Alcoholic beverage

Alcoholic beverages are drinks containing ethanol, popularly called alcohol. (In chemical terminology, alcohol is a broad category of compound, of which ethanol is only one.) They include low-alcohol-content beverages produced by fermentation of sugar- or starch-containing products, and high-alcohol-content beverages produced by distillation of the low-alcohol-content beverages. (Sometimes, the alcohol content of low-alcohol-content beverages is increased by adding distilled product, particularly in the case of wines. Such fortified wines include port wine and sherry wine.)

• Beer
• Wine
• Cider
• Hard liquor
  • Whiskey
  • Bourbon
  • Vodka
  • Gin
  • Rum
• Cocktails
• Liqueurs
  • Coffee Liqueurs
    • Kahlua
    • Tia Maria
  • Sambuca
• Brandy

The names of the beverages are determined by the source of the material fermented:

Source	Name of fermented beverage	Name of distilled beverage
grain	beer, ale, sake (rice)	whiskey (also spelled whisky)
juice of fruits, other than apples or pears	wine (most commonly from grapes)	brandy
juice of apples	("hard") cider	applejack, or apple brandy
juice of pears	perry, or pear cider	pear brandy
juice of sugarcane, or molasses	basi, betsa-betsa (regional)	rum

Note that in common speech, wine or brandy is made from grapes unless the fruit is specified: "plum wine" or "cherry brandy" for example.

In the U. S., cider often means unfermented apple juice (see the article on cider), but this is also referred to as sweet cider, distinguished from hard cider, which is fermented. Also, applejack was originally made by a freezing process described in the article on cider which was equivalent to distillation but more easily done in the cold climate of New England.

Two common distilled beverages not listed in the above chart are vodka and gin. Vodka can be distilled from any source (grain and potatoes being the most common) but the main characteristic of vodka is that it is so thoroughly distilled as to exhibit none of the flavors derived from its source material. Gin is a similar distillate which has been flavored by contact with herbs and other plant products, especially juniper berries, from which it gets its name.

see also Wikipedia Cocktail Guide