Liquor

For the sweetened and flavored alcoholic beverages, seeLiqueur.For other uses, seeLiquor (disambiguation).

An oldwhiskeystill

A display of various liquors in a supermarket

Some single-drink liquor bottles available in Germany

Liquor(/ˈlɪkər/LIK-ər) is analcoholic drinkproduced by thedistillationofgrains,fruits,vegetables,orsugarthat have already gone throughalcoholic fermentation.Other terms for liquor include:spirit,distilled beverage,booze, spirituous liquororhard liquor.The distillation process concentrates the liquid to increase itsalcohol by volume.As liquors contain significantly morealcohol(ethanol) than other alcoholic drinks, they are considered "harder." In North America, the termhard liquoris sometimes used to distinguish distilled alcoholic drinks from non-distilled ones, whereas the termspiritsis more commonly used in the UK. Some examples of liquors includevodka,rum,gin,andtequila.Liquors are often aged inbarrels,such as for the production ofbrandyandwhiskey,or are infused with flavorings to formflavored liquors,such asabsinthe.

While the wordliquorordinarily refers to distilled alcoholic spirits rather than beverages produced by fermentation alone,it can sometimes be used more broadly to refer to any alcoholic beverage (or even non-alcoholic products of distillation or various other liquids).

Like other alcoholic drinks, liquor is typically consumed for thepsychoactiveeffects of alcohol. Liquor may be consumed on its own ( "neat"), typically in amounts of around 50 millilitres (1.7 US fluid ounces) per served drink. In an undiluted form, distilled beverages are often slightly sweet and bitter and typically impart a burning mouthfeel with an odor derived from the alcohol and the production and aging processes; the exact flavor varies between different varieties of liquor and the different impurities they impart. Liquor is also frequently mixed with other ingredients to form acocktail.

Rapid consumption of a large amount of liquor can cause severe alcohol intoxication oralcohol poisoning,which can be fatal. Consistent consumption of liquor over time correlates with higher mortality and other harmful health effects, even when compared to other alcoholic beverages.

Nomenclature

The term "spirit" (singular and used without the additional term "drink" ) refers to liquor that should not contain added sugarand is usually 35–40%alcohol by volume(ABV).Fruit brandy,for example, is also known as 'fruit spirit'.

Liquor bottled with added sugar and flavorings, such asGrand Marnier,amaretto,andAmericanschnapps,are known instead asliqueurs.

Liquor generally has an alcohol concentration higher than 30% when bottled, and before being diluted for bottling, it typically has a concentration over 50%.Beerandwine,which are not distilled, typically have a maximum alcohol content of about 15% ABV, as mostyeastscannot metabolize when the concentration of alcohol is above this level; as a consequence,fermentationceases at that point.

Etymology

The origin ofliquorand its close relativeliquidis the Latin verbliquere,meaning 'to be fluid'. According to theOxford English Dictionary(OED), an early use of the word in the English language, meaning simply "a liquid", can be dated to 1225. The first use documented in theOEDdefined as "a liquid for drinking" occurred in the 14th century. Its use as a term for "an intoxicating alcoholic drink" appeared in the 16th century.

Legal definition

European Union

In accordance with the regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 17, 2019,aspirit drinkis analcoholic beveragethat has been produced:

• either directly by using, individually or in combination, any of the following methods:
  1. distillation, with or without added flavorings or flavoring foodstuffs, offermented products;
  2. maceration or similar processing of plant materials inethyl alcohol of agricultural origin,distillates of agricultural origin or spirit drinks or a combination thereof;
  3. addition, individually or in combination, to ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, distillates of agricultural origin, or spirit drinks of flavorings, colors, other authorized ingredients, sweetening products, other agricultural products, and foodstuffs.
• or by adding, individually or in combination, to it any of the following:
  1. other spirit drinks;
  2. ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin;
  3. distillates of agricultural origin;
  4. other foodstuffs.

Spirit drinks must contain at least 15% ABV (except in the case of egg liqueur, which must contain a minimum of 14% ABV).

Distillate of agricultural origin

Regulation makes a difference between "ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin" and a "distillate of agricultural origin".Distillate of agricultural originis defined as an alcoholic liquid that is the result of the distillation, after alcoholic fermentation, of agricultural products which does not have the properties of ethyl alcohol and which retain the aroma and taste of the raw materials used.

Categories

Viru Valge,anEstonianvodka

Annex 1 to the regulation lists 44 categories of spirit drinks and their legal requirements.

