Portal:Liquor

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The Liquor Portal

Introduction

Liquor (/ˈlɪkər/ LIK-ər, sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. While the word liquor ordinarily refers to distilled alcoholic spirits rather than drinks produced by fermentation alone, it can sometimes be used more broadly to refer to any alcoholic beverage (or even non-alcoholic ones produced by distillation or some other practices, such as the brewed liquor of a tea).

The distillation process concentrates the alcohol, the resulting condensate has an increased 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 United Kingdom. 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. (Full article...)

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A Bloody Mary garnished with celery served with ice cubes

A Bloody Mary is a cocktail containing vodka, tomato juice, and other spices and flavorings including Worcestershire sauce, hot sauces, garlic, herbs, horseradish, celery, olives, pickled vegetables, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, lime juice and celery salt. Some versions of the drink, such as the "surf 'n turf" Bloody Mary, include shrimp and bacon as garnishes. In the United States, it is usually consumed in the morning or early afternoon, and is popular as a hangover cure.

The Bloody Mary was invented in the 1920s or 1930s. There are various theories as to the origin of the drink and its name. It has many variants, most notably the red snapper, Bloody Maria (made with tequila blanco), and the Virgin Mary. (Full article...)

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William Gooderham Sr. (August 29, 1790 – August 20, 1881) was a British-born Canadian distiller, businessman, and banker. He was a founder of the Gooderham and Worts distillery. (Full article...)

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Eva Ekeblad Jack Daniel James C. Crow Isaac Wolfe Bernheim Elijah Craig Bronfman family Roustam Tariko Hiram Walker Harry C. Hatch Lewis Rosenstiel John Philip Wiser John Walker (grocer) Samuel Bronfman Popcorn Sutton Dale DeGroff

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The Vesper is a cocktail that was originally made of gin, vodka, and Kina Lillet. Since that form of Lillet is no longer produced, modern bartenders need to modify the recipe to mimic the original taste, with Lillet Blanc or Cocchi Americano as a typical substitute.

The drink was popularised by author Ian Fleming (1908–1964) in his 1953 novel Casino Royale, in which the character James Bond invents the recipe and names the cocktail. Fleming's Bond calls it a "special martini", and though it lacks the vermouth that defined a martini in Fleming's day, it is sometimes called a Vesper martini. (Full article...)
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The old fashioned is a cocktail made by muddling sugar with bitters and water, adding whiskey (typically rye or bourbon) or sometimes brandy, and garnishing with an orange slice or zest and a cocktail cherry. It is traditionally served with ice in an old fashioned glass (also known as a rocks glass).

Developed during the 19th century and given its name in the 1880s, it is an IBA Official Cocktail. It is also one of six basic drinks listed in David A. Embury's The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. (Full article...)
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A black Russian cocktail

The Black Russian is a cocktail of vodka and coffee liqueur. It contains 50 ml vodka and 20 ml coffee liqueur, per IBA specified ingredients.

The drink is made by pouring the vodka and coffee liqueur over ice cubes or cracked ice in an old-fashioned glass and stirring. The Black Russian is often garnished with a lemon slice and a Luxardo maraschino cherry on a stick. (Full article...)
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A bee's knees cocktail made with gin, 1:1 honey syrup, and lemon juice

A bees knees (or bee's knees) is a Prohibition era cocktail made with gin, fresh lemon juice, and honey. It is served shaken and chilled, often with a lemon twist.

The name comes from prohibition-era slang meaning "the best". (Full article...)
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Rectified spirit made in Poland by Polmos

Rectified spirit, also known as neutral spirits, rectified alcohol or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, is highly concentrated ethanol that has been purified by means of repeated distillation in a process called rectification. In some countries, denatured alcohol or denatured rectified spirit may commonly be available as "rectified spirit", because in some countries (though not necessarily the same) the retail sale of rectified alcohol in its non-denatured form is prohibited.

The purity of rectified spirit has a practical limit of 97.2% ABV (95.6% by mass) when produced using conventional distillation processes, as a mixture of ethanol and water becomes a minimum-boiling azeotrope at this concentration. However, rectified spirit is typically distilled in continuous multi-column stills at 96–96.5% ABV and diluted as necessary. Ethanol is a commonly used medical alcohol — spiritus fortis is a medical term for ethanol solutions with 95% ABV. (Full article...)
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Traditional Irish coffee

Irish coffee (Irish: caife Gaelach) is a caffeinated alcoholic drink consisting of Irish whiskey, hot coffee and sugar, which has been stirred and topped with cream (sometimes cream liqueur). The coffee is drunk through the cream. (Full article...)
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Pisco punch is an alcoholic beverage made famous by Duncan Nicol at the Bank Exchange Saloon at the end of the 19th century, in San Francisco, California. The Bank Exchange Saloon was located on the southeast corner of the intersection of Montgomery and Washington Streets, in the Montgomery Block building, where the Transamerica Pyramid now stands. (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...)
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Kir is a French cocktail made with a measure of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) topped up with white wine.

