GLOSSARY
Abbott’s Bitters
American-made bitters that were discontinued after Prohibition.
Abricotine
A liqueur or eau-de-vie made from ripe apricots rather than the natural or synthetic flavor of apricot. Morand makes both versions, and Marie Brizard Apry is the liqueur version.
Absinthe
A distillate originally based on grape eau-de-vie but today it’s based on high-proof beet-sugar spirit and steeped with several herbal and botanical ingredients, including wormwood, hyssop, lemon balm, anise, Chinese aniseed, fennel, coriander, and other roots and herbs. Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) was responsible for the nearly worldwide ban on absinthe at the end of the nineteenth century. Today, there is scientific agreement that absinthe’s high 130 proof was more problematic than the tiny amount of psychoactive ingredients liked thujone. Absinthe is currently legal for purchase in the United States and European Union countries, where higher levels of thujone are permitted.
Advocaat
A Dutch liqueur made with egg yolk and brandy and flavored with vanilla, among other flavorings.
Agave, Maguey
A large plant indigenous to Mexico that looks like a cross between a giant pineapple and a cactus. The plant is actually a member of the lily family. There are hundreds of varieties of agave, both cultivated and wild. The Weber’s Blue agave is the variety used to make tequila (see Blue Agave Tequila, this page). Maguey is the traditional Taíno word for agave.
Aged
The process of storing wine and spirits in oak or other wood barrels for a period of time to soften harsh flavor notes and to add specific characteristics found in the wood. The age, previous use, and size of the barrels determine the wood’s effects. The barrels are often toasted or charred inside to introduce additional flavors from the caramelized sugars in the wood.
Aguardente Bagaceira
Portuguese brandy distilled from grape pomace; similar to Italian grappa. The French version is marc.
Aguardiente
Literally translated as “burning water,” this is the word used in Spanish-speaking countries for brandy.
Aguardiente de caÑa
Spirit derived from sugarcane, such as cachaça or rum.
Aguardiente de Colombia
An anise-flavored liqueur from Colombia.
Aguardiente de Palma
A Philippine spirit derived from palm sugar.
Alcohol, Ethyl
Beverage alcohol widely believed to be derived from the Arabic word al-kohl. Kohl, however, was a fine powdered cosmetic used by Arabic women for eye shadow. I am still looking for the connection.
Ale
A beer made with yeast that floats to the top during fermentation. Ale is the oldest style of beer, usually made with less hops and served fresh without aging.
Alembic still
The original single-batch pot still, thought to have originated in China and been brought to the West by the Moors, who introduced it to Continental Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, where the first distilling of any kind in Europe probably took place. The root of the word is al-inbiq, the Arabic word for “still.”
AMARETTO DI SARONNO
Almond-flavored liqueur from Saronno, Italy. Legend has it that Bernardino Luini, a student of the da Vinci school, was painting frescoes for Sanctuario della Beata Vergine dei Miracoli and used as a model a young woman who worked at the inn where he stayed. She showed her gratitude by making him this sweet liqueur with almonds and apricots. It’s a nice story.
Amaro
The Italian word for “bitter” and also a category of bittersweet liqueurs traditionally made from grape eau-de-vie and bitter herbs, usually served after a meal as a digestivo.
Amer Picon
A French bitter liqueur flavored with quinine, orange zest, gentian, and other bitter herbs; it is 39% alcohol. The French distiller-turned-soldier Gaetan Picon first made it for the French troops fighting in Algeria in 1837. It’s no longer available in the United States.
Añejo Rum
Rum aged in oak barrels; the aging requirements vary.
Angostura Bitters
J. G. B. Siegert, a young German army doctor who volunteered to fight for Simón Bolívar and Venezuelan independence, first created Angostura bitters in 1824 as a stomach tonic for Bolívar’s jungle-weary troops. His first production plant was in the town of Angostura; when the government became unstable, he moved offshore to the island of Trinidad, where the factory remains to this day in Port of Spain. The formula for Angostura is secret, but the top flavor notes are cinnamon, allspice, and clove. Angostura is officially categorized as a food additive, even though it is 40% alcohol.
Anisette
A liqueur made in many countries (but originally France) that is flavored with aniseed.
ApEritif
A drink before the main meal to stimulate the palate, from the Latin word aperire, “to open.” Aperitifs can encompass anything from wine to flavored, aromatized, and fortified wines to cocktails to Champagne.
Applejack
Whiskey made from a mash of at least 51 percent apples that is fermented, then distilled. The Laird & Company started in New Jersey and has been making applejack since colonial times, thus the drink is sometimes referred to as Jersey Lightning. Applejack is usually bottled at 40% alcohol.
Apricot Brandy, Fruit Brandies
Misnomer for a flavored neutral spirit, in many cases apricots or any other fruit, that is then sweetened and bottled at 35 percent alcohol. See Brandy; Eau-de-Vie for information on spirits made from a mash of the fruit itself that is fermented and then distilled.
Apry
A proprietary apricot liqueur by Marie Brizard.
Aqua vitae
Literally means “water of life”; Latin for “spirits.”
Aquavit
Grain-based vodka-like spirit made in Scandinavian countries, flavored with different herbs, the most common of which are caraway and fennel seeds.
Arak, Arrack, Raki
A distillation originally made from date palm, now also from rice and sugarcane. Arak was the base for the first punch drinks in the seventeenth century, a tradition taken from India to England by British traders. Today it is made in the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia. See the two-part article by David Wondrich in the Daily Beast about the most famous of all, batavia arrack: “Rediscovering the World’s First Luxury Spirit” (part one) and “The Rebirth of an Essential Cocktail Ingredient” (part two).
Armagnac
French brandy from the department of Gers in southern France. Single distilled in a special still, Armagnac is considered a stronger style than Cognac. There are three regions in Armagnac as defined by the AOC: Bas-Armagnac (the best), Armagnac-Ténarèze, and Haut-Armagnac.
Aromatized wines
Wines that are flavored with herbs, spices, and fruits; examples include vermouth and other aperitif wines.
Arrope
Grape juice boiled down and added to a concentrated wine to make Pedro Ximénez, a sweetener for amoroso-style sherry. Arrope is also added to whiskey for color.
Averna Amaro
A bittersweet Italian liqueur served as a digestivo, bottled at 34% alcohol. Like most of the bitter liqueurs of France and Italy, it is flavored with herbs and quinine from the bark of the cinchona tree.
