Spirits Flashcards
What is the best selling spirit in the United States?
Vodka
Minimum ABV of anything labeled “vodka” in the EU?
37.5% ABV
Difference between Shochu and Vodka?
Shochu is not filtered through charcoal.
What is Awamori? Where does it come from?
Okinawan style of shochu distilled from long grain indica rice
What is the world’s most consumed spirit? What is it made of?
Baijiu (aka Shaojiu) is a vodka-like Chinese spirit distilled from sorgum
At what temperature does ethyl alcohol boil?
Approximately 73 degrees Farenheit or 78 degrees Celsius
Simply put, what is fractional distillation?
The separation of two liquids with different boiling points
Jābir ibn Ḥayyān
8th century Arabic chemist-alchemist who developed an improved alembic still, the precursor to the pot still, which allowed for purer distillation
In fractional distillation, what is a foreshot?
the first vapors to condense— must be discarded as these contain congeners such as methanol, a toxic alcohol
What are the two names of the columns in a continuous still?
Analyzer and rectifier
What is the stylistic difference between basic pot still and continuous still?
Continuous still uses steam to vaporize the alcohol so alcohol is condensed in a purer fashion, stripping liquor of excess congeners. This creates a higher alcohol spirit. Congeners are responsible for impurities but are also a source of flavor, making a continuous still spirit cleaner and purer.
What is the difference between maceration and infusion?
Maceration is cold steeping and takes longer. Infusion is hot steeping and works faster.
What is alcohol “proof”?
Until 1980, Britain based its legal calculation of the alcoholic strength of liquor on a simple test, or proof: the ability of gunpowder to combust when doused in the spirit.
Proof is twice the percentage of ABV.