In France it is usually drunk as an apéritif before a meal or snack. Originally made with Bourgogne Aligoté, a Burgundy white wine, today it is made with various white wines throughout France, according to the region and the barkeeper. Many prefer a white Chardonnay-based Burgundy, such as Chablis. (Full article...)
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Smirnoff Red Label vodka

Vodka (Polish: wódka [ˈvutka]; Russian: водка [ˈvotkə]; Swedish: vodka [vɔdkɑː]) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is made by distilling liquid from fermented cereal grains and potatoes since the latter was introduced in Europe in the 18th century. Some modern brands use maize, sugar cane, fruit, honey, and maple sap as the base.

Since the 1890s, standard vodkas have been 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) (80 U.S. proof). The European Union has established a minimum alcohol content of 37.5% for vodka. Vodka in the United States must have a minimum alcohol content of 40%. (Full article...)
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Spicy Fifty

A Spicy Fifty is a cocktail containing vanilla-flavored vodka with elderflower cordial, lime juice, honey syrup, and red chili pepper. To prepare, the ingredients are added to a cocktail shaker and shaken with ice. The chili optionally can be muddled in the base of the shaker. More chili can be added to make it spicier. The drink is then double-strained into a chilled cocktail glass. A whole pepper is used as garnish sitting at the rim of the glass. The drinker should be cautioned against eating the pepper.

The Spicy Fifty cocktail was added to the list of IBA official cocktails in 2020 in the new era drink category. (Full article...)
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Traditional distillation of tsikoudia

Tsikoudia (Greek: τσικουδιά, romanized: tsikoudiá, literally "terebinth") is a traditional alcoholic beverage and pomace brandy from the Greek island of Crete. It contains 40% to 65% alcohol by volume (ABV). (Full article...)
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A classic 2:1 Manhattan, made with a whisky, sweet vermouth, bitters and a cherry

A Manhattan is a cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. While rye is the traditional whiskey of choice, other commonly used whiskies include Canadian whisky, bourbon, blended whiskey, and Tennessee whiskey. The cocktail is usually stirred with ice then strained into a chilled cocktail glass and garnished traditionally with a maraschino cherry. A Manhattan may also be served on the rocks in a lowball glass.

The whiskey-based Manhattan is one of five cocktails named for a New York City borough. It is closely related to the Brooklyn cocktail, which uses dry vermouth and Maraschino liqueur in place of the Manhattan's sweet vermouth, and Amer Picon in place of the Manhattan's angostura bitters. (Full article...)
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The zombie is a Tiki cocktail made of fruit juices, liqueurs, and various rums. It first appeared in late 1934, invented by Donn Beach at his Hollywood Don the Beachcomber restaurant. It was popularized on the East coast soon afterwards at the 1939 New York World's Fair. (Full article...)
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The Americano is an IBA official cocktail composed of Campari, sweet vermouth, and for the sparkling version, club soda and garnished with a slice of lemon or an orange twist. (Full article...)
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The French martini is a vodka-based cocktail. It was invented in the 1980s at one of Keith McNally's New York City bars. It next appeared on the drinks menu at McNally's Balthazar in SoHo in 1996. The cocktail was produced during the 1980s–1990s cocktail renaissance.

It is not a true martini, but is one of many drinks that incorporate the term martini into their names. The key ingredient that makes a martini "French" is Chambord, a black raspberry liqueur based on recipes that have been produced in France since 1685. (Full article...)
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Bottles of legally produced poitín

Poitín (Irish pronunciation: [ˈpˠɛtʲiːnʲ]), anglicized as poteen (/pəˈt(ʃ)iːn, pɒˈtiːn/) or potcheen, is a traditional Irish distilled 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". In accordance with the Irish Poteen/Irish Poitín technical file, it can be made only from cereals, grain, whey, sugar beet, molasses and potatoes. (Full article...)
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The Ve.n.to is an IBA official cocktail made of Grappa, honey syrup, fresh lemon juice, and chamomile liqueur. (Full article...)
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Bellini Cipriani

