For thousands of years, Fermented grain, fruit juice, and honey have been used to make alcohol. Archaeologists found the first example of an alcoholic beverage dating back to 7000 BC. They recovered it in early pottery from a Neolithic village in the Yellow River Valley in China. Our 9000-year-old ancestors made their booze from fermenting rice and fruit with honey as a sweetener. Even then, the distillers needed to hide the awful poisonous taste of alcohol with flavoring. Learn More Below