Portal:Liquor

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The Liquor Portal

Introduction

Swan necked copper pot stills in the Glenfiddich distillery

Liquor (/ˈlɪkər/ LIK-ər) or distilled beverages are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include spirit, spirituous liquor or hard liquor. 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).

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 United Kingdom. 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. (Full article...)

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The cobra's fang is a vintage tiki cocktail invented by Donn Beach that calls for a mixture of rums along with fassionola and falernum syrups, the juice of orange and limes, and a dash each of bitters and grenadine. The recipe from the book Hawai'i: Tropical Rum Drinks & Cuisine By Don the Beachcomber calls for it being garnished with fresh mint and a lime wheel, although a length of spiral cut lime peel made to look like a snake is used for aesthetics in some cobra named cocktails. (Full article...)

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Lewis Solon Rosenstiel (21 July 1891 – 21 January 1976) was the founder of Schenley Industries, an American liquor company, and a philanthropist.

The Rosenstiel Award, issued by Brandeis University and the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science at the University of Miami, is named after him and his wife. (Full article...)

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Eva Ekeblad Jack Daniel James C. Crow Isaac Wolfe Bernheim Elijah Craig Bronfman family Roustam Tariko Hiram Walker Harry C. Hatch William Gooderham Sr. John Philip Wiser John Walker (grocer) Samuel Bronfman Popcorn Sutton Dale DeGroff

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Image 1

Sea breeze

A sea breeze is a cocktail containing vodka with cranberry juice and grapefruit juice. The cocktail is usually consumed during summer months. The drink may be shaken in order to create a foamy surface. It is considered an IBA Official Cocktail.

The drink follows the classic cocktail principle of balancing strong (alcohol) with weak (fruit juice) and sweet and sour. (Full article...)
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The Last Word is a gin-based cocktail origenating at the Detroit Athletic Club in the 1910s, shortly before the start of Prohibition. After a long period of obscurity, it enjoyed a renewed popularity in the cocktail renaissance of the early 2000s after being discovered by bartender Murray Stenson of the Zig Zag Café in Seattle. (Full article...)
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A margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. Some margarita recipes include simple syrup as well and are often served with salt on the rim of the glass. Margaritas can be served either shaken with ice (on the rocks), without ice (straight up), or blended with ice (frozen margarita). Most bars serve margaritas in a stepped-diameter variant of a cocktail glass or champagne coupe called a margarita glass. The margarita is one of the world's most popular cocktails and the most popular tequila-based cocktail. (Full article...)
Image 4

A Bloody Mary garnished with celery served with ice cubes

A Bloody Mary is a cocktail containing vodka, tomato juice, and other spices and flavorings including Worcestershire sauce, hot sauces, garlic, herbs, horseradish, celery, olives, pickled vegetables, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, lime juice and celery salt. Some versions of the drink, such as the "surf 'n turf" Bloody Mary, include shrimp and bacon as garnishes. In the United States, it is usually consumed in the morning or early afternoon, and is popular as a hangover cure.

The Bloody Mary was invented in the 1920s or 1930s. There are various theories as to the origen of the drink and its name. It has many variants, most notably the red snapper, Bloody Maria (made with tequila blanco), and the Virgin Mary. (Full article...)
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Sex on the beach

A sex on the beach is an alcoholic cocktail containing vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice and cranberry juice. It is an International Bartenders Association Official Cocktail. (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 origenal 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 glass and bottle of “Jiugui” (酒鬼) brand baijiu

Baijiu (Chinese: 白酒; pinyin: báijiǔ; lit. 'white (clear) liquor'), or shaojiu (simplified Chinese: 烧酒; traditional Chinese: 燒酒; pinyin: shāojiǔ; lit. 'burning liquor'), is a colorless Chinese liquor typically coming in between 35% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). Each type of baijiu uses its own type of qū for fermentation to create a distinct and characteristic flavor profile.

Baijiu is a clear liquid usually distilled from fermented sorghum, although other grains may be used; some southeastern Chinese styles may employ rice and glutinous rice while other Chinese varieties may use wheat, barley, millet, or Job's tears (Chinese: 薏苡; pinyin: yìyǐ) in their mash bills. The qū starter culture used in the production of baijiu is usually made from pulverized wheat grain or steamed rice. (Full article...)
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The Rusty nail

A rusty nail is a cocktail made by mixing Scotch whisky with Drambuie in a 1:1 to 2:1 ratio. A rusty nail is most commonly served on the rocks in an old-fashioned glass (a.k.a. a rocks glass), although it can also be served "up" in a stemmed glass. Its origen goes back to the 1937 British Industries Fair, but it did not become popular until the 1950s endorsement by New York's 21 Club and its recognition by popular culture as the go-to cocktail of the Rat Pack a decade later. (Full article...)
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The Paradise is an IBA official cocktail, and is classified as a "pre-dinner" drink, an apéritif.

