Spirits Flashcards
absinthe
A dry flavored spirit whose main flavor component is wormwood. It tastes similar to the licorice-like flavors of anise.
ABV
Abbreviation for “alcohol by volume.” The percent of a liquid composed of alcohol, primarily ethanol.
agave
A plant native to the dry climates of Mexico, Southwestern U.S. states, and Central America, and often mistaken for a cactus. The blue agave variety, known as “agave tequila Weber azul,” is used to make tequila.
aguamiel
The juice that forms inside the agave plant.
Akvavit
A falvored spirt from scandanavia that features the distinctive caraway along with other herbs.
apply jack
“Fruit brandy” made from apples.
aqua vitae
Latin for “water of life.”
Armagnac
A grape spirit/brandy made in the Armagnac region of France.
Armagnac still
A column still used to make Armagnac.
backset
The “tails” of the distillate from a prior distillation used in bourbon production, added to each new batch of wash before it begins the first distillation. It contains little alcohol but has acids and congeners that add flavor and consistency to to each brand.
Baco 22A
A grape that is hybrid of Folle Blanche and an American grape called Noah. It is used along with Ungi Blanc to make to make Armagnac.
Pomace-based spirit made in Portugal and spelling.
bagaceira
Fibers from the cooked piñas that may be added to a tequila fermentation vessel to add complexity
bagasse
batch processing
A distilling process that requires distillers to run the process once, remove the distillate, clean the still, and then start over with the distillate, distilling it until they reach their desired purity level.
beer still
The first still used for making whiskey.
bitters
Flavored spirits similar to cordials but do not usually include sweetening agents.
blended grain Scotch
Scotch whiskey blends of single grain scotch whiskies from more than one distillery.
blended Irish Whiskey
Irish whiskey that contains a blend of two ore more distillates.
blended malt Scotch
Scotch whiskey that contains two or more single malt whiskies from different distilleries.
blended Scotch
Scotch whiskey that are blends of malt and grain whiskies.
blended whiskey (American)
blend of straight whiskey, other whiskey, and neutral spirits
must include at least 20 percent of straight whiskey on “a proof gallon basis.”
bottled-in-bond bourbon
Bourbon aged four years in charred oak barrels bottled at 100 proof. From a single distillery Vintage: produced in one season. No coloring or additives are allowed.
bourbon
Whiskey made in America
51 percent corn plus other grains
distilled up to 160 proof
stored at up to 125 proof in charred new oak.
brandy
A spirit made from fermented and distilled grape juice–basically a distilled wine.
brouillis
Distillate from thethe first distillation in Cognac production. It’s a low-alcohol spirit of about 30 percent ABV.
butts
Barrels used for aging sherry in Spain’s sherry producing region of Jerez.
Cachaça
A rum-like spirit made from sugar cane and corn in Brazil.
Calvados
An apple brandy (some also include pears) produced in France’s Normandy region.
Calvados Domfrontais
A classification for Calvados that is column distilled and must contain 30 percent pear wine.
Calvados Pays d’Auge
A classification for Calvados that is double distilled in Cognac’s Charentais pot stills.
Canadian Whisky
made in Canada
grains that include some malt or malt enzymes.
aged three years in “small wood,”
“possess the aroma, taste and character generally attributed to Canadian whisky.
Charentais pot still
A type of pot still used in Cognac. Also referred to as a “Cognac Still.”
Coffey still
A still developed by Irishman Aeneas Coffey in 1830. An improved version of another still patented by Scotsman Robert Stein in 1827, it consists of two vertically positioned, column-shaped tanks—one called the analyzer and the other called the rectifier.
Cognac
A grape spirit/brandy, made in the Cognac region of France.