Bacardi Limited
Bacardi Limited is the largest privately owned spirits company worldwide, with headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda. Holdings include the largest rum production in the world, with distilleries in several countries. Other holdings include blended and malt scotch whiskies, tequila, Martini & Rossi and Noilly Prat vermouths and aperitifs, American whiskey, vodkas including Grey Goose vodka, and Bombay gin. The Bacardí family originated in Cuba, but Fidel Castro nationalized the company facilities in 1960, and the family began producing in Puerto Rico and elsewhere.
Back
Water or soft drink served with or behind a drink of spirits. Classic nineteenth-century bar service called for a water back to be served with every alcoholic beverage.
Bagasse
The fiber left after the juice has been removed from sugarcane; traditionally used in rum distilleries to fuel the fire in the still. Today it is used for biofuel, pulp, and even insulation.
Baileys Irish Cream
A proprietary Irish liqueur made from fresh dairy cream, Irish whiskey, and sugar. Baileys was the first cream liqueur to solve the problem of separating and curdling.
Barbancourt
Haitian rum made from sugarcane juice instead of molasses, whose reputation rests on French distilling techniques borrowed from Cognac. Today Barbancourt rum is distilled twice, first in a column and then in a pot still. All Barbancourt rum is aged in oak; 3 star is aged four years, 5 star is aged eight years, and the Réserve du Domaine is aged fifteen years.
BarSpoon
A long-handled spoon for stirring cocktails. Some are made in one piece with a twisted stainless handle to aid in twirling the spoon; others are made in two pieces, with a shaft that revolves inside a sleeve.
Bartender, Barman, Doctor, Chemist
The individual who prepares and serves alcoholic beverages across the bar in an on-premises establishment. Many nicknames have grown popular over the years, like chemist, which dates to the nineteenth century, when bartenders were responsible for manufacturing many of the products they used. Doctor was another nickname that referred to the practice many neighborhood bartenders adopted of commenting on and even warning regular patrons of individual health problems. In early nineteenth-century hotels in the United States, the desk clerk often doubled as the bartender.
Bathtub Gin
Illegal gin made literally in the bathtub during Prohibition by adding juniper oil to grain alcohol.
BEEFEATER GIN
James Burrough established this iconic distillery in London in 1863 and began producing gin, including a dry style called London dry gin and an Old Time–style gin. But his big success was a gin called Beefeater that included a selection of nine botanicals. The London dry brand eventually became the generic name for the category of dry gin made in that style.
Behind the stick
Slang for working behind the bar; the “stick” is the beer tap.
Bender
Slang for a bout of heavy drinking; there are dozens of descriptions for a heavy-drinking event: on a tear, off the wagon, and binge drinking, to name a few.
Bénédictine D.O.M.
A French liqueur, originally made by Bénédictine monks, that dates back to the sixteenth century. The base is grape eau-de-vie from Cognac, which is flavored with herbs, citrus peel, and aromatics. “D.O.M.” on the label stands for the Latin Deo Optimo Maximo, a Bénédictine indulgence for “God most good, most great.” At 40% alcohol, it is one of the higher-proof liqueurs. Today Bénédictine is owned by Bacardi Limited.
Bibber
British slang term for heavy drinker.
Blackberry Brandy
Misnomer for a flavored neutral spirit, in this case blackberry flavored, that is sweetened and bottled at no more than 35% alcohol. See Brandy for the real deal.
Blended AMERICAN Whiskey
A minimum of 20 percent straight whiskeys at 100 proof, blended with neutral-grain whiskey or light whiskey.
BLENDED MALT WHISKY
Scotch single malts blended together were called vatted malts until the Scotch Whisky Association renamed them blended malts.
Blended Scotch
The malt and grain whiskies that are blended together must be aged in used oak barrels a minimum of three years. They are blended from single-malt whiskies and mixed-grain whisky made in Scotland and distilled at less than 166.4 proof.
Blended Scotch Whisky
A blend of single-malt scotch whiskies and mixed grain whisky. Made in Scotland, usually from mixed grains. The grain whisky is distilled at 94% and usually made from a mash of malted barley, maize, and wheat. The whiskies are aged separately but for the same amount of time, then blended and married for several months in casks before being reduced to bottling strength. Blends used to be the choice for mixing in cocktails, but with the dawn of the craft cocktail, big flavor is the order of the day, and malt scotches have found their way into many cocktails, like the modern classic Penicillin (this page).
Blended Straight Whiskey
A blend of 100 percent straight whiskeys of the same type, e.g., rye, bourbon, or corn, from different distillers or from different seasons within one distillery.
BLIND TIGER, BLIND PIG
An attempt to circumvent the law and licensing procedures by giving away a “free” glass of booze to anyone who would pay to see the “blind tiger” or “blind pig.”
BLUE AGAVE TEQUILA, TEQUILA PURO
One hundred percent blue agave tequila is distilled from the fermented sugars of only the Weber’s Blue agave plant and must be made and bottled in Mexico. Like all tequila, 100 percent blue agave tequila can be aged or unaged. German botanist Frédéric Albert Constantin Weber classified this variety (Agave tequilana ‘Weber’s Blue’) in 1905.
BLUECOAT AMERICAN DRY GIN
Bluecoat American dry gin is rectified in Philadelphia from mixed grain spirit with four organic botanicals—dried citrus peels, juniper, coriander seeds, and angelica root; made in the London dry style.
Bols Company
Erven Lucas Bols founded the Bols Company of Holland in 1575. It began as a gin distillery but expanded to develop many fruit liqueurs, including the famous orange liqueur curaçao, made with the bitter curaçao oranges brought back from the New World. Many of the early liqueuristes from Europe learned their craft by studying at the Bols distillery. Bols also purchased grape eaux-de-vies from the big distilling regions—Armagnac, Cognac, and Jerez—to use in liqueur production.
Bonded Whiskey
Whiskey bottled “in bond” is stored in a government warehouse, aged four years minimum, and bottled at 100 proof under government supervision. It is not taxed until after it is bottled. The practice became law in 1897 with the Bottled in Bond Act.
Booth’s Gin
Possibly the first of the London dry gin distillers, established in 1740. Today, Booth’s is made by license in the United States.
Boston shaker
A two-piece cocktail shaker comprised of a sixteen-ounce mixing-glass half and a slightly larger metal half that fits over the glass half, forming a seal. The craft cocktail bartenders have switched almost without exception to the metal-over-metal version of the Boston shaker.