A Bellini is a cocktail made with Prosecco and peach purée or nectar. It originated in Venice, Italy. (Full article...)
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A liquor store in Breckinridge, Colorado, United States (2009)

A liquor store is a retail business that predominantly sells prepackaged alcoholic beverages, including liquors (typically in bottles), wine or beer, usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence (in the UK and Ireland), off-sale (in parts of Canada and the US), bottle shop, bottle store (South Africa) or, colloquially, bottle-o (in Australia, New Zealand and parts of Canada), liquor store (in Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand) or other similar terms. A very limited number of jurisdictions have an alcohol monopoly. In US states that are alcoholic beverage control (ABC) states, the term ABC store may be used. (Full article...)
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A glass of dark rum

Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced in nearly every major sugar-producing region of the world.

Rums are produced in various grades. Light rums are commonly used in cocktails, whereas "golden" and "dark" rums were typically consumed straight or neat, iced ("on the rocks"), or used for cooking, but are now commonly consumed with mixers. Premium rums are made to be consumed either straight or iced. (Full article...)

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... that Governor of Svalbard Håkon Balstad was described as a "roaring bull of a man with a fabulous capacity for raw liquor"?
... 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?

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A "mermaid" at the Sip 'n Dip

The Sip 'n Dip Lounge is a tiki bar in Great Falls, Montana, US, opened in 1962, when Polynesian themes were popular. It has survived to the present day with its tiki theme intact. Located inside a local motel that was considered modern and trendy at the time it was built, the Sip 'n Dip is known for having people dressed as mermaids swimming underwater in an indoor swimming pool visible through a window in the bar. Decorated with a bamboo ceiling and a South Seas theme, the bar featured Patricia "Piano Pat" Sponheim, noted for her unique "jazzy" style, who played piano there from 1963 until her death in May 2021.

The mermaid concept was introduced in 1995 when there was a revival of the tiki fad and was the brainchild of the bar's current owner who wanted to add a "fun factor". It became popular, particularly for Montana, a landlocked northern state where a tropical tiki theme is unexpected. Beginning in 2003, the bar began to gain prominence outside Montana, when the magazine GQ listed the lounge in its list of the top ten bars in the world, ranking it as the "#1 bar...worth flying for". The bar usually employs six women, who wear mermaid outfits designed and hand-made by the bar's manager, Sandra Johnson-Thares. Mermen were brought back in 2016, having previously appeared on occasion from the late 1990s to 2004. (Full article...)

List of Good articles
Lemon drop (cocktail) The Glenlivet distillery Alcoholic beverages in Oregon Rum and Coke Black Cat Bar Stork Club 5-8 Club Caesar (cocktail) Gypsy Restaurant and Velvet Lounge Lutz Tavern Christian views on alcohol Whiskey Rebellion

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Shooter (drink)

Assorted shots, also referred to as shooters

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General images - show new batch

The following are images from various liquor-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A row of alcoholic beverages – in this case, spirits – in a bar (from Liquor)
Image 2Some single-drink liquor bottles available in Germany (from Liquor)
Image 3A Brandy Alexander being served (from List of cocktails)
Image 4A pisco sour (from List of cocktails)
Image 5A martini cocktail (from List of cocktails)
Image 6Mulled wine steeping (Swedish glögg) (from List of cocktails)
Image 7A B-52 (from List of cocktails)
Image 8A cosmopolitan (from List of cocktails)
Image 9A piña colada (from List of cocktails)
Image 10Abandoned 19th-century vodka distillery in Estonia (from Liquor)
Image 11Reservoir glass with naturally coloured verte absinthe and an absinthe spoon (from List of cocktails)
Image 12A Queen Mary beer cocktail: beer, grenadine and maraschino cherries (from List of cocktails)
Image 13A display of various liquors in a supermarket (from Liquor)
Image 14Corpse reviver #2 (from List of cocktails)
Image 15Distillation equipment used by the 3rd century alchemist Zosimos of Panopolis, from the Byzantine Greek manuscript Parisinus graecus 2327. (from Liquor)
Image 16Viru Valge, an Estonian vodka (from Liquor)
Image 17A Ramos gin fizz (from List of cocktails)
Image 18Map 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.
  Wine
  Beer
  Spirits
(from Liquor)
Image 19An illustration of brewing and distilling industry methods in England, 1858 (from Liquor)
Image 20These flaming cocktails illustrate that some liquors will readily catch fire and burn. (from Liquor)
Image 21A grasshopper (from List of cocktails)
Image 22An old whiskey still (from Liquor)
Image 23A Caipirinha with lime (from List of cocktails)