Colombard
A grape used in some Cognac and Armagnac, but less common than Ugni Blanc and Bacco 22A (Armagnac only).
compound gin
Gin is gin made by adding juniper and other botanicals to a neutral spirit. Compare to distilled gin.
compounding
Adding a flavor to a spirit by dirctly mixing in an extract or other flavor component, rather than distilling the spirit with the flavor component.
congeners
Various chemical compounds that develop during fermentation and distillation, some of which add flavor and character to the final product.
continous distillation
A process that allows distillers to continually add the wash, which is processed through various tanks or “columns” to produce a very pure product that does not need additional processing. Also called “fractional distillation.
cordial
Spirits mixed with botanicals or other flavoring agents, as well as a sweeteners and sometimes coloring.
corn whiskey (American)
American whiskey made with 80 percent corn plus other grains, with oak aging in new or used containers optional.
cut points
The points at which distillers decide to cut the “heads,” “hearts,” and “tails.”
demerara
A rum made with sugar cane juice rather than molasses produced in Guyana.
distilate
The alcoholic liquid resulting from distilation.
distillation
A process that separates various components of a liquid mixture using heat.
distilled gin
Gin that is distilled with juniper and other botantials. Compare to “compound gin”
distiller’s beer
The final result of grain fermentations. This wash, or “distiller’s beer” is much like regular beer, but it usually does not have hops–the flowers from the hop plant that are added to the mash to add flavor for regular beer.
dunder
The the residue or “tails” from prior distillations for rum (similar to the sour mash in bourbon making). It contains dead yeast or “lees” and other flavorful congeners.
eau-de-vie
French for “water of life.”
eau-de-vie de cidre
A basic fermented and distilled apple cider in France’s Normandy region.
esters
Congeners that add desirable fruity flavors and aromas.
ethanol
The main component and most desirable alcohol found in wine, beer, and spirits.
feints
See “tails”
finished scotch
Scotch that is aged in more than one type of barrel, including new oak, second-use port barrels, Bordeaux wine barriques, and others.
Folle Blanche
A grape used in some Cognac and Armagnac, but less common than Ugni blanc and Bacco 22A (Armagnac only).
foreshots
heads
fractional distillation
continuous distillation – any distillations occur in same process.
framboise
Fruit brandy made from rasberries.
fruit brandy
A spirit made from fruits other than grapes.
fusel oils
Alcohol congeners created during fermentation and released during distillation as part of the “tails.”
genever
A blend of a pot-distilled spirit produced from a mash of malted barley and other grains and a neutral spirit infused with botanicals that includes juniper.
gin
A spirit produced by addition of juniper and other botanicals to a neutral spirit to make a “compound gin” or through the distillation of spirit along with juniper and other botanical flavorings to make a “distilled gin.”
grappa
Pomace-based spirit made in Italy. See “pomace.”
green malt
The barly that has germinated and is ready to be browned in a kiln for malting.
grist
A course flour consisting of ground grains that are used to make a mash in whiskey and beer production.
heads
The first vapors to emerge when boiling the wash in spirit production. They contain a higher concentration of components that boil at a lower temperature, which includes the less-desirable alcohols, such as methanol.
hearts
Collected after the heads are collected when boiling the wash in spirit production. The contain the steam with the highest concentration of the most desirable alcohols and congeners, such as the esters that add floral and fruity notes to the mix.
high wine
Distillate resulting from second distillation or distillation of “low wines” in whiskey production.
hornos
Brick ovens in which piña are cooked to release sugary juice that can be fermented and distilled into tequila and mezcal.
infusion
A process of extracting flavoring agents into a spirit by simply steeping the flavor source in the spirit or water.
jimador
Mexican farmers that harvest agave plants used for tequila and mezcal production.
kirsch or kirschwasser
Fruit brandy made from cherries.
lees
The dead yeast deposits remaining from fermentation that may be mixed with wine during aging or used during distillation (as in Cognac) to add yeasty, bready flavor and complexity to the final product.
light whisky, American
- Grain-based whiskey;
- aged in used or uncharred oak containers;
- distilled to more than 160 proof
- When blended And contains less than 20 percent of a straight whiskey, it must be labeled “blended light whiskey”
- No color or additives.
liqueur
same as a cordial: flavored and sweetened spirit.
