Portal:Liquor

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The Liquor Portal

Introduction

Liquor (/ˈlɪkər/ LIK-ər, sometimes hard 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 ordinarily 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 (or even non-alcoholic ones produced by distillation or some other practices, such as the brewed liquor of a tea).

The distillation process concentrates the alcohol, the resulting condensate has an increased 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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Singani is a Bolivian eau-de-vie or brandy distilled from white Muscat of Alexandria grapes. Only produced in the high valleys of Bolivia, it is the country's national distilled spirit and considered part of its cultural patrimony.

Singani has been produced since the 16th century shortly after the Spanish arrived in South America. It was first distilled by monastic orders who needing sacramental wine found it expedient to also distill. Most sources say the name singani derives from a pre-Columbian village of that name near the mission that first distilled the liquor. While its production methods and drinking characteristics more closely resemble eaux-de-vie, it is treated as a brandy for purposes of international trade. It has since been declared a Domain of Origin (Denominación de Origen or DO) and a Geographical Indication (GI) by the Bolivian government.

Since the 1990s, formal Bolivian regulations have codified what has long been practiced, and the vineyards from which singani is made are to be planted at elevations of 1,600 m (5,250 feet) or higher. Singani is thereby known as an altitude product in Bolivian legal terms, the official phrase "of altitude" being also applied to Bolivian wines and grapevine cultivars. Although there are vineyards at elevations much higher than the official minimum, they are difficult to manage, and most production comes from plantations at around 1,800 m (6,000 feet) above sea level close to where the wineries and distillation facilities are located. (Full article...)

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Harold Clifford "Harry" Hatch (1884–1946) was a millionaire industrialist from Prince Edward County, Ontario, specializing in the business of wine and spirits.

Hatch started out with a small liquor store in Whitby, Ontario, and prospered to the point where he was able to purchase the controlling interest of Gooderham & Worts Ltd. in 1923. Four years later, Hatch acquired Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd. based in Walkerville, Ontario, and in 1927 merged the two companies under the parent company of Hiram Walker-Gooderham & Worts Limited. The company was one of a number of Canadian distillers who prospered by shipping their products into the United States during the Prohibition era from 1920 to 1933. (Full article...)

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

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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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The Monkey Gland is a cocktail of gin, orange juice, grenadine and absinthe created in the 1920s by Harry MacElhone, owner of Harry's New York Bar in Paris, France.

Some recipes substitute absinthe with pastis or Bénédictine. (Full article...)
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The Ve.n.to is an IBA official cocktail made of Grappa, honey syrup, fresh lemon juice, and chamomile liqueur. (Full article...)
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Peruvian pisco sour

A pisco sour is an alcoholic cocktail of Peruvian origin that is traditional to both Peruvian and Chilean cuisine. The drink's name comes from pisco, a brandy which is its base liquor, and the cocktail term sour, implying sour citrus juice and sweetener components. The Peruvian pisco sour uses Peruvian pisco and adds freshly squeezed lime juice, simple syrup, ice, egg white, and Angostura bitters. The Chilean version is similar, but uses Chilean pisco and Pica lime, and excludes the bitters and egg white. Other variants of the cocktail include those created with fruits like pineapple or plants such as coca leaves.

Although the preparation of pisco-based mixed beverages possibly dates back to the 1700s, historians and drink experts agree that the cocktail as it is known today was invented in the early 1920s in Lima, the capital of Peru, by the American bartender Victor Vaughen Morris. Morris left the United States in 1903 to work in Cerro de Pasco, a city in central Peru. In 1916, he opened Morris' Bar in Lima, and his saloon quickly became a popular spot for the Peruvian upper class and English-speaking foreigners. The oldest known mentions of the pisco sour are found in newspaper and magazine advertisements, dating to the early 1920s, for Morris and his bar published in Peru and Chile. The pisco sour underwent several changes until Mario Bruiget, a Peruvian bartender working at Morris' Bar, created the modern Peruvian recipe for the cocktail in the latter part of the 1920s by adding Angostura bitters and egg whites to the mix. (Full article...)
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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 origin. 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...)
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The paloma (Spanish for "dove") is a tequila-based cocktail. This drink is most commonly prepared by mixing tequila, lime juice, and a grapefruit-flavored soda such as Fresca, Squirt, or Jarritos and served on the rocks with a lime wedge. Adding salt to the rim of the glass is also an option.

Alternatively, the grapefruit soda can be replaced with fresh white or red grapefruit juice (jugo de toronja) and club soda (sugar optional). (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 origin 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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Arak with water and ice

Arak or araq (Arabic: ﻋﺮﻕ) is a distilled Levantine spirit of the anise drinks family. It is translucent and unsweetened. (Full article...)
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Bottles of legally produced poitín

Poitín (Irish pronunciation: [ˈpˠɛtʲiːnʲ]), anglicized as poteen (/pəˈt(ʃ)iːn, pɒˈtiːn/) or potcheen, is a traditional Irish distilled beverage (40–90% ABV). Former common names for Poitín were "Irish moonshine" and "mountain dew". It was traditionally distilled in a small pot still, and the term is a diminutive of the Irish word pota, meaning "pot". In accordance with the Irish Poteen/Irish Poitín technical file, it can be made only from cereals, grain, whey, sugar beet, molasses and potatoes. (Full article...)
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A Hemingway Special or Hemingway Daiquiri and its component ingredients

A Hemingway special is an all day cocktail based on the Floridita daiquiri and is recognised by the IBA. It is made with rum, lime juice, maraschino liqueur, and grapefruit juice and served in a double cocktail glass. (Full article...)
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A martini cocktail

A cocktail is a mixed drink typically made with a distilled liquor (such as arrack, brandy, cachaça, gin, rum, tequila, vodka, or whiskey) as its base ingredient that is then mixed with other ingredients or garnishments. Sweetened liqueurs, wine, or beer may also serve as the base or be added. If beer is one of the ingredients, the drink is called a beer cocktail.

