Spain has thousands of bars, cafes and night-clubs where people of all ages and classes spend many hours of the day and night meeting friends, drinking and talking.
But in spite of this round-the-clock boozing it is rare, and indeed unacceptable, for anyone to become incapably drunk. Perhaps because of this, and a growing health consciousness, with even a belated awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving, sales of alcohol-free beers and wines are booming.
In the southern Spanish city of Granada, Espadafor, an enterprising family-owned firm which specialises in non-alcoholic beverages, decided to cash in on this new fad and has produced what Irish and Scots would probably consider the ultimate heresy, whiskey without alcohol.
Whiskey is the most widely sold spirit in Spain, and Domingo Carrion, spokesman for Espadafor, said he was convinced that there was a market at home, and probably abroad, for a whiskey substitute. "We noticed the trends towards low-alcohol beverages and believe there is a demand for a whiskey substitute that people can drink without fear of getting drunk."
"Whissin", an abbreviation of "whiskey sin (without) alcohol", is the result of more than two years of research to find such a substitute. It is made from a blend of sugar, barley, maize and wheat, heated and pasteurised by a method which prevents the sugars from fermenting into alcohol. Secret aromas are then added to give the unmistakable flavour of the genuine article.
In a series of blind tastings, carried out in the weeks before yesterday's launch, the reaction of tasters was described as "favourable surprise". Mr Carrion admitted that they were not releasing a true whiskey, but something similar without the side-effects. "It is impossible to imitate on the palate the sensation produced by a drink containing 40 per cent alcohol. But Whissin is a substitute to drink like whiskey: neat, on ice or with mixers."
Jose Espadafor, commercial director of his family's firm, revealed that its next goal was a rum without alcohol. "It would give us tremendous satisfaction if we succeed," he said.