Slang Names for Alcohol

Alcohol has been a part of various cultures across the world for centuries, and as its popularity has increased so has the number of slang names for alcohol. Today there are almost as many slang names for alcohol as there are types of alcohol itself, and equally there are different slang names that hail from different parts of the world. Here are just a few of the most popular slang names for alcohol.

Booze

Booze is probably one of the most widely used slang names for alcohol. The term dates back to the 14th Century and was traditionally used when describing drinking alcohol to excess.

Hooch

Hooch is a term that was traditionally used to describe alcohol that was home-made, and became a wide-spread slang name during the time of prohibition when alcohol had to be made illicitly.

Moonshine

Moonshine is another slang name that was once used to describe alcohol that was produced illicitly, traditionally corn whisky.

Tipple

This is a common alcoholic slang name that is very inoffensive, and can also refer to drinking small amounts of alcohol rather than drinking to excess.

Toddy

The term “toddy” comes from the traditional alcoholic drink that consisted of warm liquor, usually rum, mixed with water, spices and sugar.

Red-eye

Red-eye traditionally refers to a cheap whiskey but is today a slang name for other types of alcohol too, probably for the effects that alcohol can sometimes have on the eyes.

Juice

Juice is a slang name for alcohol that can be used very inoffensively in public situations.

These are just a few of the slang names that can be used for alcohol, and there’s sure to be many more. It’s interesting to note where a lot of these names came from, with many of them having been used for hundreds of years as traditional terms that are today gaining in popularity as slang names. Why not take a look around and see what other slang terms for alcohol there are.