Bourbon
American whiskey made from a mash of between 51 and 79 percent corn; a small amount of barley; then either rye or wheat fills out the rest of the mash bill. Aged a minimum of two years in new charred oak barrels. Distilled at not more than 160 proof.
Branch
Water from a small spring-fed stream used for mixing with bourbon whiskey, as in bourbon and branch.
Brandy
Distilled spirit derived from fermented fruit.
Cacao
See Crème de Cacao.
Cachaça
A sugarcane spirit made in Brazil, usually distilled from fresh-cut cane and bottled without oak aging, with some spectacular exceptions.
Calvados
Calvados is an aged brandy made from a mash of up to forty-eight different apples and even a few pear varieties in the Calvados Départment in the Normandy region of France. Cider for Calvados ferments for a minimum of six weeks, then is double distilled in a pot still and aged for a minimum of two years.
Canadian WHISKY
Aged in used oak barrels a minimum of three years, this whisky style is distilled from mixed grains: rye, corn, wheat, and barley malt. Canada has less regulation than other countries, and flavor additives are allowed that cannot be used elsewhere.
CAMPARI
An Italian spicy, bitter aperitivo based on quinine that was originally colored with cochineal, developed in the 1860s by Gaspare Campari in Milan. Campari, bottled at 24% alcohol, is used in many well-known cocktails, including the Americano Highball (this page) and the “it” cocktail of today, the Negroni (this page).
Carpano, Punt e Mes
The Carpano family in Turin, Italy, was the first to make the proprietary spiced wines in the vermouth category, developed in the late eighteenth century. The name Punt e Mes translates to “point and a half,” referring to the popular ratio of wine to mixer among the traders who frequented the Carpano café: one point of the wine and a half point of the mixer. There is another product from the Carpano label that is a relative newcomer to the American market, Carpano Antica Formula, with a decided vanilla-flavor profile. Punt e Mes is good in cocktails like the Negroni (this page) and the Classic Manhattan (this page) in place of regular vermouth.
Cassis or Crème de Cassis
A liqueur made from black currant that originated in the town of Dijon, in Burgundy, but is now made throughout France. It is wonderful in a drink called a Kir (this page), a small amount of cassis in a glass of white table wine. The Kir Royale (this page) is the same drink made with Champagne.
Centiliter (cl), Milliliter (ml)
Measures used in European cocktail recipes equal to one-hundredth of a liter. One ounce equals about 3 cl or 30 ml.
Chambord
A proprietary raspberry liqueur made in France, Chambord was adopted by the disco generation as a cocktail ingredient in drinks like Sex on the Beach (this page), the Brain Tumor, and the Purple Hooter.
Champagne
A sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of northeast France, primarily from the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. After the first fermentation, the special character of the wine is created during a second fermentation in the bottle, with the addition of sugar and yeast to create the famous bubbles. This process is called the méthode champenoise, or “Champagne method,” and it is the benchmark of style for sparkling wines—though the word Champagne is protected by an appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) established in 1927. The United States is one of the few countries that permits the use of the word champagne on domestic wine labels. The major styles of Champagne are determined by sugar content, from the driest style (brut) or natural to extra dry to demi-sec, and then the sweetest, doux.
Charged water
Water saturated with carbon dioxide gas. This was the nineteenth-century name for club soda.
Chartreuse
A French herbal liqueur made in two styles: yellow, bottled at 80 proof, and green, bottled at 110 proof. Originally made by Carthusian monks in Voirons, France, then, beginning in 1901, in Tarragona, Spain, when a French law was passed against production by the religious order. Production has since returned to France. An aged version designated V.E.P. (for vieillissement exceptionnellement prolongé) is also available.
Cherry Brandy
See Apricot Brandy.
Cobbler
The cobblers were wine- or spirit-based drinks made with sugar and water over lots of shaved ice and decorated with a generous garnish of fresh fruit. Some cobblers were shaken with fruit, like the Whiskey Cobbler (this page).
Coco LÓpez
Coconut-flavored paste used for Piña Coladas (this page); widely available in grocery stores.
Coffee Liqueur
Made around the world, usually bottled between 25% and 30% alcohol. Two well-known brands are Kahlúa (see this page), made in Mexico and Denmark, and Tia Maria, from Jamaica.
Cointreau
A premium proprietary version of triple sec orange liqueur made in France. Its many cocktail applications include the Sidecar (this page), Margarita (this page), and White Lady (this page).
Congeners
Impurities carried along with the molecules of alcohol vapor during distillation. They may derive from the base fruit or grain used in the original mash or from other organic chemicals encountered during the different stages of beverage alcohol production. The congeners are the elements that give a spirit its distinctive taste and aroma. The chemical bonds between the congeners and the alcohol vapor can be broken by fractional distillation in column stills.
Continuous or Patent Still
The two-column still that was invented in Ireland by Aeneas Coffey in 1831.
Cordial Glass
The original pony glass was only one ounce, and it was shaped like a small version of a port or dessert wineglass. Today, most bars serve a large portion, and the pony is seldom used as a measure.
Cordials/Liqueurs
The word cordial in the United States refers to sweet liqueurs flavored with fruits, herbs, botanicals, and spices. The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) requires liqueurs to have a minimum of 2 percent sugar content. The words cordial and liqueur are interchangeable in the United States, but in Europe cordial refers to nonalcoholic flavored syrups.
Corn WHISKEY
Aged in new or used oak barrels and sometimes not aged but “rested.” Made from a mash of at least 80 percent corn.
Courvoisier VS
A proprietary Cognac rated Very Superior, which indicates a minimum of two years in oak for the youngest brandy in the blend.
Crème de BananA
Banana-flavored liqueur used in cocktails like the Banshee (this page), Rum Runner (this page), and Yellow Bird (this page).
Crème de Cacao
Liqueur made from cocoa beans, bottled in two styles, dark or clear, at 25% alcohol.
Crème de Fraises
Strawberry-flavored liqueur. Used in the 209 East Cocktail (this page).
Crème de Framboise
Raspberry-flavored liqueur.
Crème de Menthe
Mint-flavored liqueur made in two colors: green and clear (white). The green is traditionally served frappé-style over crushed ice in the Grasshopper (this page), and the white or clear is an ingredient in classics like the Stinger (this page).
Crème de Noyaux
A low-proof almond-flavored liqueur that is used in the Pink Squirrel cocktail (this page).
