Indulgences

1. A pint

   A pint — the standard glass of draught beer in a pub

   Usage

   The basic unit in British and Irish pubs. The measure differs across the Atlantic: an imperial pint is about 568 ml, a US pint about 473 ml, so the American "pint" is about a sixth smaller. UK law requires draught beer and cider to be sold in a third of a pint, two-thirds of a pint, or multiples of half a pint, in officially stamped glasses. British and Irish pubs generally have no table service — order and pay at the bar. Tipping is not customary; the equivalent gesture is "and one for yourself". You must be 18 to buy, though 16- and 17-year-olds in Britain may drink beer, wine or cider with a meal when an adult is present and buys it

   Grammar Note

   Order with "of": "A pint of lager, please." Half that size is just "a half"

2. Bitter

   Bitter — the British cask-conditioned ale

   Usage

   England. An ale that keeps maturing in the cask (cask ale, or "real ale"), drawn up by a handpump on the bar. It is served at cellar temperature, which feels warm if you are used to cold lager but is not room temperature, and it is only lightly carbonated. Related names on the pumps are best bitter, mild and porter. The consumer group CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) exists to keep this style alive

   Grammar Note

   Uncountable — "a pint of bitter". It is the same word as the adjective "bitter", but in a pub it reads as the drink

3. Stout

   Stout — the dark beer brewed with roasted barley

   Usage

   Ireland and Britain. A black beer made with roasted barley, with a coffee-like bitterness and a dense white head created with nitrogen. Irish pubs pour it in two stages, pausing to let it settle before topping up, so expect to wait a minute or two. Dublin pubs are its home ground

   Grammar Note

   Uncountable — "a pint of stout"; people just as often order it by brand, "a pint of Guinness"

4. Cider

   Cider — fermented apple drink; alcoholic in Britain and Ireland

   Usage

   Britain and Ireland. Fermented apple juice, served by the pint like beer. Traditional English ciders range widely in strength, roughly 1.2% to 8.5% ABV. The south-west of England — Somerset, Herefordshire, Devon — is the heartland, and cloudy, strong farmhouse cider is called "scrumpy". In the United States and Canada "cider" means unfermented apple juice and the alcoholic version is "hard cider". You must be 18 to buy in Britain and Ireland, 21 in the US

   Grammar Note

   Uncountable — "a pint of cider". Because the word flips meaning across the Atlantic, ask for "hard cider" when you want alcohol in America

5. Scotch whisky

   Scotch whisky — the legally defined whisky of Scotland

   Usage

   Scotland. Under the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 it must be distilled at a distillery in Scotland, matured wholly in Scotland in oak casks of no more than 700 litres for at least three years, and bottled at 40% ABV or above. There are five categories: single malt, single grain, blended malt, blended grain and blended. Regions include Speyside, the peaty Islay, Highland, Lowland and Campbeltown. A serving is called "a dram", a Scottish usage. Order it neat, with a splash of water, or on the rocks

   Grammar Note

   Scottish spelling is "whisky" without an "e"; Irish and American spellings use "whiskey". The spelling on a label is a quick clue to where it was made

6. Irish whiskey

   Irish whiskey — whiskey made on the island of Ireland

   Usage

   The island of Ireland, north and south. Most of it is triple-distilled and is generally described as lighter and smoother than Scotch. "Single pot still", made in a pot still from a mash of malted and unmalted barley, is a distinctively Irish style. Irish coffee — hot coffee with sugar and a float of cream — is a pub standard. The purchase age is 18

   Grammar Note

   Irish and American spelling is "whiskey" with an "e"; Scottish, Canadian and Japanese is "whisky". The plurals follow: "whiskeys" and "whiskies"

7. Bourbon

   Bourbon — the American corn-based whiskey

   Usage

   The United States. Federal standards require at least 51% corn in the mash, ageing in new charred oak containers, distillation to no more than 160 proof (80% ABV), barrelling at no more than 125 proof, bottling at 80 proof (40% ABV) or above, and production in the US. Kentucky is not legally required, although most bourbon is made there. "Straight bourbon" means aged at least two years with no added colouring or flavouring. It is the base of the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan. The purchase age is 21 in every state

8. Gin and tonic

   Gin and tonic — gin with tonic water, ice and a slice of citrus

   Usage

   Britain, where it is colloquially a "G and T" (G&T): gin topped with tonic water over ice with a slice of lemon or lime. It is a pub and bar standard, and many places now offer a choice of gins from small British distilleries. UK bars must pour spirits in set legal measures and display which measure they use, so you cannot ask for it "strong" — ask for "a double" if you want twice the spirit