London Dry Gin
A light and fresh style that may be made anywhere in the world and is well suited for mixing cocktails. The term “dry,” on the label simply indicates the absence of sweetness.
low wines
The distillate that results from the first round of “batch distillation” for whiskey production, which is usually around 25 percent “ABV.”
maceration
Crushing flavor components to extract flavors that are added to or distilled with spirits in the production of cordials and gin. In wine production is describes the process of crushing grapes and soaking to extacting color and flavor components in the skin.
malt
The final product of malting.
malt whisky, American
Whiskey made in America with 51 percent barley plus other grains that is distilled up to 160 proof (80 percent ABV) and stored at up to 125 proof (65.5% ABV) in charred new oak containers. Producers may not add coloring or additives.
malt, Scotch
Scotch made with 100 percent malted barley from a single distillery.
malting
A process designed to release enzymes from barely necessary to convert starches in the grain to sugars, which can then be fermented and distilled into grain-based spirits.
maltster
A person who processes ungerminated barely into germinated and kiln-dried malt for use in making whiskey.
marc
A pomace-based spirit made in France.
Martel method
A methold for making cognac that requires quick removal of less from wine before distillation to make a faster maturing, lighter spirit.
mash
A mixture of course flower from ground grains (grist) to which enzymes or malt is added to convert starches to sugars, producing the sugarry liquid (wash) that can be fermented and then distilled into spirits.
mash bill
A mixture of grains—barley (malted and unmalted), corn, wheat, and rye—which U.S. producers combine to make a grist.
mash tun
The vessel in which the mash is heated to release sugars necessary for fermentation.
mezcal
Made by fermenting the juice known as aguameil of the agave plant, formerly called mezcal wine. It is a early version of tequila; however, “tequila” may only be made within designated aeras of Mexico using the blue agave species.
milling
Grinding germinated and browned barely into a course flour to make the grist for whiskey production (see malt).
mirabelle
Fruit brandy made from plums.
mixto
Also called “tequila regular” it’s tequila made with a mixture of blue agave and non-agave sugars, such as sugar cane or corn sugars.
must
A sugar-filled mixture ready for fermentation, such as crushed grapes that are used for wine and Cognac or crushed fruit used for brandy.
Navy blends
Rums made in Britain blended from imported bulk rums, often along with caramel to add both color and sweetness.
new make
Another name for the hearts of a distillate used by scottish whisky producers.
Old Tom gin
Light, sweet gin whose history dates to 18th century London.
orujo
A pomace-based spirit made in Spain. (See “pomace.”)
ouzo
A dry flavored spirit produced with ainise made in Greece.
pastis
A sweetened French spirit made with ainse.
peat
dense, earth of partially decayed organic matter of plants; heather, moss, grass,seaweed, compacted thousands years. burning-pungent smoke, adds flavor barley, which further develops during fermentation and distillation, giving some whiskies their unique, earthy, smoky, profiles.
percolation
Simlar to coffee making whereby spirits are repeatedly passed over botantials and other flavoring agents to exact flavor into the spririt. It is used in cordial production.
pernod
A sweetened french spirit made with ainse.
piña
The hearts (center) of the agave plant that swells up with a sugary juice called aguameil used to make tequila and mezcal.
Pisco
An aromatic brandy made in several Latin American countries, particularly Chile and Peru. Producers use grape juice for their pot-distilled and oak-aged spirits.
Plymouth Gin
A fuller boded gin with some fruit flavor developed around the time of London Dry Gin.
Poire William
Fruit brandy made from the Williams pear.
pomace
The leftover grape skins from wine production—usually from red rather than white production; distilled in either column stills (more common) or pot stills to make grappa (Italy), marc (France) , orujo (Spain) or bagaceira (Portugal)
pot still
The oldest of distillation devices. It’s a large kettle with a long neck leading up to a condenser coil, which may be submerged in cool water to promote quick condensation inside the tube. It is also known as the Alembic still.