Crème de Prunelle
A French liqueur made with wild plums, called sloe berries.
Criadera
The numbered layers of barrels in a solera aging room used in the production of sherry in Spain.
Crusta
A nineteenth-century drink created by Joseph Santina, a New Orleans saloon keeper, that featured a sugar-rimmed (crusted) stem glass garnished with a long spiral of lemon peel. The drink could be made with any spirits, the most common of which were gin, brandy, whiskey, and rum, then mixed with lemon juice, simple syrup, bitters, and a sweet liqueur (such as maraschino), shaken, and served over crushed ice. (See this page for my recipe.)
Cups
Wine-based drinks flavored with liqueurs, spirits, fruits, and herbs, iced, and topped with seltzer.
Curaçao
A liqueur first made by the Bols Distillery in Holland from small, bitter curaçao oranges. Now made in many countries, it comes in white, orange, and blue—the color being the only difference. Curaçao was a superior cocktail ingredient used in the early days of the cocktail, much the way vermouth was used later. Curaçao is a great match with rums, lime, and juices.
Cynar
An artichoke-flavored Italian aperitivo.
DALE DEGROFF’S PIMENTO AROMATIC BITTERS
Allspice bitters created in 2009, by Dale DeGroff and master distiller Ted Breaux. Originally produced at the Combier Distillery in Saumur, France. Moved production to the Sazerac Company in Louisville, Kentucky.
Damson Gin
Damson plums macerated in gin and sugar syrup.
Diastase
The enzyme that is formed in the barley kernel when it is germinated or malted. Diastase helps transform the starch chains in the grain into simple sugars.
Distillation
The process of separating parts of a liquid mixture through evaporation and condensation. Distillation is used to produce concentrated beverage alcohol, called ethanol.
drachm
Scottish for dram, or small quantity, it has an apothecary’s weight of ⅛ ounce.
Drambuie
A scotch-based sweet liqueur made with heather honey.
Dubonnet ROUGE
French aperitif wine fortified with grape eau-de-vie, originally made in the nineteenth century from the red wines of Roussillon, flavored with quinine, and used to protect soldiers from malaria in tropical colonial outposts. Also made in Bardstown, Kentucky, by Heaven Hill. They recently changed the formula to be more in line with the European flavor profile. See header note at the Dubonnet Cocktail (this page)
Dunder
Unique to rum production in Jamaica, dunder pits grow yeast and bacteria on the mash from previous fermentation that are carried forward to the next batch of mash; funky stuff that gives the rum “hogo,” a sort of gamey funk.
Eau-de-vie
French for “water of life,” but more specifically, a type of brandy made from a fermented mash of fruit, usually unaged. Eau-de-vie has evolved to define a group of unaged digestif brandies made from stone fruits and other fruits like raspberries and strawberries. It can also be generic for any ardent spirits.
Eighty-Six
Slang for “out-of-stock” products behind the bar or for customers who are barred from entering the premises. It’s thought to have originated during Prohibition at Chumley’s, a bar at 86 Bedford Street in New York City, which did brisk business as a speakeasy.
Esters
Acid compounds resulting from distillation that give aroma to spirits.
Ethyl Alcohol
Beverage alcohol produced by the fermentation of a sugar solution.
Falernum
A sugar syrup from the island of Barbados flavored with almonds, lime, and spices; it comes in alcoholic and nonalcoholic versions. The alcoholic version is 11% ABV and available in the United States under the John D. Taylor brand.
Fee Brothers
The Fee Brothers of Rochester, New York, have a line of eighteen flavored bitters products that includes peach, mint, aromatic, and orange. They also produce flavored syrups, botanical waters, mixers, and brines for cocktail preparation.
Fermentation
A process that describes the consumption of sugar by yeast organisms, the by-products of which are carbon dioxide gas and ethyl alcohol. Yeast organisms reproduce rapidly in a solution containing sugar and continue to work until the alcohol content in the host solution reaches a concentration that is lethal to the yeast organisms.
Fino Sherry
The driest style of sherry, a popular predinner aperitif wine in Spain.
Fix
A nineteenth-century drink made like a sour, but garnished extravagantly with fruits.
Fizz
A sour with club soda or some other sparkling finish. The fizz coincided with the appearance of “charged water” in the mid-nineteenth-century bars.
Flip
Flips were originally colonial drinks made either with beer, sherry, rum, or a combination of alcohol bases with egg and sugar. The mixture was sometimes heated with a hot loggerhead, or a fire iron with a ball on the end that was placed in the fire and used to heat drinks. Flips became much more sophisticated in the cocktail age, when they were made with sugar, a whole egg, and sherry or some spirit, shaken very well and served in a cocktail glass.
For the money
A post Prohibition–era expression indicating a larger serving. A waiter would order “two Cokes; one back and one for the money,” indicating to the bartender that one Coke was a back (free with the spirit) and one was a larger serving for the money.
Forbidden Fruit
An American liqueur produced by the Jacquin Company with grapefruit and other citrus fruits, sweetened with honey. Not produced since 1970.
Fortified Wines
Wines with alcohol added, like port, Sauternes, Madeira, and sherry. Not to be confused with aromatized wines like vermouth, which are also fortified with alcohol.
Frangelico
A proprietary liqueur from Italy flavored with hazelnuts.
Frappé
Drink served over snow or crushed ice. It is also referred to as a “mist,” e.g., a scotch mist.
Fruit purée
Fruit broken down to liquid by a food processor. Restaurants often use flash-frozen fruit purées as the base for sorbet. My favorites are available from Perfect Purée of Napa.
Galliano
An Italian herb liqueur made with unaged grape brandy. The Harvey Wallbanger (this page) cocktail put Galliano on every American bar forty-five to fifty years ago.
Giffard Crème DE Violette
A violet-blossom liqueur available from Rothman & Winter. Used primarily in the Aviation Cocktail (this page).
Gill
Wineglass measuring a 4-ounce pour in the nineteenth-century cocktail recipe books.
Gin
Grain spirit flavored with botanicals, specifically juniper, and others, including coriander, lemon zest, fennel, cassia, anise, almond,
gingerroot, orange zest, angelica, and many more.
Ginger Beer
A spicy soft drink, usually carbonated, made from gingerroot; originated in Jamaica.
Glass Rail
The inside channel on a bar top used for dirty glasses and cocktail tools. The channel should be about four inches wide to accommodate a liquor bottle or mixing glass.
