A liqueur is an alcoholic drink composed of distilled spirits and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Liqueurs are produced by combining a base spirit, usually brandy, with fruits or herbs and are sweetened by the addition of a sugar syrup composing more than 2 1/2 percent of the total beverage by … Read more
Sake also referred to as Japanese rice wine is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name, Japanese rice wine, sake is produced by a brewing process more akin to that of beer then to wine. The old adage is, “sake is brewed like a … Read more
Cider, hard apple cider, or hard cider is an alcoholic drink made from fermented apple juice. Cider is popular and widely available in the United Kingdom. It is also popular in many Commonwealth countries, such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Aside from the UK and its former colonies, cider is popular in other European … Read more
Absinthe is an alcoholic drink made from grand wormwood (Artemisia absinthiumd) and a range of other herbs such as fennel, anise, melissa and hyssop. Actual recipes have always varied by country and manufacturer, as has the quality of each absinthe brand. Absinthe traditionally has a natural green color but may also be colorless. Traditionally, the … Read more
Cognac is a variety of brandy named after the town of Cognac, France. The origin of Cognac dates back to the 16th century when Dutch settlers came to this French region to purchase salt, wood, and wine. However, the journey back home made preserving the wine difficult and they needed to find a better way … Read more
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products, such as molasses or honeys, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. Sugarcane was first introduced to the Caribbean in 1493 by Christopher Columbus. The first distillation of rum took place on the sugarcane plantations of the Caribbean in the … Read more
Tequila is a distilled spirit made from the cooked and fermented juice of the blue agave, a spiky Mexican plant which resembles a cactus. Tequila is technically a mezcal – distilled spirit that is made from the agave plant. However tequila is made from a single type of agave plant – the agave tequilana commonly … Read more
Gin is a clear alcoholic spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries (Juniperus communis). The name gin is a shortened form of the older English word genever, related to the French word genièvre and the Dutch word jenever. All ultimately derive from juniperus, the Latin for juniper. A juniper berry is the female … Read more