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Bartender Basics > Hard Liquor and Spirits > Flashcards

Hard Liquor and Spirits Flashcards

An introduction to identifying, smelling, tasting, and critiquing hard liquors, plus the cultural and geographical origins of the main categories of spirits.

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Bartending flashcards
1
Q

What is the meaning of proof in alcohol?

A
  • A measure of the amount of alcohol in an alcoholic drink
  • Equal to twice the percentage of alcohol by volume
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2
Q

How many ounces are in a standard “shot” of liquor?

A

1.5 oz. or 45 mL

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3
Q

How much beer and wine contain as much alcohol as a 1.5-oz. “shot” of liquor?

A
  • 12-oz. beer
  • 6-oz. glass of wine

(based on standard 40% alcohol hard liquor)

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4
Q

What does it mean “to nose”
an alcohol?

A

To smell it in a particular way as to judge its aroma

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5
Q

Why was the concept of proof created?

A

To establish the authenticity of moonshine

Any liquid with 50% alcohol burns, so 50% alcohol is “100% proof,” or real moonshine

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6
Q

What are the 3 most popular beverages in the world?

A

water, tea, and beer

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7
Q

What is the fermented
ingredient in wine?

A

Grapes

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8
Q

What is the fermented ingredient in sake?

A

Rice

Note: Sake is commonly called “rice wine.”

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9
Q

What is the fermented
ingredient in beer?

A

Malted barley

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10
Q

Where did rum originate?

A

Either in ancient India or China

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11
Q

What is the fermented ingredient in rum?

A

Sugar cane byproducts:

  • molasses
  • sugar cane juices
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12
Q

What aromas should you look for when nosing a rum?

A
  • vanilla
  • caramel
  • butterscotch
  • tobacco
  • leather
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13
Q

What can you determine from the appearance of a rum?

A

Its age

The longer a rum ages, the darker it will be

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14
Q

What flavors should you
look for in rum?

A
  • caramel
  • brown sugar
  • tobacco
  • molasses
  • leather
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15
Q

What is the fermented
ingredient in gin?

A

Neutral grain spirits flavored with juniper

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16
Q

What aromas should you look for when nosing gin?

A
  • citrus
  • fruit
  • floral
  • earth
  • spice
  • wood
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17
Q

What is the proper way
to taste gin?

A
  1. Sip and let roll around the mouth before swallowing
  2. Pay attention to the warmth of the alcohol (you will be able to notice an array of flavors from the botanicals)
  3. Let the gin rest on your palate while exhaling through your nose (the result of the spirit should be smooth and creamy on the tongue with a long, soft taste)
  4. Swallow and pay close attention to the aftertaste
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18
Q

Should gin be completely clear when held up to the light?

A

If made from natural ingredients, gin need not be completely clear

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19
Q

What is the fermented ingredient in whiskey?

A

Dependent on the variety,
but can include:

  • barley
  • malted barley
  • rye
  • malted rye
  • wheat
  • maize (corn)
20
Q

Scotch is a variety of what
type of liquor?

A

Whiskey

21
Q

What was colonial America’s largest and most prosperous industry?

A

The manufacture of rum

The first rum distillaries were in Staten Island, New York and Boston, Massachusetts

22
Q

What is the fermented ingredient in vodka?

A
  • grain (usually rye or wheat)
  • potatoes, or
  • sugar beet molasses
23
Q

Where does the word
vodka come from?

A

A diminutive version of the Russian word for water, “voda”

24
Q

When and where was vodka invented?

A

14th century Russia

25
Q

What should vodka look like?

A

A fine vodka has a thick and creamy texture when frozen

26
Q

What should you look for in the nose of a vodka?

A
  • Good vodka: creamy, sweet, or grainy fragrance
  • Bad vodka: medicinal or aggressive with a harsh odor of ethyl spirits
27
Q

What was North America’s first indigenous distilled spirit?

A

Tequila

When the Conquistadors ran out of their own brandy, they began distilling the Aztecs’ agave drink

28
Q

What color should tequila be?

A

Clear, pale yellow, golden,
or golden brown

(Darker color indicates either extensive aging or the use of caramel coloring.)

29
Q

What is the fermented ingredient in tequila?

A

Blue agave (not cacti)

30
Q

What should you look for in the nose of a tequila?

A
  • agave
  • soil
  • oak
  • fruit
  • smoke

Note: “Agave intensity” is the term used to describe the amount of agave aroma in the tequila.

31
Q

What kind of taste should you look for in a tequila?

A

A long finish and a nicely
complex aftertaste

32
Q

What popular drinks use rum?

A
  • Rum and Coke
  • Rum Runner
  • Piña Colada
  • Tom and Jerry
  • Mai Tai
  • Zombie
33
Q

What popular drinks use vodka?

A
  • Kamikaze
  • White Russian
  • Long Island Iced Tea
  • Lemon Drop
34
Q

What popular drinks use gin?

A
  • Gin Martini
  • Gin and Juice
  • Gin and Tonic
35
Q

Where did scotch likely originate?

A

Among ancient Celts

They produced a drink, known as uisge beatha (“water of life”), which evolved into Scotch whiskey

36
Q

What is the proper way
to nose scotch?

A
  • Raise the glass of scotch slowly up to your nose until you begin to get a rich but not overpowering sense of the aroma
  • A few drops of water will release more components of the whiskey’s smell
37
Q

Into which four distinct categories are Scotch whiskeys divided?

A
  1. single malt
  2. vatted malt (also called “pure malt”)
  3. blended grain
  4. single grain
38
Q

What should you look for in the appearance of scotch?

A

Its darkness is indicative of its age and the type of wood cask it was stored in

  • Hold the scotch up against a white background and examine the color and clarity
  • The richest scotches (and whiskeys in general) have the most prominent legs
39
Q

What flavors should you look for in a Scotch?

A
  • iodine
  • brine
  • seaweed
  • florals
40
Q

What is distinctive about scotch compared to other whiskeys?

A

According to Scottish regulations, it must be distilled and aged for at least three years and one day

41
Q

Bourbon is a variety of what
type of liquor?

A

Whiskey

42
Q

What is distinctive about bourbon compared to other types of whiskey?

A

Must have a 51% corn mixture in its fermented grains

43
Q

How are sour mash whiskeys made?

A

Different kinds of grains are mashed together and fermented

44
Q

What drink is mentioned in the Kojiki, the first written history of Japan (712)?

A

Sake

45
Q

What liquor do these drinks
have in common?

  • Rum and Coke
  • Rum Runner
  • Piña Colada
  • Tom and Jerry
  • Mai Tai
  • Zombie
A

Rum

46
Q

What liquor do these drinks
have in common?

  • Gin Martini
  • Gin and Juice
  • Gin and Tonic
A

Gin

47
Q

What liquor do these drinks
have in common?

  • Kamikaze
  • Long Island Iced Tea
  • Lemon Drop
  • White Russian
A

Vodka

Bartender Basics (4 decks)

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