Godiva Liqueurs
American proprietary chocolate and caramel liqueurs. The name and the logo are licensed from the Belgian chocolate company of the same name.
Goldschläger
A Swiss proprietary cinnamon liqueur, bottled at 87 proof, with 24-carat-gold flakes in the bottle.
Grain Neutral Spirits
Spirits distilled from mixed grain at above 190 proof and unaged.
Grain Spirits
Spirits distilled from mixed grain at above 190 proof, then stored in oak containers instead of stainless steel, and bottled at not less than 80 proof.
Grand Marnier
A French proprietary orange and brandy liqueur that is made with curaçao oranges. Two levels are widely available: Cordon Rouge (the standard); Cuvée du Centenaire (100th anniversary).
Grappa
Poor man’s brandy, or so it was originally. Grappa is made from pomace, the skins, seeds, and stems left over after grapes are pressed for wine. Grappa is usually unaged. Today grappa has become fashionable in fine-dining restaurants and is being made from single varietal grapes and bottled in expensive designer bottles.
Grenadine
Sweet red syrup used in alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks. The original flavor base was pomegranate, but many brands now use artificial flavor. A homemade version can be made with sugar and pomegranate juice; see this page.
Guinness Stout
Top-fermenting Irish beer that is almost black in color as a result of the heavily toasted malt used to make it. Dublin-made Guinness Stout is dry with a slightly bitter aftertaste.
Heads
Volatile spirits from the beginning of a distillation run that are usually redistilled or removed from the spirit.
Himbeergeist
Eau-de-vie distilled from raspberry and not aged or sweetened. These fruit brandies were traditionally made in Alsace, Germany, and Switzerland, but now they are made in the United States. They are served after a meal as a digestif and range from 80 to 90 proof.
Infusion
A process similar to making tea—but on a bigger scale. In beer and whiskey making, the grains and malted grains are soaked in hot water several times, often with increasingly higher temperatures, resulting in a sweet liquid called wort. Infusion is also used in the production of fruit liqueurs, where fruit and other flavors are steeped in brandy for any extended time. After infusion, the mixture is strained, lowered to bottle proof with water, sweetened with sugar syrup, and then bottled.
Irish Cream
A liqueur made from Irish whiskey, sugar, and fresh cream. See Baileys Irish Cream.
Irish Mist
Irish whiskey liqueur made from a blend of four whiskeys, two pot distilled and two grain, sweetened with three kinds of honey, including heather and clover.
Irish Whiskey
A triple-distilled whiskey from Ireland, thought to be the first whiskey. Irish whiskey is aged in oak barrels a minimum of three years. Modern Irish whiskey is made with pot-distilled malted and unmalted barley whiskey that is blended with column-stilled grain whiskey. Irish whiskey has a completely different character than its neighbor Scotland’s whisky, mostly because the malt is not kilned or toasted with peat, so there is no smoky quality in the flavor. Today distillers are looking back to traditional methods and ingredients. Several 100 percent pot-distilled Irish whiskeys are being made, many at the Midleton distillery in Dublin; Green Spot, and Redbreast are among them.
JADE LIQUEURS
An absinthe and liqueur distilling company in the Combier Distillery in Saumur, France. Master distiller Ted Breaux produces Esprit Edouard Absinthe Supérieure, 1901 Absinthe Supérieure, Nouvelle Orléans Absinthe Supérieure, and C. F. Berger Absinthe Supérieure.
Jägermeister
A German liqueur made from fifty-six herbs that has a bittersweet flavor. Jägermeister has been produced since 1934, but when Sidney Frank Importing began to import and promote the product in 1972, it went from 500 cases a year to 2 million cases a year in 2005. Mast-Jägermeister UK bought Sidney Frank Importing in 2015. They have been repositioning the brand, and the releasing of a super-premium bottling called Manifest was the first big step in that direction.
JOHN D. TAYLOR VELVET FALERNUM
Velvet Falernum was originally a sugar syrup flavored with almond, lime, and clove. The liqueur version was dosed with a small amount of alcohol to make it accessible to wider sales by liquor distributors in the United States.
Julep
A popular American drink that originated in the late eighteenth century and is still popular today. It was originally made with Cognac and peach brandy, but it evolved into a bourbon drink mixed with fresh mint and sugar, served in a frosted silver cup over shaved ice. The Mint Julep (this page) was one of the first American iced drinks to be celebrated abroad. England’s Oxford University has a Mint Julep Quarterperson, whose job is providing Mint Juleps to all the membership of the Junior Common Room on June 1 in honor of the 1845 visit to Oxford by William Heyward Trapier of South Carolina, who was shocked that the butler had never heard of the Mint Julep and shared his family recipe.
Kahlúa
A proprietary coffee liqueur from Mexico, arguably the best known of the coffee liqueurs. All Kahlúa sold in the United States is made in Mexico, but Kahlúa sold in Europe is made under a license by the Cherry Heering Company in Denmark. In 2017, De Kuyper Royal Distillers acquired Cherry Heering.
KOLD-DRAFT ICE
An American ice machine company that pioneered the moving water reservoir technique of ice making. They produced a large 1¼-inch-square ice cube and dominated the ice machine market into the late 1970s, when faster, more efficient Japanese technology prevailed in the industry.
Last Call
The traditional phrase in bars announcing the last round of drinks before closing.
Layered
Maintaining separate, visible layers in a drink by slowly pouring over the back of a spoon held inside the glass. The most famous layered drink is the Pousse-Café (this page) after-dinner drink.
Licor 43
A proprietary Spanish liqueur with forty-three herbal ingredients and grape eau-de-vie—though the resulting flavor is distinctly vanilla; it is bottled at 34% alcohol.
Lillet
Lillet or Lille is a French wine-based aperitif that is produced in three styles: Lillet Blanc, Lillet Rosé, and Lillet Rouge. The Blanc is produced from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes mixed with a concentrate prepared by macerating several fruits in brandy. The Rouge is made from Cabernet and Merlot grapes mixed with a similar concentrate. Lillet has a sweet, fruity taste and finds a home in several well-known cocktails, such as the Vesper, created for James Bond in Casino Royale. Often referred to in older recipe books as Kina Lillet, an older recipe with a bit more bitter quinine.
Liqueurs
See Cordials.
Maceration
The process of steeping a flavoring agent in water or alcohol, then either redistilling the resulting product or adding it to a larger batch for flavoring. The same flavoring agent will extract differently in water than in alcohol; alcohol tends to extract more bitter notes.