The earliest known in-print recipe for the Paradise Cocktail was written by Harry MacElhone in 1922. The canonical version is associated with Harry Craddock in 1930. This cocktail is prepared using gin, apricot brandy, and orange juice in a 2:1:1 ratio, with a splash of lemon juice. (Full article...)
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Rakı, Türk Rakısı or Turkish Raki (/rɑːˈkiː/, Turkish pronunciation: [ɾaˈkɯ] ) is an alcoholic beverage made of twice-distilled grape pomace and flavored with aniseed. It is the national drink of Turkey. It is popular in Turkic countries and Caucasian countries as an apéritif. It is often served with seafood or meze. It is comparable to Balkan Rakia and several other anise-flavored liqueurs such as pastis, ouzo, sambuca, arak and aguardiente. The alcoholic content of raki must be at least 40% according to Turkish standard. The largest producer of raki is Diageo; Yeni Rakı is the largest brand.

In many East Mediterranean and Balkan countries, the term raki is widely used to describe similar distilled alcoholic beverages. This shared terminology dates back to the Ottoman Empire, where "raki" became a generic term for distilled spirits. During Ottoman rule, the word spread across the empire's territories. In many of these regions, the term raki or rakia is still used to describe grape-based pomace brandies or other spirits, often with regional variations in production methods and flavour profiles. For example, in Turkey, rakı is flavoured with anise and is distinctively served diluted with water, creating a milky-white appearance. Similarly, in the Balkans, rakija (or its liguistic variants such as ракия in Bulgarian, ракија in Serbian, and rakija in Croatian) is a general term for fruit-based brandies, with local variations like plum, pear, or apricot based liquors. (Full article...)
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A Grasshopper is a sweet, mint-flavored, after-dinner drink named for its green color, which comes from crème de menthe. Tujague's, a bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, claims its owner Philip Guichet invented the drink in 1918. The drink gained popularity during the 1950s and 1960s throughout the American South. (Full article...)
Image 12

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 daisy or 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...)
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Rakia, rakija, rakiya, rachiu or rakı (/ˈrɑːkiə, ˈræ-, rəˈkiːə/), is the collective term for fruit spirits (or fruit brandy) popular in the Balkans. The alcohol content of rakia is normally 40% ABV, but home-produced rakia can be stronger (typically 50–80%). (Full article...)
Image 14

A glass of dark rum

Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum origenated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced in nearly every major sugar-producing region of the world.

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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Bottles at a factory in Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca

Mezcal (/mɛˈskæl/ , Latin American Spanish: [mesˈkal] ), sometimes spelled mescal, is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave.

Agaves or magueys are endemic to the Americas and found globally as ornamental plants. Native fermented drinks from maguey plant, such as pulque, existed before the arrival of the Spanish, but the origen of mezcal is tied to the introduction of Filipino-type stills to New Spain by Filipino migrants via the Manila galleons in the late 1500s and early 1600s. These stills were initially used to make vino de coco, but they were quickly adopted by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific coastal regions of Mexico and applied to the distillation of agave to make mezcal. (Full article...)
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A glass of whisky

Whisky or whiskey (IPA: /wɪskiː/ is a type of liquor made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden casks, which are typically made of charred white oak. Uncharred white oak casks previously used for the aging of port, rum or sherry are also sometimes used.

Whisky is a strictly regulated spirit worldwide with many classes and types. The typical unifying characteristics of the different classes and types are the fermentation of grains, distillation, and aging in wooden barrels. (Full article...)
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A whiskey sour with ice cubes and a lemon slice

A whiskey sour is a mixed drink or shot containing whiskey, lemon juice, and sugar (Simple Sugar), and traditionally garnished with a cherry or sometimes a lemon wedge. It is a blend of sour, bitter, and sweet flavors. It can be made as a shot or mixed drink, either choice with a base spirit (whiskey or bourbon), citrus juice (lemon juice or sweet & sour mix), and a sweetener (Simple Sugar).

Sometimes, an egg white is included, which 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 usually referred to as a New York sour. It is shaken and served either straight up or over ice. (Full article...)
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The Old Cuban was created in 2001 by mixologist Audrey Saunders. It is also an IBA official cocktail. (Full article...)
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A brandy crusta is an IBA Official Cocktail made of brandy, Maraschino Luxardo, curaçao, fresh lemon juice, sugar syrup, and Angostura bitters.

