Liquor (/ˈlɪkər/LIK-ər) is an
alcoholic drink produced by the
distillation of
grains,
fruits,
vegetables, or
sugar that have already gone through
alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit, distilled beverage, booze, spirituous liquor or hard liquor. The distillation process concentrates the liquid to increase its
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 UK. 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.
While the word liquor ordinarily refers to distilled alcoholic spirits rather than beverages produced by fermentation alone, it can sometimes be used more broadly to refer to any alcoholic beverage (or even non-alcoholic products of distillation or various other liquids). (Full article...)
Such a ban was discussed as a result of multiple cases of
alcohol poisoning and
alcohol-related
blackouts among users of such drinks. The majority of these alcohol poisoning cases were found on college campuses throughout the United States. Caffeinated alcoholic drinks such as
Four Loko,
Joose,
Sparks and
Tilt were the most popular around the U.S. The beverages, which combine
malt liquor or other grain alcohol with caffeine and juices at alcohol concentrations up to about 14 percent, had become popular among younger generations. Their consumption had been associated with increased risk of serious injury, drunken driving, sexual assault and other detrimental behavior. (Full article...)
The English
loanword "schnapps" is derived from the colloquial German word Schnaps[ʃnaps]ⓘ (plural: Schnäpse), which is used in reference to
spirit drinks. The word Schnaps stems from
Low German and is related to the German term "schnappen", meaning "snap", which refers to the spirit usually being consumed in a quick slug from a small glass (i.e., a
shot glass). (Full article...)
Image 3
A Brandy Alexander is a
brandy-based dessert cocktail consisting of
cognac,
crème de cacao, and cream, that became popular during the early 20th century. It is a variation of an earlier, gin-based cocktail called simply an
Alexander. The cocktail known as Alexander today may contain
gin or
brandy. Ice cream can be added for a "frozen Brandy Alexander". (Full article...)
In a broader sense, the term brandy also denotes liquors obtained from the distillation of
pomace (yielding
pomace brandy), or mash or wine of any other fruit (
fruit brandy). These products are also called eau de vie (literally "water of life" in
French). (Full article...)
This version of the Casino Cocktail first appears in 1909, in The Reminder (3rd edition) by Jacob A. Didier. (Full article...)
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Moonshine is
high-proofliquor, traditionally made or distributed
illegally. Its clandestine distribution is known as bootlegging. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the
alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial distilleries have adopted the term for its outlaw cachet and begun producing their own legally sanctioned, novelty "moonshine", including many flavored varieties, that in some sense continue its tradition, generally having a similar method and/or location of production. (Full article...)
The cosmopolitan is a member of the
Gimlet family of cocktails. Though often presented far differently, the cosmopolitan also bears a likeness in composition to the
kamikaze shooter. (Full article...)
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Rakija, rakia, rachiu, rakı or rakiya (/ˈrɑːkiə,ˈræ-,rəˈkiːə/), is the collective term for fruit spirits (or
fruit brandy) popular in the
Balkans. The alcohol content of rakia is normally 40%
ABV, but home-produced rakia can be stronger (typically 50–80%). (Full article...)
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A glass of whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of
liquor made from
fermentedgrainmash. Various grains (which may be
malted) are used for different varieties, including
barley,
corn,
rye, and
wheat. Whisky is typically
aged in wooden
casks, which are typically made of charred
white oak. Uncharred white oak casks previously used for the aging of
port,
rum or
sherry are also sometimes used.
Whisky is a strictly regulated
spirit worldwide with many classes and types. The typical unifying characteristics of the different classes and types are the fermentation of grains,
distillation, and aging in wooden barrels. (Full article...)
A gin fizz is the best-known cocktail in the fizz family. A gin fizz contains gin, lemon juice, and sugar, which are shaken with ice, poured into a tumbler and topped with carbonated water. The drink is similar to a
Tom Collins, with a possible distinction being a Tom Collins historically used "
Old Tom gin" (a slightly sweeter precursor to
London Dry Gin), whereas the kind of gin historically used in a gin fizz is unknown.
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
bartenderVictor 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...)
The drink follows the classic cocktail principle of balancing strong (
alcohol) with weak (
fruit juice) and sweet and sour. (Full article...)