Madeira
Fortified sweet red wine from the Portuguese island of Madeira that is aged in soleras, like the brandies of Spain. Madeira is reputed to be among the longest-lived wines in the world, lasting well over one hundred years in some cases. The island of Madeira was often the last stop for ships sailing to the New World, and the barrels of wine were loaded for ballast as well as freight. The wine seemed to thrive in the steaming holds of the ships and had improved in flavor at the end of long voyages. Today, Madeira makers re-create this “cooking” of the wine in a process called estufagem, whereby the temperature in the aging warehouses is raised to over 100°F to simulate the heat in the hold of a sailing vessel.
Mahogany, ACROSS THE MAHOGANY
A slang word for a bar top.
Malt Scotch
Aged in used oak barrels not less than three years, but in practice almost never less than five years, and usually between eight and eighteen years. Pot distilled from a mash of 100 percent malted barley, dried partially in peat-fired kilns for flavor. Made in Scotland.
Malting
Germinating grain, usually barley or rye. See Diastase.
Maraschino Liqueur
A sweet, clear liqueur made from Marasca cherries and cherry pits. Maraschino was a popular ingredient in early punches and cocktails; it is almost never drunk straight. The talented bartenders of Cuba in the 1920s made maraschino popular by adding it to their Daiquiris.
Marc
The skins and seeds left over from the pressing in winemaking in France. Marc is fermented and distilled into an unaged brandy of the same name, similar to grappa.
Marsala
A fortified wine from Marsala, Sicily, it is more processed than the other great fortified wines from Portugal, Spain, and Madeira. After the base wine is made, concentrates of boiled-down wine and concentrated grape juice mixed with spirits are blended into the wine. The wine then begins its journey through the solera system for aging.
Mezcal
The general category of which tequila is a subcategory. To be clearer, all tequila is mezcal, but mezcal is not tequila. Mezcal is made primarily in Oaxaca, Mexico, from the espadín and several other types of agave. The worm has been retired, and premium mezcals are now available from several makers, including Del Maguey. Traditional mezcal has a smoky quality from the slow baking of the agave piña in rock-lined pits.
Midori
A proprietary melon liqueur from the Suntory distillery in Japan, it is popular in cocktails for the green color it brings to drinks, such as the Midori Margarita.
Mist
Any spirit served over crushed ice.
Mistelle
A blend of raw grape juice and spirits sometimes used as a base for aperitif fortified wines, such as vermouth, and sometimes bottled as a stand-alone product, as in Pineau des Charentes.
Mixto Tequila
Mixto is a tequila that is at least 51 percent derived from the blue agave, but it also contains sugars from cane or other sources. One hundred percent agave tequilas are referred to as puro.
Mount Gay Rum
Touted as the oldest brand of rum (1703), made by Abel and William Gay at the St. Lucy Estate on the island of Barbados. Mount Gay is made from molasses and a very closely guarded yeast recipe. The rum is a blend of pot-still and continuous-still rums. The aging takes place in small barrels that are used a maximum of three times to avoid depletion, and the aging lasts between two and ten years. The blender then takes over, exercising his art to marry the older and younger rums. Mount Gay produces four products: Eclipse Barbados rum (standard) and the Premium White, both aged two years; Mount Gay Extra Old rum, blended with a larger percentage of the ten-year-old rum; and the very rare Sugar Cane Brandy, which is not widely available.
Muddler or Toddy stick
A wooden tool shaped like the grinding tool of a mortar and pestle (between six and nine inches long) used to mash fruit and herbs with sugar or liqueur in the bottom of a bar mixing glass. This technique is essential for making Old-Fashioneds (this page) and the Caipirinha (this page).
Mulled Wine
Wine cooked with spices and sugar.
Ojen
Spanish anise-flavored liqueur.
Old-Fashioned Glass
Holds eight to ten ounces in a short, stout shape. Often referred to as the “on the rocks” or simply “rocks” glass. Double old-fashioned glasses, also called buckets, were popularized by drinks like the Mai Tai (this page).
Old Potrero 18th Century style whiskey
An unusual American malted rye whiskey made by the Anchor Distillery. It is made from malted rye and aged for two to five years in new and used toasted barrels, and for that reason, the word rye is not in the title of the whiskey. Old Potrero is bottled at 51.2% alcohol.
Old Tom Gin
A sweetened London dry style gin very popular in the nineteenth century, and recently having a comeback. There are no rules here, and some of the modern versions are not sweetened. A broader explanation of this unofficial category can be found in the Daily Beast article (March 17, 2017) by David Wondrich titled simply “Solving the Riddle of Old Tom Gin.”
On Premise
A trade term for a licensed liquor business that serves spirits, wine, and beer by the glass, i.e., bars and restaurants. Off-premise licensed, businesses sell retail packaged alcoholic beverages.
Orange Bitters
Alcohol-based bitters flavored with orange zest and other botanicals, made in the United States by the Fee Brothers in Rochester, New York, and in Kentucky at the Sazerac Distillery under the name Regan’s orange bitters. Also made in Germany by the Bitter Truth company but widely distributed in the United States. Orange bitters was an ingredient in early dry Martini recipes, but it was dropped in later recipes. It has multiple applications in cocktails traditional and new.
Orange-Flower Water
Water flavored with orange blossoms and used in baking and cooking. It is the critical ingredient in the famous New Orleans cocktail, the Ramos or New Orleans Fizz (this page).
Orgeat
A milky, sweet almond syrup used extensively in baking; also called orzata. Orgeat is an ingredient in Victor Bergeron’s classic Mai Tai cocktail (this page).
Ouzo
Greek anise-flavored liqueur.
Passion Fruit Purée
A sweet, thick juice made from sugar water and passion fruit. Fresh passion fruit is a wonderful addition to tropical cocktails, but it needs a lot of sweetening.
Peach Bitters
See Fee Brothers.
Peachtree Schnapps
This was the spirit that began the whole fruit schnapps craze; it is produced by De Kuyper USA in Louisville, Kentucky, and is 30 proof. De Kuyper Holland was the first company to contract distill in the United States, in Kentucky after Prohibition.
Pepper Vodka
Vodka made by steeping hot peppers or pepper oil in vodka.
Perfect
A modifying term in the Manhattan cocktail recipe indicating a mix of half sweet and half dry vermouth, as in a Perfect Manhattan.
