A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is a drinkable liquid containing ethanol that is produced by distilling, or less commonly freeze distilling, fermented grain, fruit, or vegetables.[1] This excludes undistilled fermented beverages such as beer and wine.
The term hard liquor is often used to distinguish distilled beverages from (implicitly weaker) undistilled ones.
Beer and wine are limited to a maximum alcohol content of about 15% ABV, as most yeasts cannot reproduce when the concentration of alcohol is above this level; consequently, fermentation ceases at that point.
The term spirit refers to a distilled beverage that contains no added sugar and has at least 20% ABV. Popular spirits include brandy, fruit brandy (aka eau-de-vie / Schnapps), gin, rum, tequila, vodka, and whisky.
Distilled beverages that are bottled with added sugar and added flavorings, such as Grand Marnier, Frangelico, and American schnapps, are liqueurs. In common usage, the distinction between spirits and liqueurs is widely unknown or ignored; consequently all alcoholic beverages other than beer and wine are generally referred to simply as spirits.
Fortified wines are created by adding a distilled beverage (often brandy) to a wine.
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Gapers Block (blog)
The resulting beverage isn't carbonated, and due to its high ABV and flavor profile, should really only be drunk a couple of ounces at a time in a ...