Some spirit drinks can fall into more than one category. Specific production requirements distinguish one category from another (London gin falls into the Gin category but any gin cannot be considered as London gin).

Spirit drinks that are not produced within the EU, such astequilaorbaijiu,are not listed in the 44 categories.

1. Rum
2. Whisky
3. Grain spirit
4. Wine spirit
5. Brandy
6. Grape marc spiritor grape marc
7. Fruit marc spirit
8. Raisinspirit orraisin brandy
9. Fruit spirit
10. Ciderspirit,perryspirit and cider and perry spirit
11. Honeyspirit
12. Hefebrandorleesspirit
13. Bierbrand,or beer spirit
14. Topinambur orJerusalem artichokespirit
15. Vodka
16. Spirit (supplemented by the name of the fruit, berries or nuts) obtained by maceration and distillation
17. Geist(supplemented by the name of the fruit or the raw materials used)
18. Gentian
19. Juniper-flavored spirit drink
20. Gin
21. Distilled gin
22. London gin
23. Caraway-flavored spirit drink orKümmel
24. Akvavitoraquavit
25. Aniseed-flavored spirit drink (e.g.rakı,ouzo)
26. Pastis
27. PastisdeMarseille
28. Anisorjaneževec
29. Distilled anis
30. Bitter-tasting spirit drink orbitters
31. Flavoredvodka
32. Sloe-aromatized spirit drink orpacharán
33. Liqueur
34. Crèmede(supplemented by the name of a fruit or other raw material used)
35. Sloe gin
36. Sambuca
37. Maraschino,marrasquinoormaraskino
38. Nocinoouorehovec
39. Eggliqueur oradvocaat,avocatoradvokat
40. Liqueur with egg
41. Mistrà
42. Väkevä glögiorspritglögg
43. BerenburgorBeerenburg
44. Honey nectar ormeadnectar

History of distillation

Main article:Distillation § History

Early history

Distillation equipment used by the 3rd century alchemistZosimos of Panopolis,from theByzantine GreekmanuscriptParisinus graecus 2327.

Early evidence of distillation comes fromAkkadiantablets datedc. 1200 BCdescribing perfumery operations, providing textual evidence that an early, primitive form of distillation was known to theBabyloniansof ancientMesopotamia.Early evidence of distillation also comes fromalchemistsworking inAlexandria,Roman Egypt,in the 1st century.Distilled waterwas described in the 2nd century AD byAlexander of Aphrodisias.Alchemists inRoman Egyptwere using a distillationalembicorstilldevice in the 3rd century.

Distillation was known in the ancientIndian subcontinent,evident from baked clayretortsand receivers found atTaxilaandCharsaddainPakistanandRang MahalinIndiadating to the early centuries of theCommon Era.Frank Raymond Allchinsays these terracotta distill tubes were "made to imitate bamboo".These "Gandharastills "were capable of producing only very weak liquor, as there was no efficient means of collecting the vapors at low heat.

Distillation inChinacould have begun during theEastern Handynasty (1st–2nd centuries), but the distillation of beverages began in theJin(12th–13th centuries) andSouthern Song(10th–13th centuries) dynasties according to archaeological evidence.

Freeze distillationinvolves freezing the alcoholic beverage and then removing the ice. The freezing technique had limitations in geography and implementation limiting how widely this method was put to use.

Distillation of wine

An illustration of brewing and distilling industry methods in England, 1858

The flammable nature of the exhalations of wine was already known to ancient natural philosophers such asAristotle(384–322 BCE),Theophrastus(c. 371– c. 287 BCE), andPliny the Elder(23/24–79 CE).This did not immediately lead to the isolation of alcohol, however, despite the development of more advanced distillation techniques in second- and third-centuryRoman Egypt.An important recognition, first found in one of the writings attributed toJābir ibn Ḥayyān(ninth century CE), was that byadding saltto boiling wine, which increases the wine'srelative volatility,the flammability of the resulting vapors may be enhanced.The distillation of wine is attested in Arabic works attributed toal-Kindī(c. 801–873 CE) and toal-Fārābī(c. 872–950), and in the 28th book ofal-Zahrāwī's (Latin: Abulcasis, 936–1013)Kitāb al-Taṣrīf(later translated into Latin asLiber servatoris).In the twelfth century, recipes for the production ofaqua ardens( "burning water", i.e., alcohol) by distilling wine with salt started to appear in a number of Latin works, and by the end of the thirteenth century, it had become a widely known substance among Western European chemists.Its medicinal properties were studied byArnald of Villanova(1240–1311 CE) andJohn of Rupescissa(c. 1310–1366), the latter of whom regarded it as a life-preserving substance able to prevent all diseases (theaqua vitaeor "water of life", also called by John thequintessenceof wine).