Pernod
Created as an absinthe substitute. See Absinthe.
Perry
Cider made from pears or a combination of pears and apple.
PETER HEERING Cherry LIQUEUR
A superior cherry liqueur made in Denmark from native Stevns sour cherries with an intense bittersweet flavor. Made by Heering, it is a famous ingredient in the true Singapore Sling (this page).
Peychaud’s Bitters
Antoine Peychaud, owner of an apothecary shop in New Orleans, created an all-purpose flavoring and health tonic in the 1830s from herbs and Caribbean spices. Lore has it he combined the bitters with a French Cognac imported to New Orleans and produced by Sazerac de Forge et Fils, and that was the inspiration for the Sazerac cocktail. David Wondrich, our historical oracle in the cocktail community, is skeptical of the connection between the two.
Phylloxera Vastatrix
An American insect from the aphid family that was exported to Europe on root splicings and decimated wine-producing grapes in many countries. The aphids attack the roots, and American vines were resistant. Whiskey makers in northern Europe and in the United States, as well as absinthe producers, were the accidental benefactors of the disaster after the brandy makers in southern Europe were ruined.
Pimento DRAM Liqueur
Liqueur made in Jamaica from allspice berries. Available only sporadically in the United States.
Pimm’s Cups
Pimm’s Cups were cocktail creations of James Pimm, a barman in London in the 1840s. In the 1870s former colleagues and customers used the formulas to create bottled cocktails under the name Pimm’s. No. 1 (gin based), No. 2 (whiskey based), No. 3 (brandy based), No. 4 (rum based), No. 5 (rye based), and No. 6 (vodka based). In the United States only No. 1 is available, but in England No. 1 and No. 6 are still available.
Pineau des Charentes
A blend of raw grape juice and Cognac that is aged and bottled. Often served as an aperitif or mixed in cocktails; see Rainbow Sour (this page).
PISCO
Pisco is a grape brandy made in Peru and Chile (don’t tell the Peruvians; they claim sole ownership) from the ancient Muscat and other sweet grape varieties brought from the Old World to the Spanish colony called the Viceroyalty of Peru in the 1500s.
Pomegranate molasses
Thick syrup made from cooked and concentrated pomegranate juice, found in Middle Eastern grocery stores. Pom Wonderful fresh pomegranate juice has eclipsed some of its use by bartenders.
Pony glass
A small, stemmed glass measuring one ounce.
Port
Fortified wine from the Douro Valley of Portugal; it comes in several styles, including vintage, vintage character, ruby, tawny, and white. The grape varieties are numerous, including Touriga Nacional and Francisca, Bastardo, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Cão, and Souzão.
Punch
From the Persian word panj or the Hindi panch, meaning “five” (ingredients): spirit, sugar, lime juice, spice, and water. Similarly, an ancient Greek drink called pentaploa (“fivefold”) was also made with five ingredients: wine, honey, cheese, flour, and oil. The drink was presented to the winner of a race from the Temple of Dionysus in Athens to the seacoast at Phaleron. Punch originated in India and became the fuel of high society social gathering in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe. Shrub-based punches—a blend of spice, sweet, sour, strong and weak—were the blueprint for the American iced drink called the cocktail.
Punt e Mes.
See Carpano.
Ramazzotti
Sometimes called “Amaro Felsina Ramazzotti,” it is made from thirty-three herbs and spices and has a bittersweet flavor. Produced by the same company in Milan since 1815.
Real McCoy
During Prohibition, Captain William J. McCoy turned his luxury yacht Arethusa into a rumrunner sailing from multiple locations to the U.S. East Coast, unloading illegal spirits from overseas onto smaller boats while moored beyond the three-mile limit. His spirits were always high quality, hence the phrase “the real McCoy.” Bill McCoy was arrested in 1925 and spent several months in a New Jersey jail before retiring to Florida, where he built sailing vessels. Real McCoy rum is distilled in Barbados.
Rectifying
This is an often-misunderstood word because it can describe many different operations. Basically, it means to change a spirit in some way after it has been distilled. Those changes can include redistilling, adding flavor or color, and adding water to lower the bottle proof strength.
Ricard, Pernod
See Absinthe.
Rose Water
A food- and beverage-flavoring agent made by steeping rose petals in alcohol. Used extensively in the Middle East. Good in lemonade drinks.
Ruby Port
See Port.
Rum
Made from molasses, sugarcane juice, or sugarcane syrup, it is considered the first spirit of the New World. First produced in Barbados and Jamaica, traditionally double distilled. Rhum agricole is made from sugarcane juice, not molasses.
Rum Swizzle
Created at the Georgetown Club in British Guiana by putting rum, bitters, lime, and ice in a tumbler, then mixing it with a long swizzle stick until the outside of the glass frosted over.
Rye WHISKEY
Whiskey aged two years in new charred oak barrels. Made with 51 to 100 percent rye in the mash.
St RaphaËl
An aromatized wine flavored with quinine, herbs, and spices. Used by the French government to protect their troops in Algeria from malaria.
Sake
Japanese wine made from fermented rice. A special yeast called koji that is grown on grain cakes gives sake its special flavor.
Sambuca
Anise-based, licorice-flavored Italian after-dinner liqueur often taken with coffee. Black sambuca was recently introduced to the American market under the names Opal Nera and Della Notte.
Sangaree
An early colonial beverage made from wine, usually Madeira, water, and spices and served as a tall refresher in the summer. Mulled wine is a winter version of the sangaree, served hot.
Sangria
A beverage originating in Spain made with red or white wine, sugar, and fruits, and garnished with fresh fruits and berries.
SANGRITA
A spicy mix with lime juice, Maggi Seasoning, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and other flavorings, used as a companion shot with a tequila shot.
Sazerac
See Peychaud’s Bitters.
Schnapps
A Scandinavian and German term for strong, colorless spirits. Also known as snaps, they may be flavored or unflavored. It is also used as slang for any strong spirit. Today schnapps is a popular category of low-end fruit and spice spirits made by companies like DeKuyper, Mohawk, and Leroux.
Scotch
Whisky distilled in Scotland from malted barley.
