Liquor (/ˈlɪkər/LIK-ər) is an alcoholic drink produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit, distilled beverage, booze, spirituous liquor or hard liquor. The distillation process concentrates the liquid to increase its 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 UK. 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.
While the word liquor ordinarily 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). (Full article...)
Cognac production falls under French appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) designation, with production methods and naming required to meet certain legal requirements. Among the specified grapes, Ugni blanc, known locally as Saint-Émilion, is most widely used. The brandy must be twice distilled in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in French oak barrels from Limousin or Tronçais. Cognac matures in the same way as whiskies and wines barrel-age, and most cognacs spend considerably longer "on the wood" than the minimum legal requirement. (Full article...)
Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton (October 5, 1946 – March 16, 2009) was an American Appalachianmoonshiner and bootlegger. Born in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, he grew up, lived and died in the rural areas around Maggie Valley and nearby Cocke County, Tennessee. He wrote a self-published autobiographical guide to moonshining production, self-produced a home video depicting his moonshining activities, was the subject of several documentaries, including one that received a Regional Emmy Award, and is the subject of the award-winning biography and photobook The Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton.
after being convicted of offenses related to moonshining and illegal firearm possession. Since his death, a new company and associated whiskey brand have been named after him. (Full article...)
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...)
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Mojito (/moʊˈhiːtoʊ/; Spanish:[moˈxito]) is a traditional Cuban punch. The cocktail often consists of five ingredients: white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime juice, soda water, and mint. Its combination of sweetness, citrus, and herbaceous mint flavors is intended to complement the rum, and has made the mojito a popular summer drink.
When preparing a mojito, fresh lime juice is added to sugar (or to simple syrup) and mint leaves. The mixture is then gently mashed with a muddler. The mint leaves should only be bruised to release the essential oils and should not be shredded. Then rum is added and the mixture is briefly stirred to dissolve the sugar and to lift the mint leaves up from the bottom for better presentation. Finally, the drink is topped with crushed ice and sparkling soda water. Mint sprigs or lime wedges are used to garnish the glass. (Full article...)
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Freeze distillation is a misnomer, because it is not distillation but rather a process of enriching a solution by partially freezing it and removing frozen material that is poorer in the dissolved material than is the liquid portion left behind. Such enrichment parallels enrichment by true distillation, where the evaporated and re-condensed portion is richer than the liquid portion left behind.
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 weight-% ethanol at -123 °C. (Full article...)
In Crete, tsikoudia is a pomace brandy that is sometimes called rakı. It is used to make rakomelo, which is flavoured with honey and cinnamon. Rakomelo is served warm during winter months. Cretan raki does not contain anise, so it is not to be confused with the Turkish version. (Full article...)
The cocktail, named for the crust of sugar on the rim, was invented by Joseph Santini, a bartender in New Orleans at his bar, Jewel of the South. (Full article...)
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The Martinez is a classic cocktail that is widely regarded as the direct precursor to the Martini. It serves as the basis for many modern cocktails, and several different versions of the original exist. These are generally distinguished by the accompaniment of either Maraschino or Curacao, as well as differences in gin or bitters. (Full article...)
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A martini with an olive garnish
The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive and/or a lemon twist. Over the years, the martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages. A common variation, the vodka martini, uses vodka instead of gin for the cocktail's base spirit. (Full article...)
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The Long Island iced tea was named for its visual resemblance to non-alcoholic iced tea.
Rums are produced in various grades. Light rums are commonly used in cocktails, whereas "golden" and "dark" rums were typically consumed straight or neat, iced ("on the rocks"), or used for cooking, but are now commonly consumed with mixers. Premium rums are made to be consumed either straight or iced. (Full article...)
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Caipirinha
Caipirinha (Portuguese pronunciation:[kajpiˈɾĩɲɐ]) is Brazil's national cocktail from São Paulo, made with cachaça (sugarcane hard liquor), sugar, and lime. The drink is prepared by mixing the fruit and the sugar together, then adding the liquor. This can be made in a single large glass to be shared among people, or in a larger jar, from which it is served in individual glasses. (Full article...)
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Ramos gin fizz at a bar in New Orleans
A Ramos gin fizz (also known as a "Ramos fizz" or "New Orleans fizz") contains gin, lemon juice, lime juice, egg white, sugar, cream, orange flower water, and soda water. It is served in a large non-tapered 12-to-14-US-fluid-ounce (350 to 410 ml) Collins glass.
The orange flower water and egg significantly affect the flavor and texture of a Ramos, compared to a regular gin fizz. The key to making this egg cocktail is dissolving the sugar before adding ice; the sugar acts as an emulsifier, and it and the alcohol "cook" the egg white. (Full article...)
Since the 1890s, standard vodkas have been 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) (80 U.S. proof). The European Union has established a minimum alcohol content of 37.5% for vodka. Vodka in the United States must have a minimum alcohol content of 40%. (Full article...)
With egg white included, it is sometimes called a Boston sour; when the whiskey 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 often referred to as a New York sour. It is shaken and served either straight up or over ice. (Full article...)
The Bloody Mary was invented in the 1920s or 1930s. There are various theories as to the origin of the drink and its name. It has many variants, most notably the red snapper (also called Bloody Margaret), Bloody Maria (made with tequila blanco), and the Virgin Mary. (Full article...)
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 typical fernet con coca from Argentina, and also spread to adjacent areas in Southern South America
The cocktail first became popular among the youth of the college town of Córdoba, in the 1980s and—impulsed by an advertising campaign led by Fratelli Branca—its consumption grew in popularity during the following decades to become widespread throughout the country, surpassed only by that of beer and wine. It is now considered a cultural icon of Argentina and is especially associated with its home province of Córdoba, where the drink is most consumed. The popularity of fernet con coca is such that Argentina consumes more than 75% of all fernet produced globally. The cocktail can also be found in some of its bordering countries, like Uruguay. (Full article...)
The suffering bastard is the name for two different mixed drinks, one being more of a standard cocktail (essentially a gin-and-brandy buck with added Angostura bitters) associated with World War II and the other being more of an exotic drink associated with Tiki bars. As is the case with many cocktails, there are multiple recipe variations and historical origins have been argued and changed over time. Two of the earliest recipe versions have very different ingredients. One from bartender Joe Scialom (1942) calls for brandy and gin, while another from Tiki pioneer Victor J. Bergeron (AKA Trader Vic) primarily uses rum along with "secret ingredients" and is known for being garnished with a cucumber. (Full article...)
... that Thomas Dickson Archibald, when speaking against increasing fines for violating liquor licenses, said "we need only go a step further and make the violation a hanging matter"?
... that WNJU, a Spanish-language television station serving New York City, was the first in the United States to air a hard-liquor advertisement?
... 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?
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Lemon drop
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 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...)
Image 22Map 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 10A 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)