Liquor (/ˈlɪkər/LIK-ər, sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. While the word liquor ordinarily refers to distilled alcoholic spirits rather than drinks produced by fermentation alone, it can sometimes be used more broadly to refer to any alcoholic beverage (or even non-alcoholic ones produced by distillation or some other practices, such as the brewed liquor of a tea).
The distillation process concentrates the alcohol, the resulting condensate has an increased alcohol by volume. As liquors contain significantly more alcohol (ethanol) than other alcoholic drinks, they are considered "harder". In North America, the term hard liquor is sometimes used to distinguish distilled alcoholic drinks from non-distilled ones, whereas the term spirits is more commonly used in the United Kingdom. Some examples of liquors include vodka, rum, gin and tequila. Liquors are often aged in barrels, such as for the production of brandy and whiskey, or are infused with flavorings to form flavored liquors, such as absinthe. (Full article...)
The Trinidad Sour is an IBA official cocktail. Unusually for a cocktail, it uses Angostura bitters as its base spirit rather than merely as a flavoring agent. The bitters are the single largest component of the drink, in its IBA formulation. The Trinidad Sour was introduced in a 2009 competition by Giuseppe Giovanni, but despite its bold flavors, it was a complete flop, failing to even make the competition's top ten. Yet over time, the drink gained popularity and earned its place as a modern classic. (Full article...)
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A Brandy Alexander is a brandy-based dessert cocktail, consisting of cognac, crème de cacao, and cream, that became popular during the early 20th century. It is a variation of an earlier, gin-based cocktail called simply an Alexander. The cocktail known as Alexander today may contain gin or brandy. Ice cream can be added for a "frozen Brandy Alexander". (Full article...)
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Slivovitz from (clockwise) Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Serbia
Slivovitz is a fruit spirit (or fruit brandy) made from damson plums, often referred to as plum spirit (or plum brandy). Slivovitz is produced in Central and Southeastern Europe, both commercially and privately. Primary producers include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Greece, Hungary, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. In the Balkans, slivovitz is considered a kind of rakia. In Hungary it is considered a kind of pálinka, but in Romania and Moldova it is considered pălincă, similar to țuică. In Czechia, Slovakia, Galicia, and Carpathian-Ruthenia it is considered Pálenka. UNESCO put it in a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists in 2022 on request of the country of geographic origin Serbia. (Full article...)
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Freeze distillation is actually a condensation, not distillation per se. It removes frozen solid, separating a dissolved material from the liquid left behind. This is analogous to true distillation, where the evaporated and re-condensed fraction is enriched.
Ethanol and liquid water are completely miscible, but ethanol is practically insoluble in water ice. That means almost pure water ice can be precipitated from a lean ethanol-water mixture by cooling it sufficiently. The precipitation of water ice from the mixture enriches ethanol in the remaining liquid phase. The two phases can then be separated by filtration or decanting. The temperature at which water ice starts to precipitate depends on the ethanol concentration. Consequently, at a given temperature and ethanol concentration, the freezing process will reach an equilibrium at a specific ratio of water ice and enriched ethanol solution with a specific ethanol concentration. The temperatures and mixing ratios of these phase equilibria can be read from the phase diagram of ethanol and water. The maximum enrichment of ethanol in the liquid phase is reached at the eutectic point of ethanol and water, approximately 92.4% ethanol by weight at −123 °C. (Full article...)
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A glass and bottle of “Jiugui” (酒鬼) brand baijiu
Baijiu (Chinese: 白酒; pinyin: báijiǔ; lit. 'white (clear) liquor'), or shaojiu (simplified Chinese: 烧酒; traditional Chinese: 燒酒; pinyin: shāojiǔ; lit. 'burning liquor'), is a colorless Chinese liquor typically coming in between 35% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). Each type of baijiu uses its own type of qū for fermentation to create a distinct and characteristic flavor profile.
