Francesco,

while this is not probably the place and time period you are interested in, I can recommend William B. Taylor's Drinking, Homicide, and Rebellion in Colonial Mexican Villages (Stanford University Press, 1979).

The patterns the author works out for this 16th- through 18th-century context may well have some comparative relevance to your specific area/time of research.

Hope this helps,

Michael

Thank you Michael

It may not be strictly pertinent, but it's interesting, that's for sure

Kind regards

Francesco 

The Society for the Study of Addiction has been around for about 150 years, and this paper regarding its origins may be of interest to you:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1990.tb02607.x/abstract

And this site has some victorian perspectives:

http://www.victorianweb.org/science/addiction/index.html

Hope this helps!

Bob

There's also a pretty decent book entitled THE PURSUIT OF OBLIVION: A GLOBAL HISTORY OF NARCOTICS by Richard Davenport-Hines that goes back about 3000 years.  It's not focused on alcohol, but covers it, and because it was used as a solution into which other substances were mixed (e.g. the advent of laudanum etc) and other "potions" which were often alcohol-based.  Interesting reading - may not be exactly what you're looking for but the references in the book may point towards something more spot-on.  

maybe you could find something here:

Subject: CALL FOR AUTHORS: Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical

Perspectives

Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 15:09:49 -0500

From: Joseph Golson

To: [email protected]

Reply-To: Academic and scholarly discussion of addiction and related

topics

Greetings,

Historians speculate that prehistoric nomads may have made beer from

grain and water before learning to make bread. Ale is one of the

oldest beverages humans have produced, dating back to at least the

fifth millennium B.C.E., and its production was recorded in the

written histories of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Among the

provisions listed for Noah’s ark: beer. Clay tablets 4,000 years old

hold beer recipes, and beer residue has been chemically detected in

7,000-year-old pottery jars from Persia. And this is to say nothing of

the two other major classes of alcoholic beverages: wine and spirits.

Alcohol consumption goes to the very roots of nearly all human

societies. Different countries and regions have become associated with

different varieties of alcohol, for instance, the “beer culture” of

Germany, the “wine culture” of France, Japan and sake, Russia and

vodka, the Caribbean and rum, or the “moonshine culture” of

Appalachia. Wine is used in religious rituals, and toasts are used to

seal business deals or to celebrate marriages and state dinners.

However, our relation with alcohol is one of love/hate. We also

regulate it and tax it, we pass laws about when and where it is

appropriate, we crack down severely on drunk driving, and the United

States and other countries tried the failed “Noble Experiment” of

Prohibition. By presenting some 550 entries, we propose to go beyond

the United States and beyond the historical lens to examine alcohol as

a cultural and social phenomenon—both for good and for ill—from the

earliest days of humankind.

This comprehensive project will be published by SAGE Reference and

will be marketed to academic and public libraries as a print and

digital product available to students via the library’s electronic

services. The General Editor, who will be reviewing each submission to

the project, is Dr. Scott C. Martin, Bowling Green State University.

We are currently making new assignments with a deadline of September 20,

2013.

If you are interested in contributing to this cutting-edge reference,

it is a unique opportunity to contribute to the contemporary

literature, redefining sociological issues in today’s terms. Moreover,

it can be a notable publication addition to your CV/resume and broaden

your publishing credits. SAGE Publications offers an honorarium

ranging from SAGE book credits for smaller articles up to a free set

of the printed product for contributions totaling 10,000 words or

more.

The list of available articles is already prepared, and as a next step

we will e-mail you the Article List (Excel file) from which you can

select topics that best fit your expertise and interests.

Additionally, Style and Submission Guidelines will be provided that

detail article specifications.

If you would like to contribute to building a truly outstanding

reference with Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives,

please contact me by the e-mail information below. Please provide your

CV or a brief summary of your academic/publishing credentials in

related disciplines.

Thanks very much.

Joseph Golson

Author Manager

[email protected]

maybe you could find something here:

Subject: CALL FOR AUTHORS: Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical

Perspectives

Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 15:09:49 -0500

From: Joseph Golson

To: [email protected]

Reply-To: Academic and scholarly discussion of addiction and related

topics

Greetings,

Historians speculate that prehistoric nomads may have made beer from

grain and water before learning to make bread. Ale is one of the

oldest beverages humans have produced, dating back to at least the

fifth millennium B.C.E., and its production was recorded in the

written histories of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Among the

provisions listed for Noah’s ark: beer. Clay tablets 4,000 years old

hold beer recipes, and beer residue has been chemically detected in

7,000-year-old pottery jars from Persia. And this is to say nothing of

the two other major classes of alcoholic beverages: wine and spirits.

Alcohol consumption goes to the very roots of nearly all human

societies. Different countries and regions have become associated with

different varieties of alcohol, for instance, the “beer culture” of

Germany, the “wine culture” of France, Japan and sake, Russia and

vodka, the Caribbean and rum, or the “moonshine culture” of

Appalachia. Wine is used in religious rituals, and toasts are used to

seal business deals or to celebrate marriages and state dinners.

However, our relation with alcohol is one of love/hate. We also

regulate it and tax it, we pass laws about when and where it is

appropriate, we crack down severely on drunk driving, and the United

States and other countries tried the failed “Noble Experiment” of

Prohibition. By presenting some 550 entries, we propose to go beyond

the United States and beyond the historical lens to examine alcohol as

a cultural and social phenomenon—both for good and for ill—from the

earliest days of humankind.

This comprehensive project will be published by SAGE Reference and

will be marketed to academic and public libraries as a print and

digital product available to students via the library’s electronic

services. The General Editor, who will be reviewing each submission to

the project, is Dr. Scott C. Martin, Bowling Green State University.

We are currently making new assignments with a deadline of September 20,

2013.

If you are interested in contributing to this cutting-edge reference,

it is a unique opportunity to contribute to the contemporary

literature, redefining sociological issues in today’s terms. Moreover,

it can be a notable publication addition to your CV/resume and broaden

your publishing credits. SAGE Publications offers an honorarium

ranging from SAGE book credits for smaller articles up to a free set

of the printed product for contributions totaling 10,000 words or

more.

The list of available articles is already prepared, and as a next step

we will e-mail you the Article List (Excel file) from which you can

select topics that best fit your expertise and interests.

Additionally, Style and Submission Guidelines will be provided that

detail article specifications.

If you would like to contribute to building a truly outstanding

reference with Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives,

please contact me by the e-mail information below. Please provide your

CV or a brief summary of your academic/publishing credentials in

related disciplines.

Thanks very much.

Joseph Golson

Author Manager

[email protected]

Hi, I don't know whether or not you have seen these papers?:

Seller, S. C. (1985). Alcohol abuse in the old testament. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 20, 69-76 and

Seller, S. C. (1987). Alcohol Abuse in the New Testament. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 22, 83-90.