Glossary: Spirits
Whisky, gin and everything that goes with it.
A
- Absinthe
- Herbal spirit with wormwood, aniseed and fennel. Traditionally diluted with cold water, which makes it turn cloudy.
- Amaro
- Italian herbal liqueur with a bittersweet taste, usually drunk as a digestif.
- Angel's share
- The share of a spirit that evaporates through the wood during cask ageing. Depending on climate it is roughly one to two percent a year, more in warm regions.
- Aquavit
- Scandinavian spirit from neutral alcohol flavoured mainly with caraway or dill. Minimum strength is 37.5 percent.
- Armagnac
- French brandy from Gascony, usually distilled once in a continuous apparatus and often more rustic than cognac.
B
- Bitter (bitters)
- A spirit with a pronounced bitter note from roots, barks and herbs. It serves as aperitif, digestif or cocktail ingredient.
- Blended whisky
- A mix of different whiskies, often malt and grain whisky from several distilleries, tuned to a consistent style.
- Bourbon
- American whiskey made from at least 51 percent corn and matured in new charred oak barrels.
- Brandy
- A spirit from distilled wine or other fermented fruit juice, usually aged in wooden casks. Cognac and Weinbrand belong to it.
- Pot still
- A copper vessel with head and condenser for batch distillation. It yields aromatic distillates and works in batches.
- Distillery
- A business where spirits are made by distillation, from small fruit distilleries to large whisky distilleries.
C
- Calvados
- French apple brandy from Normandy, aged in oak barrels. Pears may also be included.
- Cask
- A wooden barrel for maturing spirits. Cask type, size and previous contents, such as sherry or bourbon, clearly shape colour and taste.
- Cognac
- Protected brandy from the Cognac region of France, distilled twice in pot stills and aged in oak barrels.
- Craft spirits
- Spirits from small, mostly independent producers who value hand-crafted production and individuality.
D
- Distillation
- A separation process in which an alcoholic liquid is heated and the rising vapour is condensed again. This raises the alcohol share.
F
- Cask strength
- A spirit bottled straight from the cask without dilution with water. Alcohol content is therefore often above 50 percent ABV.
G
- Fruit spirit (Geist)
- A spirit from fruit steeped in neutral alcohol and then distilled, such as raspberry Geist. The spirit is aromatic and fresh.
- Gin
- A juniper spirit made from neutral alcohol and botanicals. Juniper must dominate in taste.
- Grappa
- Italian pomace brandy from the pressing residues of winemaking, meaning skins, seeds and stems of the grapes.
I
- Independent bottler
- A company that buys casks from distilleries and bottles them under its own name without distilling itself.
- Irish whiskey
- Whiskey from Ireland, often triple distilled and mild in taste. It must mature at least three years in wooden casks.
K
- Column still
- A tall distillation column for continuous distilling. It produces high-strength, usually lighter and more neutral distillates.
- Korn (German grain spirit)
- German grain spirit from wheat, rye, barley, oats or buckwheat, without added flavouring, with at least 32 percent ABV.
L
- Liqueur
- A sweet spirit with alcohol, sugar and flavours from fruit, herbs, nuts or cream. Sugar content is at least 100 grams per litre.
- London dry gin
- Gin style in which all flavour comes from distilling botanicals in alcohol. Almost nothing may be added after distillation.
M
- Mezcal
- Mexican agave spirit from various agave species whose hearts are usually cooked in earth pits, which often gives a smoky taste.
N
- No age statement (NAS)
- Whisky without an age on the label, where the age of the youngest component is not stated.
O
- Fruit brandy
- Distillate from fermented fruit without added alcohol or flavouring. Typical examples are Kirschwasser, plum brandy and Obstler.
P
R
- Rum
- A spirit from sugarcane juice or molasses, fermented and distilled. White, golden and dark styles exist, often cask-aged.
- Rye whiskey
- Whiskey whose mash consists mainly of rye. It often tastes spicier and drier than bourbon.
S
- Schnaps
- Colloquial umbrella term for clear, high-proof spirits; not a fixed legal category.
- Scotch whisky
- Whisky from Scotland that must be matured for at least three years in oak casks.
- Single cask
- A bottling taken exclusively from a single cask, not blended with whisky from other casks.
- Single malt
- Whisky made from malted barley distilled at a single distillery, usually in pot stills. It is not mixed with other distilleries.
- Small batch
- A trade and marketing term for spirits made or bottled in small batches.
T
- Tequila
- Mexican spirit from blue agave with protected origin. Blanco, reposado and añejo exist depending on ageing time.
- Peat and peated whisky
- When malted barley is kilned over peat fires, the malt takes up smoke. The whisky then tastes smoky, medicinal or maritime.
V
- Alcohol by volume (ABV)
- Statement of alcohol content as a share of total volume at 20 degrees Celsius. On labels it appears as % vol.
- Heads and tails
- The first and last fractions during distilling, which are separated off. Between them lies the middle cut, the drinkable heart.
- VS, VSOP, XO (age statements)
- Age grades for cognac and similar brandies indicating the minimum maturation time in cask.
W
- Weinbrand (German brandy)
- A spirit from distilled wine, aged in oak. The designation is regulated in Germany.
- Whisky / Whiskey
- A spirit from fermented grain mash, distilled and matured in wooden casks. Origin and grain determine the style.
- Vodka
- A neutral-tasting spirit from grain, potatoes or other raw materials, usually heavily filtered, at 37.5 percent or more.