Spirits
Guide
A Selection OF Spirits
When we think of the term “spirits” many different things come to mind. For example, one should always try to stay in good spirits through hard times. Or something cheerleaders are professionally obsessed with. The beings you negotiate with after you’ve accidentally moved into a haunted house. But this page is not about either of those, you’re about to learn about bottles of power-packing alcohol.
Whiskey
Whiskey distilled from various and/or specific grains (corn, wheat, rye, oats, and barley) and aged in barrels. In a basic sense, whiskey is simply distilled, hop-less beer. Grains are steeped and yeasted, converting the sugars from the grains into alcohol. Each grain has a different sugar content level. For example, corn has a higher sugar content than wheat or rye, giving a whiskey made with corn a sweeter taste than one with wheat or rye. After converting the sugars to alcohol, whiskey making deviates from beer making and goes through various distillation processes, dependent on which type of whiskey it is. They are all at least 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof).
Scotch Whiskey
Scotch whisky is generally made from malted barley or grain with the spirit aged in oak casks for more than three years.
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Entirely made in Scotland, Scotch is divided into five distinct categories that include single malt, single grain, blended malt, blended grain and blended scotch whisky. Scotch has an earthy and smoky flavour.
Bourbon Whiskey
Bourbon is a distilled American whiskey, primarily made from corn and is stored in charred oak casks and does not contain any additives.
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A slightly sweet tasting whiskey, bourbon also is also a bit smoky and has a reddish colour due to fermentation in charred oak casks.
Irish Whiskey
This whiskey is made in Eire (Republic of Ireland) or in Northern Ireland. It is made from yeast-fermented grain mash or a mash of malted cereals.
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It takes about three years to age in a wooden cask. Irish whiskey has a smoother finish as compared to scotch.
Canadian Whiskey
Most Canadian whiskies are blended multi-grain liquors containing a large percentage of corn spirits, and are typically lighter and smoother than other whisky styles.
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When Canadian distillers began adding small amounts of highly-flavourful rye grain to their mashes, people began demanding this new rye-flavoured whisky, referring to it simply as “rye”.
Rye Whiskey
Rye whiskey is primarily made in North America with a mash of at least 51 percent rye and is aged in charred barrels for at least two years.
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Rye is a type of grass that is a member of the wheat family. This whiskey has a slight fruity and spicy flavour and is great for making whiskey cocktails.
Tennessee Whiskey
Tennessee whiskey is a type of whiskey produced in Tennessee in the United States. The difference between Tennessee whiskey and bourbon lies in the method of filtering.
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Tennessee whiskey is steeped in charcoal before going into the casks for fermentation.
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic drink made from sugarcane byproducts, such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels.
Rums are produced in various grades. Light rums are commonly used in cocktails, whereas “golden” and “dark” rums were typically consumed straight or neat, on the rocks, or used for cooking, but are now commonly consumed with mixers. Premium rums are also available, made to be consumed either straight or iced.
Rum plays a part in the culture of most islands of the West Indies as well as in The Maritimes and Newfoundland. This drink has famous associations with the Royal Navy (where it was mixed with water or beer to make grog) and piracy (where it was consumed as bumbo). Rum has also served as a popular medium of economic exchange, used to help fund enterprises such as slavery (see Triangular trade), organized crime, and military insurgencies (e.g., the American Revolution and Australia’s Rum Rebellion).
White Rum
Due to cheap, harsh-tasting versions of days gone by, white (or light) rum has suffered from a bad reputation.
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One that is now thoroughly undeserved. Distilled in white oak barrels then filtered to make it clear, white rum usually isn’t aged, resulting in an uncomplex profile with subtle hints of almond and vanilla.
Dark Rum
Sometimes referred to as black rum, this is usually aged in charred oak barrels for longer than its lighter-hued counterparts.
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Vanilla and caramel overtones give way to a smoky, intense finish. The flavour is a little more robust, so it’s the ideal choice to match with equally punchy ingredients
Gold Rum
Although the term ‘golden rum’ can refer to several different varieties, it generally indicates that the spirit has been aged in amber oak barrels.