Baijiu is a clear liquid usually distilled from fermented sorghum, although other grains may be used; some southeastern Chinese styles may employ rice and glutinous rice while other Chinese varieties may use wheat, barley, millet, or Job's tears (Chinese: 薏苡; pinyin: yìyǐ) in their mash bills. The qū starter culture used in the production of baijiu is usually made from pulverized wheat grain or steamed rice. (Full article...)
Sometimes, an egg white is included, which is sometimes called a Boston sour. When the whisky used is a Scotch, it is called a Scotch sour. With a few bar spoons of full-bodied red wine floated on top, it is usually referred to as a New York sour. It is shaken and served either straight up or over ice. (Full article...)
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A dark 'n' stormy is a highball cocktail made with dark rum (the "dark") and ginger beer (the "stormy") served over ice and garnished with a slice of lime. Lime juice and simple syrup are also frequently added. This drink is very similar to the Moscow mule except that the Dark 'n' Stormy has dark rum instead of vodka. The original Dark 'n' Stormy was made with Gosling Black Seal rum and Barritt's Ginger Beer, but after the partnership between the two failed and the companies parted ways, Gosling Brothers created its own ginger beer.
A lemon drop is a vodka-based cocktail that has a lemony, sweet and sour flavor, prepared using vodka, triple sec, and fresh lemon juice. It has been described as a variant of, or as "a take on", the vodka martini, but is in fact closer to a daisy or a white lady variant. It is typically prepared and served straight up – chilled with ice and strained.
The drink was invented sometime in the 1970s by Norman Jay Hobday, the founder and proprietor of Henry Africa's bar in San Francisco, California. Variations of the drink exist, such as blueberry and raspberry lemon drops, and some recipes that call for simple syrup. It is served at some bars and restaurants in the United States, and in such establishments in other areas of the world. (Full article...)
The drink is made by pouring the vodka and coffee liqueur over ice cubes or cracked ice in an old-fashioned glass and stirring. The Black Russian is often garnished with a lemon slice and a Luxardo maraschino cherry on a stick. (Full article...)
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A Sazerac cocktail at the Sazerac Bar, New Orleans, 2024
The Sazerac is a local variation of a cognac or whiskey cocktail originally from New Orleans, named for the Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of cognac brandy that served as its original main ingredient. The drink is most traditionally a combination of cognac or rye whiskey, absinthe, Peychaud's Bitters, and sugar, although bourbon whiskey is sometimes substituted for the rye and Herbsaint is sometimes substituted for the absinthe. Some claim it is the oldest known American cocktail, with origins in antebellumNew Orleans, although drink historian David Wondrich is among those who dispute this, and American instances of published usage of the word cocktail to describe a mixture of spirits, bitters, and sugar can be traced to the dawn of the 19th century. (Full article...)
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A selection of bottled gins for sale in Georgia, United States, 2010
Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The modern gin was modified in Flanders and the Netherlands to provide aqua vita from distillates of grapes and grains, becoming an object of commerce in the spirits industry. Gin became popular in England after the introduction of jenever, a Dutch and Belgian liquor. Although this development had been taking place since the early 17th century, gin became widespread after the 1688 Glorious Revolution led by William of Orange and subsequent import restrictions on French brandy. Gin emerged as the national alcoholic drink of England during the so-called Gin Craze of 1695–1735. (Full article...)
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A margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. Some margarita recipes include simple syrup as well and are often served with salt on the rim of the glass. Margaritas can be served either shaken with ice (on the rocks), without ice (straight up), or blended with ice (frozen margarita). Most bars serve margaritas in a stepped-diameter variant of a cocktail glass or champagne coupe called a margarita glass. The margarita is one of the world's most popular cocktails and the most popular tequila-based cocktail. (Full article...)
The drink follows the classic cocktail principle of balancing strong (alcohol) with weak (fruit juice) and sweet and sour. (Full article...)
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The Vesper is a cocktail that was originally made of gin, vodka, and Kina Lillet. Since that form of Lillet is no longer produced, modern bartenders need to modify the recipe to mimic the original taste, with Lillet Blanc or Cocchi Americano as a typical substitute.