Sherry
Spanish fortified wine from the province of Cádiz. Sherry has a long second fermentation during which the wine is in contact with the air, and a yeast cap, known as flor, grows on top of the wine. The wines with the thickest layer of flor will be marked for fino, and continue a biological aging period. Resulting fino sherry is drier with less alcohol. If the flor breaks prematurely, the resulting barrel will be marked for amontillado or for oloroso sherry, fuller bodied with more alcohol added. All sherry is fermented dry, and some oloroso sherry is sweetened with Pedro Ximénez, a sweetened concentrated wine made by boiling down wine and adding arrope (boiled grape juice). Sherry is a blended wine that is aged by the solera system. The wine is preserved by the addition of alcohol distilled from local grapes. There are two broad categories of sherry: dry (fino) and fuller body, sometimes sweeter (oloroso)
Shooters
One-ounce shots of cocktails or straight spirits like Jägermeister that are downed in one gulp.
SHRUB
Punch base made with lemon peel, sugar, and lemon juice. See pages this page, this page, and this page.
Single-Malt Scotch
A Scottish barley-based spirit produced by a single distillery in one season. Bottled straight or used as a blending agent in blended scotch.
Skin
A category of drinks from the nineteenth century made with lemon juice, spirits, and hot water.
Sling
In the early nineteenth century, a sling was described as a toddy (spirits, sugar, and water with nutmeg grated on top), a poor man’s punch. The first definition of the cocktail in print in 1806, described the cocktail as a “bittered sling.”
Sloe Gin
A gin flavored with wild plums called sloe berries.
Solera Aging
Spanish brandy and sherry are both aged in this system of barrels; the bottom layer of barrels is the solera and the other layers are the criaderas. During the solera aging process, the wine or spirit is moved through the criaderas by blending younger wines or brandies in with older barrels. In this way the wine or brandy takes on an age character beyond its years, or as the Spanish say, the old brandy teaches the young brandy.
Sorghum
A type of grass grown in the Plains states of the United States that is boiled down to make a type of molasses. Sorghum is the base for some baijiu and especially the official spirit of China, Moutai baijiu, made by Kweichow.
Sours
Cocktails made with a strong, sweet, and a sour ingredient. Those ingredients can vary widely from one sour to the next, but the proportions should remain the same. The proportions I have determined to appeal to the widest audience are three-quarters part sour to one part sweet to two parts strong. See Fix.
Spanish Brandy
See Solera Aging.
Spritzer
A mix of white wine and club soda over ice.
Stolichnaya Ohranj
Orange-flavored vodka from Russia. Russian vodka and Scandinavian aquavit were the first flavored vodkas.
Strega
Italian liqueur that is a blend of seventy different herbs and barks. Great over ice cream.
Suntory, Beam Suntory
The best-selling brand of Japanese whiskey, Suntory is also one of Japan’s largest alcohol beverage companies, with two main distilleries, Hakushu and Yamazaki. Suntory Holdings purchased Beam Inc., in 2014.
Swizzle
See Rum Swizzle.
Tails
Spirits from the end of a distilling run are usually high in acrid fusel oils and removed by the distiller for redistillation.
Tawny Port
Wood-aged port blended from several vintages and aged from five to forty years in oak. Tawny starts out dark red like ruby or vintage ports, but the oldest ones take on the light copper color from which the name is derived.
Tennessee Whiskey
Made similar to bourbon, with the exception of a charcoal-filtration process called the Lincoln County Process that is required for all Tennessee sour mash whiskeys. Aged in charred oak barrels a minimum of two years but usually bottled not less than four to six years. The filtration process prohibits use of the word bourbon on the label.
Tequila
Produced in Mexico, derived from the Agave tequiliana ‘Weber’s Blue’, one of the 400 varieties of the agave plant, a member of the lily family. Tequila comes in two main categories: mixto and puro, 100 percent blue agave. Mixto is at least 51 percent agave with other sugars (usually from cane) added to the agave during fermentation.
Tia Maria
Coffee-flavored liqueur from Jamaica.
TODDY
A sap derived from palm, wild date, and palmyra trees. In India it was the base for a nonalcoholic sweet drink and a lightly alcoholic fermented drink. Toddy came to be known as a hot or cold beverage made of spirits, sugar or honey, and water. My Nana, on the Italian side of the family, was not averse to a splash of some sort of spirit with the honey, lemon, and hot water she gave us even as kids.
Tonic Water
A carbonated water that contains quinine and sugar. There is a rich historical background to research, from the impact of this beverage on the health of the British military serving in the colonies in the tropics all the way to a cultlike following of the Gin and Tonic in modern-day Spain.
Triple Sec
A liqueur made from the curaçao oranges, first in Holland but now produced in many countries. Triple sec, with the exception of Cointreau, is mostly a mixer and is almost never taken straight.
TUACA
An Italian sweet liqueur, flavored with citrus and with a top note of vanilla.
Uisge beatha (Celtic) or Usquebaugh (Gaelic)
Both translate literally to “water of life.” These are the old words for “whisky” in the British Isles. Some believe the Celtic pronunciation led to the English word whisky.
UNDERBERG BITTERS
Stomach bitters sold everywhere. They were once labeled Underberg Boonekamp Bitters.
Unicum Bitters
Beverage bitters made in Hungary by the Zwack family. It is a maceration of forty herbs in alcohol that is aged in oak casks.
Vermouth
Fortified and aromatized wines made in sweet or dry styles, used in cocktails and as an aperitif. The word originated from the German word for the wormwood plant, Wermut.
Vodka
From voda, the Russian word for “water,” vodka is distilled from grain, potatoes, grapes, and even sugarcane in the Caribbean. It is distilled to above 190 proof and bottled at a minimum of 40% alcohol. No additives or flavoring are permitted, with the exception of water and minute parts per million of citric acid and glycerin.
VS, VSOP, XO Cognac
These are designations used in Cognac to indicate minimum aging for their brandies: Very Special (VS), two year minimum in French oak; Very Superior Old Pale (VSOP), four year minimum in French oak; and Extra Old (XO), ten years minimum in French oak.
Whiskey/ y
From the Gaelic usquebaugh, or “water of life,” whiskey is made from grain that is ground into grist, then cooked with water to release starches. Malt is added to convert the starch into sugar, and then yeast to begin fermentation. The low-proof liquid after fermentation is called beer, which after distillation becomes whiskey.
White Crème de Menthe
See Crème de Menthe.
Wormwood
The all-important herbal ingredient in absinthe. The Latin name for wormwood is Artemisia absinthium.
Yellow Chartreuse
See Chartreuse.
Yukon Jack
Canadian whisky slightly sweetened with honey.
ŻubrÓwka
Polish vodka flavored with sweet-scented buffalo grass.