LIQUEUR, Cocktail, Wine, Aperitif, Sake, Beer

Today I would like to let you know the definitions of Liqueur, Cocktail, Wine, Aperitif, Sake and Beer.

LIQUEUR is an alcoholic beverage produced by combining spirits with fruits, herbs and other flavouring elements and containing more than 2.5% by weight of sugar.

One more definition can be - 

 A liqueur is alcoholic beverage, which has a base of spirit (grain spirit, neutral spirit) which is flavoured with fruits, herbs, spices, flowers, seeds, plants and are sweetened and can be coloured or colourless.

A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage made from a distilled spirit that has been flavored with fruit, cream, herbs, spices, flowers or nuts and bottled with added sugar or other sweetener (such as high-fructose corn syrup). Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long after the ingredients are mixed, but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.

Liqueurs are historical descendants of herbal medicines; they were made in Italy as early as the 13th century and were often prepared by monks (e.g. Chartreuse).

Some liqueurs are prepared by infusing certain woods, fruits, or flowers, in either water or alcohol, and adding sugar or other items. Others are distilled from aromatic or 

flavoring agents. Anise liqueurs have the interesting property of turning from transparent to cloudy when added to water: the oil of anise remains in solution in the presence of a high concentration of alcohol, but crystallizes when the alcohol concentration is reduced; this is known as the ouzo effect.

Layered drinks are made by floating different-colored liqueurs in separate layers. Each liqueur is poured slowly into a glass over the back of a spoon or down a glass rod, so that the liquids of different densities remain unmixed, creating a striped effect.

What is Cocktail ?

A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink, which is either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as fruit juice, flavoured syrup, or cream. The components of Cocktail are BASE, MODIFIER AND GARNISH

These are the main components to prepare a cocktail:

A. BASE

The major alcoholic drink used in the preparation of a cocktail is called the Base, which is usually a spirit. Most cocktails are built around spirits. If a cocktail has two or more alcoholic drinks, the quantity of the base generally will be more than the other.

B. MODIFIER

These are complementary ingredients of cocktails added to modify or enhance the flavors. Spirits, aromatized wines, beers, liqueurs, fresh fruit juices, soda, eggs, cream, water, etc. are used as modifiers.

Modifiers are very essential for all kinds of mixed drinks. Without the addition of modifiers, one cannot call a mixed drink but a straight drink. The modifiers made each drink different from the others having the same base.

C. FLAVOURING, COLOURING AND SWEETENING INGREDIENT: A drink might have very small quantities (few drops) of one or more  flavouring  and  sweetening ingredients to make it different from other drinks. A  cocktail  can  be  made without these ingredients.

D. GARNISH

Many drinks have standardized garnishes. These are a part of the product. The names of some of the cocktails are changed according to the garnish.

For example- If you garnish martini with pearl onion instead of olive, it becomes Gibson. Olive, cherry, orange, spirals of orange and lemon peels, lemon wheels, lemon wedges, pearl onions, etc. are the commonly used garnishes.

What is Wine?

Wine (from Latin vinum) is an alcoholic beverage made from grapes, generally Vitis vinifera, fermented without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, water, or other nutrients.

What is Aperitif?

An aperitif is any alcoholic beverage usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite while a digest if is any alcoholic beverage served after a meal for the purpose of improving digestion.Fortified wine, liqueurs, and dry champagne are common aperitifs. Because aperitifs are served before dining, they are usually dry rather than sweet.

ABV = ALCOHOL BY VOLUME

The concentration of alcohol in a beverage is usually stated as the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV, the number of ml of pure ethanol in 100 ml of beverage) or as proof. In the United States, proof is twice the percentage of alcohol by volume at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (e.g. 80 proof = 40% ABV). Degrees proof were formerly used in the United Kingdom, where 100 degrees proof was equivalent to 57.1% ABV. Historically, this was the most dilute spirit that would sustain the combustion of gunpowder.

Ordinary distillation cannot produce alcohol of more than 95.6% ABV (191.2 proof) because at that point alcohol is an azeotrope with water. A spirit which contains a very high level of alcohol and does not contain any added flavoring is commonly called a neutral spirit. Generally, any distilled alcoholic beverage of 170 proof or higher is considered to be a neutral spirit.

Most yeasts cannot reproduce when the concentration of alcohol is higher than about 18%, so that is the practical limit for the strength of fermented beverages such as wine, beer, and sake. However, some strains of yeast have been developed that can reproduce in solutions of up to 25% ABV.

What is Sake?

Sake – Sake, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice and originates in Japan. Sake is light in colour, is noncarbonated, has a sweet flavour, and contains about 14 to 16 percent alcohol. (Britannica, 2020)

What is Beer?

Beer is an alcoholic beverage made by brewing and fermenting malted barley (and sometimes other cereals) with hops added to flavor and stabilize it. The alcohol content of beer is usually around 4-6% alcohol by volume (ABV), although it can vary between 0.5% and 20% given the variety of beers on the market today.