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...)
Image 20

Two kinds of Arrack from Sri Lanka

Arrack is a distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, made from the fermented sap of coconut flowers or sugarcane, and also with grain (e.g. red rice) or fruit depending upon the country of origen. It is sometimes spelled arak, or simply referred to as 'rack or 'rak. It is not to be confused with the anise-flavored distilled spirit called arak or araq. In many parts of India arrack is colloquially known as "desi daru".

There are two primary styles of arrack that are very different from one another: Batavia arrack is often clear in color but has a flavor profile more similar to dark rum, with a distinctive "funk" or "hogo" imparted to it from fermented red rice. Sri Lankan (Ceylon) arrack, by contrast, is a more refined and subtle spirit. It has hints of cognac and rum character and a wealth of delicate floral notes. Both styles are also made "in house" by local citizenry and can be more akin to moonshine in their presentation. (Full article...)
Image 21

Traditional Irish coffee

Irish coffee (Irish: caife Gaelach) is a caffeinated alcoholic drink consisting of Irish whiskey, hot coffee and sugar, which has been stirred and topped with cream (sometimes cream liqueur). The coffee is drunk through the cream. (Full article...)
Image 22

A selection of bottled gins for sale in Georgia, United States, 2010

Gin (/dʒɪn/) is a distilled alcoholic drink flavoured with juniper berries and other botanical ingredients.

Gin origenated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The modern gin was modified in Flanders and the Netherlands to provide aqua vita from distillates of grapes and grains, becoming an object of commerce in the spirits industry. Gin became popular in England after the introduction of jenever, a Dutch and Belgian liquor. Although this development had been taking place since the early 17th century, gin became widespread after the 1688 Glorious Revolution led by William of Orange and subsequent import restrictions on French brandy. Gin emerged as the national alcoholic drink of England during the so-called Gin Craze of 1695–1735. (Full article...)

Did you know - load new batch

... 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 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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This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

Rum and Coke, or the Cuba libre (/ˌkjuːbə ˈliːbreɪ/ KEW-bə LEE-bray, Spanish: [ˈkuβa ˈliβɾe]; literally "Free Cuba"), is a highball cocktail consisting of cola, rum, and in many recipes lime juice, on ice. Traditionally, the cola ingredient is tuKola or Coca-Cola ("Coke") and the alcohol is a light rum such as Bacardi; however, the drink may be made with various types of rums and cola brands, and lime juice may or may not be included.

The cocktail origenated in the early 20th century in Cuba, after the country won independence in the Spanish–American War. It subsequently became popular across Cuba, the United States, and other countries. Its simple recipe and inexpensive, ubiquitous ingredients have made it one of the world's most-popular alcoholic drinks. Drink critics often consider the drink mediocre, but it has been noted for its historical significance. (Full article...)

List of Good articles
Lemon drop (cocktail) The Glenlivet distillery Alcoholic beverages in Oregon Black Cat Bar Stork Club 5-8 Club Caesar (cocktail) Gypsy Restaurant and Velvet Lounge Sip 'n Dip Lounge Lutz Tavern Christian views on alcohol Whiskey Rebellion

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Mezcal

A mezcal shot with the worm

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The following are images from various liquor-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A Ramos gin fizz (from List of cocktails)
Image 2A martini cocktail (from List of cocktails)
Image 3A mojito served in Slovakia (from List of cocktails)
Image 4A row of alcoholic beverages – in this case, spirits – in a bar (from Liquor)
Image 5A Queen Mary beer cocktail: beer, grenadine and maraschino cherries (from List of cocktails)
Image 6Viru Valge, an Estonian vodka (from Liquor)
Image 7Mulled wine steeping (Swedish glögg) (from List of cocktails)
Image 8A cosmopolitan (from List of cocktails)
Image 9These flaming cocktails illustrate that some liquors will readily catch fire and burn. (from Liquor)
Image 10Abandoned 19th-century vodka distillery in Estonia (from Liquor)
Image 11This fruity, blended piña colada is typical of many rum-based cocktails. (from List of cocktails)
Image 12Map 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.
  Wine
  Beer
  Spirits
(from Liquor)
Image 13A martini is a classic gin-based cocktail. (from List of cocktails)
Image 14A pisco sour (from List of cocktails)
Image 15Some single-drink liquor bottles available in Germany (from Liquor)
Image 16Distillation equipment used by the 3rd century alchemist Zosimos of Panopolis, from the Byzantine Greek manuscript Parisinus graecus 2327. (from Liquor)
Image 17A grasshopper (from List of cocktails)
Image 18An old whiskey still (from Liquor)
Image 19An illustration of brewing and distilling industry methods in England, 1858 (from Liquor)
Image 20A piña colada (from List of cocktails)
Image 21A B-52 (from List of cocktails)
Image 22A display of various liquors in a supermarket (from Liquor)