9. Crisps

   Crisps — the British word for bagged potato chips

   Usage

   Britain and Ireland: thin fried potato slices in a bag, eaten in pubs alongside a pint. This is the textbook transatlantic swap — British "crisps" are American "potato chips", and British "chips" are American "French fries". Australia and New Zealand call both "chips" and distinguish the fried ones as "hot chips". Distinctively British flavours include cheese and onion, salt and vinegar, prawn cocktail and roast chicken

   Grammar Note

   Used in the plural; one bag is "a packet of crisps" in Britain and "a bag of chips" in America. Singular "crisp" is the adjective meaning crunchy

10. Sweets

    Sweets — the British word for candy

    Usage

    The word for sugar confectionery splits by country: "sweets" in Britain and Ireland, "candy" in the US and Canada, "lollies" in Australia and New Zealand. A bar of chocolate is a "chocolate bar" in Britain and a "candy bar" in America. Travellers often notice that the chocolate itself tastes different — British Cadbury Dairy Milk and American Hershey's are made differently, and Hershey's has a tang that British chocolate does not. The shop selling it loose is a "sweet shop" in Britain and a "candy store" in America

    Grammar Note

    British "sweets" is a countable plural — "a sweet" is one piece. American "candy" is uncountable, so one piece is "a piece of candy"

11. S'mores

    S'mores — toasted marshmallow and chocolate between graham crackers

    Usage

    The United States and Canada. At a campfire or a backyard fire pit you toast a marshmallow on a stick and sandwich it with a piece of chocolate between two graham crackers (sweet wholemeal crackers); the heat melts the chocolate and glues it together. It is a fixture of campsites and summer camps, and supermarkets sell the components together as a "s'mores kit"

    Grammar Note

    The name is a contraction of "some more", which is why it has an apostrophe. It is normally used in the plural; one is "a s'more"

12. Cigarettes

    Cigarettes — age limits and where you may smoke vary sharply by country

    Usage

    Purchase age: 21 in every US state and territory since 20 December 2019; 18 in Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand; 18 or 19 in Canada depending on the province (21 in Prince Edward Island). Expect to be asked for photo ID. Indoor smoking in pubs, restaurants and workplaces has been banned progressively — Ireland in 2004, the first nationwide ban in the world, Scotland in 2006, England in July 2007 — and is now prohibited across Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and most US states; in a pub you may smoke only in the outdoor beer garden. Australia has required plain packaging since December 2012 and taxes tobacco very heavily. Britain is considering legislation that would progressively end sales to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, which would change how the purchase age works if it passes

    Grammar Note

    British slang for one cigarette is "a fag" — but do not use that word in the United States, where it is a strong slur. Australian and New Zealand slang is "a smoke" or "a durry"

13. Vape

    Vape — the e-cigarette; how you can obtain one differs completely by country

    Usage

    Australia is the strictest case: since 1 July 2024, nicotine vapes are sold only through pharmacies. Products at 20 mg/ml or less can be bought without a prescription at 18 or over, subject to the pharmacist, while stronger ones need one, and importing disposable vapes is banned — bringing them in as a souvenir or for personal use risks confiscation. In Britain they are sold widely to over-18s, but single-use disposables are being taken off sale, so a shop may stock only refillables. New Zealand sells to over-18s, with general retailers limited to tobacco, mint and menthol flavours. In the US the age is 21, the same as for tobacco. Where indoor smoking is banned, vaping is usually banned too

    Grammar Note

    "Vape" works as both a noun (the device) and a verb (to use one). The device is also called an e-cigarette, and the small throwaway kind a "disposable vape"

14. Off-licence

    Off-licence — the British shop licensed to sell alcohol to take away

    Usage

    The name of the shop that sells alcohol to take away changes everywhere: "off-licence" (colloquially "the offie") in Britain and Ireland, "liquor store" in the US — "package store", or "packie", in New England — "bottle shop" ("bottle-o") in Australia, "bottle store" in New Zealand, and in Canada the name of the provincial monopoly, such as the LCBO in Ontario or the SAQ in Quebec. American rules vary sharply by state and county: some states (Utah, Pennsylvania and others) sell spirits only through state-run stores, and dry counties that sell no alcohol at all still exist — 26 of Alabama's 67 counties, around 39 in Kentucky. Utah caps grocery-store beer at 5% ABV, and some states restrict Sunday sales. The purchase age is 21 in the US and 18 in Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, and you will be asked for ID

    Grammar Note

    British English spells the noun "licence" and the verb "license"; American English uses "license" for both. The term is British, so it is written "off-licence"

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