many types of beer in the US—"light" and "dark" are two terms commonly used.

　　It is therefore normal to order beer simply by brand name. In a restaurant, in fact, it is quite all right to order "a beer", and they will tell youwhat they have.

　　It is not necessary, either, to specify quantity when ordering beer. If it comes in bottles or cans, you will get a bottle or can, and if it's "on tap"(可以隨時取用的) you will get a glass, unless you order a "pitcher"(有嘴和柄的大酒罐 i.e.a jug). The latter is very convenient thing to do, since you can then take the jug and glasses to your table and keep filling up without going back to the bar. (It is harder, however, to know how much you have drunk.)

　　Some beer comes in bottles with tops that look as if they need an opener, but you can, in fact, screw(擰開) them off by hand—though you have to be very careful not to hurt yourself. It is possible, in some stores and bars,to find a wide selection of beer from all over the world, especially Western Europe and Australia, and it is good fun to experiment with these.