Distilled Spirit

A liquor, or distilled spirit, is an alcoholic beverage distilled from grains, fruits, or other fermentable ingredients. Much stronger than beer and wine, distilled spirits include brandy, gin, rum, tequila, whiskey, vodka, and various flavored liqueurs. These are the primary ingredients used in cocktails, and the majority of mixed drink recipes require at least one liquor. Whether you call it a liquor, a spirit, or simply booze, these bottles are essentials in the bar.

How Distilled Spirits Are Made

While a liquor's definition differentiates it as "distilled rather than fermented," every distilled spirit begins with a base ingredient's fermentation. This initial process is similar to making beer and wine: yeast is added to wort (a mixture of water and a mash containing a fermentable organic substance). As the yeast works its magic, the base ingredient's sugars are converted into alcohol.

The primary ingredient defines the type of liquor that is produced:

• A single grain or combination of grains, such as corn, wheat, or rye, are used for spirits like whiskey, vodka, and gin. They are also used for "neutral grain spirits" that form the base of many liqueurs.

• Molasses is fermented for rum, while pure sugar cane juice is the base for cachaça. 

• Tequila and mezcal begin with the extracted juices of the agave plant.

• Starting like wine, brandy is made from fermented fruit juices. It is most often grapes, though apples, apricots, cherries, and other fruits can be used.

• Some vodkas are distilled from fermented potatoes.

Tip

Whiskey distillers often use the term "mashbill" when referring to their recipe's particular mixture of grains. They may disclose the specific percentage of each grain or the dominance of a single grain. For instance, "high-rye" refers to a whiskey with a larger than normal portion of rye. Some whiskey styles require a particular dominant grain. The law regarding bourbon, for example, law states that the mashbill must include at least 51 percent corn.

Once fermented, the liquid is distilled through either a column still or a pot still. Alcohol has a lower boiling point than water, so the still's heat forces the alcohol in the fermented liquid to evaporate. The water is left behind, and the alcohol vapor is forced into the next stage of the still. Depending on the setup, this may be a series of coils or another pot. When the vapor is cooled, it condenses and creates a concentrated alcohol liquid. Called the "distillate," alcohol straight from the still is so strong that it is undrinkable.

After distillation, the distillate may be filtered, aged, or flavored (or a combination of any or all three). It is also diluted with water to the bottling strength—the alcohol by volume (ABV), or proof, on the label. The exact process depends on the type of liquor being made—for instance, gin is flavored with botanicals inside the still—and each distiller's preferred method for any of the distillation steps.

Why is Alcohol Called Spirits?

You might hear the word “spirits” in relation to alcohol and wonder where that correlation comes from.

A quick dictionary search offers our first clue. While there are several definitions of the word, the definition we most associate with the word “spirits” is that ethereal part of ourselves that can’t be seen—our essence, the part of us that is uniquely ours. Some might call this part of us, the “soul.”

Consider the idea of being “spirited away” by something, which implies something both playful and out of your control. This also seems to hint at liquor, a libation which some find freeing with its lowering of one’s inhibitions.

To get to the science of the term, however, it is important to differentiate which alcohols are categorized as “spirits” and which are not. Beer and wine, for example, are two quick eliminations from the category, as are bitters, amaretto, and other liqueurs. This division between what constitutes a spirit and what does not will take us all the way back to the ancient and elusive art of alchemy.

What is Distillation?

The earliest known evidence of distillation comes from a terracotta distillation device as old as 3000 BC in the Indus Valley of Pakistan. Distillation’s use was also evident among the Babylonians.

Distillation is any method used to separate mixtures based on differences in the conditions required to change the phase of components of the mixture.