The drink was popularised by author Ian Fleming (1908–1964) in his 1953 novel Casino Royale, in which the character James Bond invents the recipe and names the cocktail. Fleming's Bond calls it a "special martini", and though it lacks the vermouth that defined a martini in Fleming's day, it is sometimes called a Vesper martini. (Full article...)
Known and consumed nationally and internationally, caipirinha is one of the most famous components of Brazilian cuisine, being the most popular national recipe worldwide and often considered the best drink in the country and one of the best cocktails/drinks in the world, having reached third place in 2024, according to the specialized website TasteAtlas. (Full article...)
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A Grasshopper is a sweet, mint-flavored, after-dinner alcoholic drink named for its green color, which comes from crème de menthe. Tujague's, a bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, claims its owner Philip Guichet invented the drink in 1918. The drink gained popularity during the 1950s and 1960s throughout the American South. (Full article...)
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A classic 2:1 Manhattan, made with a whisky, sweet vermouth, bitters and a cherry
The whiskey-based Manhattan is one of five cocktails named for a New York City borough. It is closely related to the Brooklyn cocktail, which uses dry vermouth and Maraschino liqueur in place of the Manhattan's sweet vermouth, and Amer Picon in place of the Manhattan's angostura bitters. (Full article...)
A recipe for the cocktail appears as early as "Professor" Jerry Thomas' Bon Vivant's Companion (1862), which omits the brandy or cognac and is considered to be the "classic" American version. Harry Johnson was one of the bartenders who revived the model by adding other fruit to the mix. (Full article...)
The earliest known in-print recipe for the Paradise Cocktail was written by Harry MacElhone in 1922. The canonical version is associated with Harry Craddock in 1930. This cocktail is prepared using gin, apricot brandy, and orange juice in a 2:1:1 ratio, with a splash of lemon juice. (Full article...)
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The Bramble is a cocktail created by Dick Bradsell in 1980s London, England. Best described as a spring cocktail, the Bramble brings together dry gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup, crème de mûre, and crushed ice. Bradsell also suggests finishing off the cocktail with some fresh red fruits (such as blackberries, cranberries) and a slice of lemon.
If crème de mûre is unavailable, many bartenders will substitute creme de cassis for it. (Full article...)
... that to comply with a law that restricted liquor sales near churches, the Peninsula New York placed its cocktail lounge up a flight of stairs and down a long hallway?
This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.
George Washington reviews the troops near Fort Cumberland, Maryland, before their march to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania.
The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax imposed on a domestic product by the newly formed federal government. The "whiskey tax" became law in 1791, and was intended to generate revenue to pay the war debt incurred during the American Revolutionary War. Farmers of the western frontier were accustomed to distilling their surplus rye, barley, wheat, corn, or fermented grain mixtures to make whiskey. These farmers resisted the tax.
Throughout western Pennsylvania counties, protesters used violence and intimidation to prevent federal officials from collecting the tax. Resistance came to a climax in July 1794, when a US marshal arrived in western Pennsylvania to serve writs to distillers who had not paid the excise. The alarm was raised, and more than 500 armed men attacked the fortified home of tax inspector John Neville. Washington responded by sending peace commissioners to western Pennsylvania to negotiate with the rebels, while at the same time calling on governors to send a militia force to enforce the tax. Washington himself rode at the head of an army to suppress the insurgency, with 13,000 militiamen provided by the governors of Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The leaders of the rebels all fled before the arrival of the army, and there was no confrontation. About 150 men were arrested, but only 20 held for trial in Philadelphia, and only two were convicted (eventually pardoned). (Full article...)
Image 6Map 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.
Image 2A whiskey sour, served in a coupe glass, is garnished with a spiral of lemon peel and two maraschino cherries on a cocktail pick, along with drops of bitters swirled into the foam (from egg white) atop the drink. (from Cocktail garnish)