Cocktails often also contain various types of juice, fruit, honey, milk or cream, spices, or other flavorings. Cocktails may vary in their ingredients from bartender to bartender, and from region to region. Two creations may have the same name but taste very different because of differences in how the drinks are prepared. (Full article...)
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Traditional distillation of tsikoudia

Tsikoudia (Greek: τσικουδιά, romanized: tsikoudiá, literally "terebinth") is a traditional alcoholic beverage and pomace brandy from the Greek island of Crete. It contains 40% to 65% alcohol by volume (ABV). (Full article...)
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A black Russian cocktail

The Black Russian is a cocktail of vodka and coffee liqueur. It contains 50 ml vodka and 20 ml coffee liqueur, per IBA specified ingredients.

The drink is made by pouring the vodka and coffee liqueur over ice cubes or cracked ice in an old-fashioned glass and stirring. The Black Russian is often garnished with a lemon slice and a Luxardo maraschino cherry on a stick. (Full article...)
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French 75 is a cocktail made from gin, champagne, lemon juice, and sugar. It is also called a 75 cocktail, or in French simply a soixante quinze ('seventy five').

The drink dates to World War I, when in 1915 an early form was created at the New York Bar in Paris — later Harry's New York Bar — by barman Harry MacElhone. The combination was said to have such a kick that it felt like being shelled with the powerful French 75mm field gun. (Full article...)
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Two mimosas

A mimosa cocktail consists of champagne (or other sparkling wine) and chilled citrus juice, usually orange juice. It is often served in a tall champagne flute at festive occasions such as brunch, weddings, or as part of business or first class service on some passenger railways and airlines. The mixing ratio varies. (Full article...)
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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 originated 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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Tommy's margarita as it is served at Tommy's

Tommy's margarita is a variant of the margarita cocktail that uses agave nectar instead of triple sec. It is recognized by the IBA as a new era drink. (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...)
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The Last Word is a gin-based cocktail originating 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 selection of popular Chilean piscos

Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber-colored spirit produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy that was being imported from Spain. It had the advantages of being produced from abundant domestically grown fruit and reducing the volume of alcoholic beverages transported to remote locations. (Full article...)
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Canchanchara

The Canchanchara is an IBA official cocktail made with Cuban aguardiente, honey, and fresh lime juice. (Full article...)
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The Americano is an IBA official cocktail composed of Campari, sweet vermouth, and for the sparkling version, club soda and garnished with a slice of lemon or an orange twist. (Full article...)
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The French martini is a vodka-based cocktail. It was invented in the 1980s at one of Keith McNally's New York City bars. It next appeared on the drinks menu at McNally's Balthazar in SoHo in 1996. The cocktail was produced during the 1980s–1990s cocktail renaissance.

It is not a true martini, but is one of many drinks that incorporate the term martini into their names. The key ingredient that makes a martini "French" is Chambord, a black raspberry liqueur based on recipes that have been produced in France since 1685. (Full article...)

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... that Governor of Svalbard Håkon Balstad was described as a "roaring bull of a man with a fabulous capacity for raw liquor"?
... 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.

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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Margarita

A margarita served in an Old Fashioned glass

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

Image 1Distillation equipment used by the 3rd century alchemist Zosimos of Panopolis, from the Byzantine Greek manuscript Parisinus graecus 2327. (from Liquor)
Image 2Map 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 3A martini cocktail (from List of cocktails)
Image 4A row of alcoholic beverages – in this case, spirits – in a bar (from Liquor)
Image 5A grasshopper (from List of cocktails)
Image 6A Queen Mary beer cocktail: beer, grenadine and maraschino cherries (from List of cocktails)
Image 7A B-52 (from List of cocktails)
Image 8An old whiskey still (from Liquor)
Image 9A Ramos gin fizz (from List of cocktails)
Image 10Viru Valge, an Estonian vodka (from Liquor)
Image 11Abandoned 19th-century vodka distillery in Estonia (from Liquor)
Image 12A pisco sour (from List of cocktails)
Image 13These flaming cocktails illustrate that some liquors will readily catch fire and burn. (from Liquor)
Image 14Mulled wine steeping (Swedish glögg) (from List of cocktails)
Image 15A display of various liquors in a supermarket (from Liquor)
Image 16Reservoir glass with naturally coloured verte absinthe and an absinthe spoon (from List of cocktails)
Image 17Corpse reviver #2 (from List of cocktails)
Image 18A piña colada (from List of cocktails)
Image 19Some single-drink liquor bottles available in Germany (from Liquor)
Image 20A Caipirinha with lime (from List of cocktails)
Image 21An illustration of brewing and distilling industry methods in England, 1858 (from Liquor)
Image 22A Brandy Alexander being served (from List of cocktails)
Image 23A cosmopolitan (from List of cocktails)