In China, archaeological evidence indicates that the true distillation of alcohol began during the 12th centuryJinorSouthern Songdynasties. Astillhas been found at an archaeological site in Qinglong,Hebei,dating to the 12th century.

In India, the true distillation of alcohol was introduced from theMiddle Eastand was in wide use in theDelhi Sultanateby the 14th century.

The works ofTaddeo Alderotti(1223–1296) describe a method for concentrating alcohol involving repeatedfractional distillationthrough a water-cooled still, by which an alcohol purity of 90% could be obtained.

In 1437, "burned water" (brandy) was mentioned in the records of theCounty of Katzenelnbogenin Germany.

Government regulation

Production

It is legal to distill beverage alcohol as a hobby for personal use in some countries, including New Zealandand the Netherlands.

In many others including theUnited States,it is illegal to distill beverage alcohol without a license, and the licensing process is too arduous for hobbyist-scale production. In some parts of the U.S., it is also illegal to sell a still without a license. Nonetheless, all states allow unlicensed individuals tomake their own beer,and some also allow unlicensed individuals to make their own wine (although making beer and wine is also prohibited in some local jurisdictions).

Sale

Some countries and sub-national jurisdictions limit or prohibit the sale of certain high-percentage alcohol, commonly known asneutral spirit.Due to its flammability (see below) alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content above 70% by volume are not permitted to be transported in aircraft.

Microdistilling

Microdistilling(also known as craft distilling) began to re-emerge as a trend in the United States following themicrobrewingandcraft beermovement in the last decades of the 20th century.

Flammability

See also:Alcohol proof,Flash point,Fire point,andFlaming drink

These flaming cocktails illustrate that some liquors will readily catch fire and burn.

Liquor that contains 40%ABV(80US proof) will catch fire if heated to about 26 °C (79 °F) and if an ignition source is applied to it. This temperature is called itsflash point.The flash point ofpure alcoholis 16.6 °C (61.9 °F), less than average room temperature.

The flammability of liquor is applied in the cooking techniqueflambé.

The flash points of alcohol concentrations from 10% to 96% by weight are:

• 10% – 49 °C (120 °F) –ethanol-based water solution
• 12.5% – about 52 °C (126 °F) –wine
• 15% – 42 °C (108 °F) –sake,mijiu,cheongju
• 20% – 36 °C (97 °F) –shōchū,fortified wine
• 30% – 29 °C (84 °F) – strong shōchū
• 40% – 26 °C (79 °F) – typicalvodka,whiskyorbrandy
• 50% – 24 °C (75 °F) – typicalbaijiu,strong whisky,bottled in bondwhisky, typicalblanche absinthe
• 60% – 22 °C (72 °F) – strong baijiu, normaltsikoudia(called mesoraki or middle raki),barrel proofwhisky, typicalverte absinthe
• 70% – 21 °C (70 °F) –slivovitz
• 80% – 20 °C (68 °F) –strong absinthe
• 90% or more – 17 °C (63 °F) –neutral grain spirit

Serving

See also:Bartending terminology

A row of alcoholic beverages – in this case, spirits – in abar

Liquor can be served:

• Neat – at room temperature without any additional ingredient(s)
• Up – shaken or stirred with ice, strained, and served in astemmed glass
• Down – shaken or stirred with ice, strained, and served in arocks glass
• On the rocks – overice cubes
• Blended or frozen – blended with ice
• With a simple mixer, such asclub soda,tonic water,juice,orcola
• As an ingredient of acocktail
• As an ingredient of ashooter
• With water
• With water poured over sugar (as with absinthe)

Alcohol consumption by country

Main article:List of countries by alcohol consumption

See also:Alcohol preferences in Europe

Map of Europe with individual countries grouped by preferred type of alcoholic drink, based on recorded alcohol consumption per capita (age 15+) (in liters of pure alcohol) in 2016.

Wine

Beer

Spirits

TheWorld Health Organization(WHO) measures and publishes alcohol consumption patterns in different countries. The WHO measures alcohol consumed by persons 15 years of age or older and reports it on the basis of liters of pure alcohol consumedper capitain a given year in a country.

In Europe, spirits (especially vodka) are more popular in the north and east of the continent.

