History of distilled beverages

A distilled beverage, spirit, liquor, hard liquor or hard alcohol is an alcoholic beverage produced by distillation of grains, fruit, or vegetables that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. The distillation process purifies the liquid and removes diluting components like water, for the purpose of increasing its proportion of alcohol content (commonly expressed as alcohol by volume, ABV). As distilled beverages contain significantly more alcohol, they are considered "harder" – in North America, the term hard liquor is used to distinguish distilled beverages from undistilled ones.

As examples, this term does not include beverages such as beer, wine, sake, and cider, as they are fermented but not distilled. These all have a relatively low alcohol content, typically less than 15%. Brandy is a spirit produced by the distillation of wine, and has an ABV of over 35%. Other examples of distilled beverages include bourbon, vodka, gin, rum, tequila, mezcal, whisky, scotch, and moonshine. (Also see list of alcoholic drinks, and liquors by national origin.)

The term spirit refers to a distilled beverage that contains no added sugar and has at least 20% alcohol by volume (ABV).

Distilled beverages bottled with added sugar and added flavorings, such as Grand Marnier, Frangelico, and American schnapps, are known instead as liqueurs.

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