Liquor

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 usually 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.
The distillation process concentrates the alcohol, so the resulting condensate has an increased alcohol by volume. As liquors contain significantly more alcohol 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 are vodka, rum, gin and tequila. Liquors are often aged in barrels, such as for the production of brandy, tequila, and whiskey, or are infused with flavorings to form flavored liquors, such as absinthe.
Like other alcoholic drinks, liquor is typically consumed for the psychoactive effects of alcohol. Liquor may be consumed on its own, typically in amounts of around per served drink; or frequently mixed with other ingredients to form a cocktail. 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.
Rapid consumption of a large amount of liquor can cause severe alcohol intoxication or alcohol poisoning, which can be fatal either due to acute biochemical damage to vital organs, or due to trauma caused by alcohol-induced delirium. Consistent consumption of liquor over time correlates with higher mortality and other harmful health effects, even when compared to other alcoholic beverages. In addition, all alcohol is an IARC group 1 carcinogen.

Nomenclature

The term "spirit" refers to liquor that should not contain added sugar and is usually 35–40% alcohol by volume. Fruit brandy, for example, is also known as 'fruit spirit'.
Liquor bottled with added sugar and flavorings, such as Grand Marnier, Amaretto, and American schnapps, are known instead as liqueurs.
Liquor generally has an alcohol concentration higher than 30% when bottled, and before being diluted for bottling, it typically has a concentration over 50%. Beer and wine, which are not distilled, typically have a maximum alcohol content of about 15% ABV, as most yeasts cannot metabolize when the concentration of alcohol is above this level; as a consequence, fermentation ceases at that point.

Etymology

The origin of liquor and its close relative liquid is the Latin verb liquere, meaning 'to be fluid'. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an early use of the word in the English language, meaning simply "a liquid", can be dated to 1225. The first use documented in the OED defined 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 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 17, 2019, a spirit drink is an alcoholic beverage that has been produced:

either directly by using, individually or in combination, any of the following methods:
# distillation, with or without added flavorings or flavoring foodstuffs, of fermented products;
# maceration or similar processing of plant materials in ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, distillates of agricultural origin or spirit drinks or a combination thereof;
# 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:
# other spirit drinks;
# ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin;
# distillates of agricultural origin;
# other foodstuffs.

Spirit drinks must contain at least 15% ABV.

Distillate of agricultural origin

Regulation makes a difference between "ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin" and a "distillate of agricultural origin". Distillate of agricultural origin is 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.

Distillation of wine

The flammable nature of the exhalations of wine was already known to ancient natural philosophers such as Aristotle, Theophrastus, and Pliny the Elder. This did not immediately lead to the isolation of alcohol, however, despite the development of more advanced distillation techniques in second- and third-century Roman Egypt. An important recognition, first found in one of the writings attributed to Jābir ibn Ḥayyān, was that by adding salt to boiling wine, which increases the wine's relative volatility, the flammability of the resulting vapors may be enhanced. The distillation of wine is attested in Arabic works attributed to al-Kindī and to al-Fārābī, and in the 28th book of al-Zahrāwī's Kitāb al-Taṣrīf. In the twelfth century, recipes for the production of aqua ardens 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 by Arnald of Villanova and John of Rupescissa, the latter of whom regarded it as a life-preserving substance able to prevent all diseases.
In China, archaeological evidence indicates that the true distillation of alcohol began during the 12th century Jin or Southern Song dynasties.
A still has been found at an archaeological site in Qinglong, Hebei, dating to the 12th century.
In India, the true distillation of alcohol was introduced from the Middle East and was in wide use in the Delhi Sultanate by the 14th century.
The works of Taddeo Alderotti describe a method for concentrating alcohol involving repeated fractional distillation through a water-cooled still, by which an alcohol purity of 90% could be obtained.
In 1437, "burned water" was mentioned in the records of the County of Katzenelnbogen in Germany.

Microdistilling

began to re-emerge as a trend in the United States following the microbrewing and craft beer movement in the last decades of the 20th century.

Flammability

Liquor that contains 40% ABV will catch fire if heated to about and if an ignition source is applied to it. This temperature is called its flash point. The flash point of pure alcohol is, less than average room temperature.
The flammability of liquor is applied in the cooking technique flambé.
The flash points of alcohol concentrations from 10% to 96% by weight are:

10% – – ethanol-based water solution
12.5% – about – wine
15% – – sake, mijiu, cheongju
20% – – shōchū, fortified wine
30% – – strong shōchū
40% – – typical vodka, whisky or brandy
50% – – typical baijiu, strong whisky, bottled in bond whisky, typical blanche absinthe
60% – – strong baijiu, normal tsikoudia, barrel proof whisky, typical verte absinthe
70% – – slivovitz
80% – – strong absinthe
90% or more – – neutral grain spirit
Serving

Liquor can be served:

Neat – at room temperature without any additional ingredient
Up – shaken or stirred with ice, strained, and served in a stemmed glass
Down – shaken or stirred with ice, strained, and served in a rocks glass
On the rocks – over ice cubes
Blended or frozen – blended with ice
With a simple mixer, such as club soda, tonic water, juice, or cola
As an ingredient of a cocktail
As an ingredient of a shooter
With water
With water poured over sugar
Alcohol consumption by country

The World Health Organization 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 consumed per capita in a given year in a country.
In Europe, spirits are more popular in the north and east of the continent.

Liquor

Nomenclature

Etymology

Legal definition

European Union

Distillate of agricultural origin

Categories

History

Distillation of wine

Microdistilling

Flammability

Serving

Alcohol consumption by country