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Flavour will vary depending on the distiller, but drinkers can expect distinct caramel and toffee notes with hints of toasted almond, banana, and, as you’d expect, an oaky finish.
Spiced Rum
Spicing rum is no longer cheap way of masking poor-quality spirits with overpowering flavours. And spiced rum has seen a well-deserved spike in popularity as a result.
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The possibilities for flavourings are endless, from fragrant herbs like rosemary to sweet caramel and citrus fruits, all of which compliment rum’s natural butterscotch tones
Liqueurs
A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage flavored variously by fruit, herb, spices, flowers, nuts or cream combined with distilled spirit. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond a resting period during production, when necessary, for their flavors to mingle.
Liqueurs are historical descendants of herbal medicines. They were made in Italy as early as the 13th century, often prepared by monks, as in Chartreuse). Today they are produced the world over, commonly served straight, over ice, with coffee, in cocktails, and used in cooking.
Coffee Liqueur
Coffee liqueur combines two of many people’s favorite drinks: coffee and alcohol.
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Plenty of sugar is added to balance out the alcohol’s sharp taste, usually. While Kahlua is the most well-known and widely sold, it is hardly the only option available. There are several other commercially produced options, and you can even make your own coffee liqueur at home.
Fruit Liqueur
In the early days of cocktail-making orange liqueurs emerged as the most popular ingredients.
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They were found in a vast array of cocktails. Today, Cointreau remains one of the most famous liqueurs in the world, while as long as there are margaritas there will be triple sec. The most famous producer of fruit liqueurs is Bols, a Dutch company originally more famous for its jenever and gin.
Cream Liqueur
When considering the cream liqueur category, it is often difficult to see past its most famous exponent.
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One brand first invented, and then became, the entire category. But these days, despite Baileys’ continued dominance, there is more choice available than ever before for those prepared to seek out the margins.
Whiskey Liqueur
Liqueurs based on whisky have been around for longer than you might think – in Scotland.
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The locals have drunk ‘brose’, a traditional drink based on whisky, honey and oatmeal, for centuries. While the most famous (non-cream) whisky liqueur remains Drambuie, there are plenty of alternatives, such as Atholl Brose and Lochan Ora, for those seeking a change from the norm.
Herb Liqueur
Herb Liqueurs are very popular, and there are many famous examples often made by Monks.
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They are often made to age old recipes with tens, if not hundreds, of ingredients. Chartreuse and Benedictine are both Monastic liqueurs. A number of herbal liqueurs were first created for medicinal use!
Crème Liqueur
A crème liqueur (not to be confused with cream liqueur) is a liqueur that has a great deal of additional sugar added.
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Thay have a near-syrup consistency. Unlike cream liqueurs, crème liqueurs include no cream in their ingredients. “Crème” in this case refers to the consistency. This category includes crème de cacao (chocolate), crème de menthe (mint), crème de mûre (blackberry), and crème de cassis (black
Vodka
Vodka is a distilled beverage composed primarily of water and ethanol, but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavorings. Traditionally, vodka is made through the distillation of cereal grains or potatoes that have been fermented, though some modern brands, such as Ciroc, Cooran Bong, and Bombora, use fruits or sugar.
Since the 1890s, the standard Polish, Russian, Belarusian, Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Slovak, Swedish and Ukrainian vodkas are 40% ABV or alcohol by volume (80 US proof), a percentage widely misattributed to Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev.[3][4] Meanwhile, the European Union has established a minimum of 37.5% ABV for any “European vodka” to be named as such.[5][6] Products sold as “vodka” in the United States must have a minimum alcohol content of 40%.[7] Even with these loose restrictions, most vodka sold contains 40% ABV.
Vodka is traditionally drunk “neat” (not mixed with water, ice, or other mixer), though it is often served freezer chilled in the vodka belt countries of Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden and Ukraine. It is also used in cocktails and mixed drinks, such as the Vodka martini, Cosmopolitan, Vodka Tonic, Screwdriver, Greyhound, Black or White Russian, Moscow Mule, Bloody Mary and Bloody Caesar.
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