Course Description: An introductory earth systems science course that provides a high-level overview of the environmental and geological factors that influence the production of beer, wine, and spirit alcohol. No prerequisites apart from an interest in the natural world and a passion for more knowledge on the science of alcoholic beverages is required. The course is broken into five sections: (1) science basics, including the details of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and geosphere (2) geology of beer, (3) geology of wine, (4) geology of distilled spirits, (5) environmental history, and (6) bourbon in the Bluegrass. The focus of sections 2, 3 and 4 are a series of lectures that follows a case study approach. “Famous” bottles of beer, wine, and spirits will be used to contextualize the critical zone of regions across the globe that have become renowned for the production of alcoholic beverages. In section 5, we will explore how critical events in environmental history (climate change, wildfires, earthquakes) have influenced these areas. In module 6, the course will emphasize the unique convergence of environmental and geological conditions in central Kentucky that has allowed the bourbon tradition to flourish