Frederic P Miller

Distilled Beverage Frederic P Miller

Publisher Marketing: Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is a drinkable liquid containing ethanol that is produced by means of distilling fermented grain, fruit, or vegetables. This excludes undistilled fermented beverages such as beer and wine, and often the term hard liquor is used to contrast distilled beverages from (implicitly weaker) undistilled ones. Beer and wine were historically limited to a maximum alcohol content of about 15% ABV. Most yeasts cannot reproduce when the concentration of alcohol is higher than 15%; consequently, fermentation ceases at that point, preventing the production of more alcohol. 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 / Schnaps), 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.