Stage 5
Spirits & Liquors
Key Facts
Spirit Styles
| Brandy | Grapes > (fermented) > wine > (distilled, usually aged) > Brandy | |
| Cognac: oak-aged grape brandy from Cognac Region Amber colour; fruity, floral and elegant, dry |
Pot | |
| Armagnac: oak-aged grape brandy form Armagnac Region Amber colour; robust, with dried fruit aromas, dry |
Continuous or Pot | |
| Brandy de Jerez: grape brandy distilled and aged in the Sherry region, Spain. Amber or brown colour; dried fruit aromas; robust with medium sweetness (added sugar) |
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| Whisky | Cereal grains > (starch converted into sugar, which is extracted and fermented) unhopped beer > (distilled, aged) > Whisk(e)y | |
| Scotch Whisky: distilled and aged (minimum 3 years) in Scotland Malt Whisky: uses malted barley only, distilled in a copper pot still Amber colour: flavours depend on region but typically include peat smoke, floral, grain, fruit, honey and wood aromas; dry Blended Whisky: a blend of several single malt whiskies with grain whisky (a lighter style whisky mare using a continuous still). The best ones are smooth and well balanced |
Pot (Malt) Both (Blended) |
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| Irish whiskey: distilled and aged (minimum 3 years) in Ireland.Generally smooth, unpeated and dry | Both Continuous and Pot | |
| American Whiskey: Bourbon: mainly maize, aged in charred new American oak barrels Amber colour; cereal, vanilla and oak aromas; robust and some sweetness (from the oak) Tennessee: similar to Bourbon, but charcoal filtered which adds smoky aromas Canadian: generally large volume continuous pot still spirit |
Both Continuous and Pot | |
| Rum | Sugar cane juice OR watered-down molasses > ferment > distil > (sometimes age) > Rum | |
| White: generally water-white with vodka like neutral character and dry | Continuous or Pot | |
| Golden: gold colour, often with fruit and oak aromas; dry or off dry | Continuous or Pot | |
| Dark/Naval: amber or brown colour; often with dried fruit, spice and oak aromas; generally full bodied and medium or sweet. Colour often comes from added caramel, rather than oak | Continuous or Pot | |
| Vodka | Any fermentable base material. Cereal grains are most common but potatoes and grapes are also used.Base material > (starch converted into sugar, if necessary) > ferment > distil > Vodka | |
| Neutral style - very little character from the base material remains Water white, neutral nose, neutral palate, dry |
Continuous | |
| 'Characterful' style - still almost neutral, but many Polish and Russian and some premium western vodkas show delicate characteristics from the base material (rye, wheat, potato, grapes etc.) | Continuous or Pot | |
| Gin | Neutral base spirit > add botanical flavourings > (redistill for the best Gins) > Gin | |
| Botanicals: juniper, coriander, citrus peel + others | Continuous for base spirit, Pot for addition of addition of Botanicals | |
| Water white: intense aromas of juniper and other botanical; dry | ||
| London Dry: after addition of the botanicals, the gin is redistilled to fix the aromas in the spirit | ||