Abandoned 19th-centuryvodkadistillery in Estonia

Alcohol and health

Main article:Alcohol and health

Distilled spirits containethyl alcohol,the same chemical that is present inbeerandwine,and as such, spirit consumption has short-term psychological and physiological effects on the user. Different concentrations of alcohol in the human body have different effects on a person. The effects of alcohol depend on the amount an individual has drunk, the percentage of alcohol in the spirits and the timespan that the consumption took place.

The short-term effects of alcohol consumption range from a decrease in anxiety and motor skills andeuphoriaat lower doses tointoxication(drunkenness), tostupor,unconsciousness,anterograde amnesia(memory "blackouts" ), andcentral nervous system depressionat higher doses.Cell membranesare highly permeable toalcohol,so once it is in the bloodstream, it can diffuse into nearly every cell in the body. Alcohol can greatly exacerbate sleep problems. Duringabstinence,residual disruptions in sleep regularity and sleep patterns are the greatest predictors ofrelapse.

Drinking more than 1–2 drinks a day increases the risk of heart disease,high blood pressure,atrial fibrillation,andstroke.The risk is greater in younger people due tobinge drinking,which may result in violence or accidents.About 3.3 million deaths (5.9% of all deaths) are due to alcohol each year. Unlike wine and perhaps beer, there is no evidence for aJ-shapedhealth effect for the consumption of distilled alcohol.Long-term use can lead to analcohol use disorder,an increased risk of developingphysical dependence.cardiovascular diseaseandseveral types of cancer.

Alcoholism,also known as "alcohol use disorder", is a broad term for any drinking of alcohol that results in problems.Alcoholism reduces a person's life expectancy by around ten yearsand alcohol use is the third-leading cause of early death in the United States.

Consumption of alcohol in any quantitycan cause cancer.Alcohol causesbreast cancer,colorectal cancer,esophageal cancer,liver cancer,andhead-and-neck cancers.The more alcohol is consumed, the higher the cancer risk.

See also

• Aguardiente– Generic term for alcoholic beverages containing 29% to 60% alcohol by volume
• Akvavit– Flavored Scandinavian spirit
• Alcohol measurements § Liquor bottles
• Amaro (liqueur)– Italian herbal liqueur
• Arak– Middle Eastern distilled spirit
• Arrack– Distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in South and Southeast Asia
• Awamori– Distilled alcoholic beverage from Okinawa
• Baijiu– Distilled alcoholic beverage from China /Shōchū/Soju
• Borovička– Slovak alcoholic beverage flavoured with juniper berries
• Cachaça– Distilled beverage popular in Brazil
• Eau de vie– French clear, colorless fruit brandy
• Er guo tou– Style of baijiuPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Fenny– Alcoholic spirit produced in Goa, India
• Freeze distillation– Separating components of a mixture by their melting pointsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Geist– Distilled beverage
• Horilka– Ukrainian alcoholic beverage
• Jenever– French, Dutch and Belgian juniper-flavoured liquor
• Liquor store– Retail shop that sells alcohol
• List of national drinks– Distinct beverages associated with a particular country
• Mahua– indigenously made Indian moonshine alcoholic beveragePages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
• Mamajuana– Drink from the Dominican RepublicPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Mezcal– Distilled alcoholic beverage from Mexico
• Moonshine– High-proof distilled spirit, generally produced illicitly
• Moonshine by country– none
• Orujo– Spanish pomace brandy
• Padlamanggan
• Pálinka– Central European alcohol
• Pisco– Grape spirit made in Peru and Chile
• Poitín– Traditional Irish distilled beverage
• Rakia– Fruit brandy popular in the Balkans
• Rakı– Sweetened, anise-flavored alcoholic drink
• Rectified spirit– Highly concentrated ethanol
• Rượu đế– distilled liquor from VietnamPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
• Schnapps– Several types of flavored distilled alcoholic beverages
• Slivovitz– Slavic fruit brandy
• Tsikoudia– Distilled spirit from Crete
• Tsipouro– Alcoholic beverage from Greece
• Viche– Colombian traditional alcoholic beverage

Bibliography

• Blue, Anthony Dias (2004).The Complete Book of Spirits: A Guide to Their History, Production, and Enjoyment.New York: HarperCollins Publishers.ISBN0-06-054218-7.
• Forbes, Robert (1997).Short History of the Art of Distillation from the Beginnings up to the Death of Cellier Blumenthal.Brill Academic Publishers.ISBN90-04-00617-6.
• Multhauf, Robert (1993).The Origins of Chemistry.Gordon & Breach Science Publishers.ISBN2-88124-594-3.

External links

• Media related toDistilled beveragesat Wikimedia Commons