Which alcoholic drinks are drunk before a meal and which after?

In my family, people usually drink a small glass of plum brandy before lunch and a glass of wine after. What about all the other common alcoholic drinks such as whiskey, beer, liqueur, vodka etc? What's the etiquette for them?

Which alcoholic drinks are drunk before a meal and which after?
If you want to go with the traditional...if there is a cocktail period before dinner like at a wedding then any kind of cocktail is fine.



Then there are before dinner aperitifs like sherry or ouzo. There are literally hundreds of different kinds of aperitifs because it's a very common custom all over the world to have them and just about every country has at least one that they call their own.



An aperitif is normally served with something small like olives, cheese, etc and they are never served on the rocks.



At formal dinners, wine is usually drunk with the meal. And if you want to get really formal, if you go to the Riedel website, the number of glasses they have for each individual type of drink is mind boggling.



The traditional after dinner drink is a digestif, also never serves on the rocks...Limoncello is used for this in Italy, but other common digestifs are cognacs, armagnacs, fine whiskeys, fortified wine like port or madeira. Plum wine is served in Japanese restaurants as a digestif.



These are really only used at very formal dinners though. For non-formal dinners, you just have whatever you want.
Reply:I'm a beer man myself... and with all the different varieties I've found that food pairing with it is easy. A nice light malt low ABV beer with appetizers, Something a little heavier or full bodies with the mean... depending on the meal itself of course and then a nice fruity beer paired with dessert... unless it is chocolate and then I'll get a stout of some sort.



As far as etiquette goes... Toss it out the window and reach for what tastes best with the food you are eating... and what tastes best to you.
Reply:I think you can have one or two of any sort of alcoholic beverage with a meal and it is etiquettely appropriate, granted it isnt 10:00AM.



Wine or champagne with a fancy/formal dinner

Irish coffee is popular for after dinner
Reply:If I'm at a restaurant, I will order a martini before I sit down, usually while waiting at the bar for our table. Then during the meal, I'll have wine. Afterwards I either have a glass of port or an Irish or Mexican coffee.

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