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The Bramble is a cocktail created by
Dick Bradsell in 1980s
London, England. Best described as a spring cocktail, the Bramble brings together dry
gin,
lemon juice, sugar syrup,
crème de mûre, and crushed ice. Bradsell also suggests finishing off the cocktail with some fresh red fruits (such as
blackberries,
cranberries) and a slice of lemon.
If crème de mûre is unavailable, many bartenders will substitute creme de cassis for it. (Full article...)
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.
The name comes from prohibition-era slang meaning "the best". (Full article...)
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A negroni
The negroni is a
cocktail, made of equal parts
gin,
vermouth rosso (red, semi-sweet), and
Campari, generally served on the rocks, and commonly garnished with an orange slice or orange peel. It is considered an
apéritif.
The drink has been documented in Italy since the late 1940s, and became popular in the 1950s, but the origin is uncertain, and early recipes differ somewhat from the modern standard. The basic recipe – an equal-parts cocktail of these three ingredients – is first recorded in French cocktail books of the late 1920s, alongside many similar drinks; in Italy a long drink of equal parts vermouth and Campari (but no gin), topped with soda and served over ice, has existed since the 1800s under the names Milano–Torino or
Americano. There are claims of Italian drinks by the name "Negroni" containing gin from 1919, though these differ significantly from the modern drink; see
§ History for details. (Full article...)
Poitín (Irish pronunciation:[ˈpˠɛtʲiːnʲ]), anglicized as poteen (/pəˈt(ʃ)iːn,pɒˈtiːn/) or potcheen, is a traditional
Irishdistilled 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". The Irish word for a hangover is póit. In accordance with the Irish Poteen/Irish Poitín technical file, it can only be made from cereals, grain, whey, sugar beet, molasses and potatoes. (Full article...)
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A typical fernet con coca from Argentina, and also spread to adjacent areas in Southern South America
The
cocktail first became popular among the youth of the
college town of
Córdoba, in the 1980s and—impulsed by an advertising campaign led by
Fratelli Branca—its consumption grew in popularity during the following decades to become widespread throughout the country, surpassed only by that of beer and wine. It is now considered a
cultural icon of Argentina and is especially associated with its home province of
Córdoba, where the drink is most consumed. The popularity of fernet con coca is such that Argentina consumes more than 75% of all fernet produced globally. The cocktail can also be found in some of its bordering countries, such as
Uruguay. (Full article...)
... that Thomas Dickson Archibald, when speaking against increasing fines for violating liquor licenses, said "we need only go a step further and make the violation a hanging matter"?
... 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?
This is a
Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.
Christian views on alcohol are varied. Throughout the first 1,800 years of
Church history,
Christians generally consumed
alcoholic beverages as a common part of everyday life and used "the fruit of the vine" in their central
rite—the
Eucharist or Lord's Supper. They held that both the
Bible and
Christian tradition taught that
alcohol is a gift from
God that makes life more
joyous, but that over-indulgence leading to
drunkenness is
sinful. However, the alcoholic content of ancient alcoholic beverages was significantly lower than that of modern alcoholic beverages. The low alcoholic content was due to the limitations of fermentation and the nonexistence of distillation methods in the ancient world. Rabbinic teachers wrote acceptance criteria on consumability of ancient alcoholic beverages after significant dilution with water, and prohibited undiluted wine.
In the mid-19th century, some
Protestant Christians moved from a position of allowing moderate use of alcohol (sometimes called "'moderationism") to either deciding that not imbibing was wisest in the present circumstances ("abstentionism") or prohibiting all ordinary consumption of alcohol because it was believed to be a sin ("prohibitionism"). Many Protestant churches, particularly
Methodists, advocated abstentionism or prohibitionism and were early leaders in the
temperance movement of the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, all three positions exist in Christianity, but the original position of alcohol consumption being permissible remains the most common and dominant view among Christians worldwide, in addition to the adherence by the largest bodies of Christian denominations, such as
Anglicanism,
Lutheranism,
Roman Catholicism, and
Eastern Orthodoxy. (Full article...)
Image 14Map 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.
Image 2A whiskey sour, served in a
coupe glass, is garnished with a spiral of
lemon peel and two
maraschino cherries on a cocktail pick, along with drops of
bitters swirled into the foam (from egg white) atop the drink. (from Cocktail garnish)