Documents for "Alcoholic Beverages":

• absinthe an emerald-green liqueur distilled from wormwood and other aromatics, including angelica root, sweet-flag root, star anise, and dittany, which have been macerated and steeped in alcohol. It was invented in the 1790s by a Dr. Pierre Ordinaire, a...

• ale see beer.

• amontillado dry sherry noted for its delicate bouquet, resembling the wine of Montilla, Spain, from which it derives its name. A blend of pale, dry sherries of the palma type, it assumes in aging a darker color....

• applejack brandy made by distilling hard cider or fermented apple pomace. Another method of making applejack, now rarely used, is to let fermented cider freeze and then to remove the ice. It was one of the...

• arrack strong spirits distilled chiefly in Asia from fermented fruits, grains, or sugarcane. In the 19th cent., Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) became quite noted for palm toddy arrack and in modern times,...

• beer alcoholic beverage made by brewing and fermenting cereals, especially malted barley, usually with the addition of hops as a flavoring agent and stabilizer. One of the oldest of alcoholic beverages (there is archaeological evidence dating to c.3000 BC), beer was well known in ancient Egypt, where it may have been...

• benedictine sweet liqueur originated in 1510 by Benedictine monks at Fécamp, France, and now manufactured by a secular concern on the grounds of the old abbey. Every bottle bears the initials of the Latin...

• bitters various alcoholic beverages containing bitter principles, such as angostura bark, cascarilla, quassia, gentian, orange, quinine, and other flavoring agents, and prepared by infusion or...

• brandy [for brandywine, from Du.,=burnt, i.e., distilled, wine], strong alcoholic spirit distilled from wine or from marc, the residue of the wine press. The most noted brandy is cognac, made from white...

• brewing see beer.

• champagne sparkling white wine made from grapes grown in the old French province of Champagne. The best champagne is from that part of the Marne valley whose apex is Reims, the center of the industry...

• chartreuse liqueur made exclusively by Carthusians at their monastery, La Grande Chartreuse, France, until their expulsion in 1903. The French distillery and trademark were sold, and the order set up a new plant in...

• cider in Europe, fermented juice of apples; in the United States, unfermented apple juice, unless allowed to ferment, in which case it is known as hard cider. Selected apples are grated in a mill, and...

• claret see wine.

• cocktail short mixed drink originating in the United States and served as an appetizer. It generally has a basis of gin, whisky, rum, or brandy combined with vermouth or fruit juices and often flavored with...

• Cointreau see liqueur.

• cordial see liqueur.

• Curaçao island (1989 est. pop. 146,100), 178 sq mi (461 sq km), largest and most populous of the Netherlands Antilles , West Indies. Curaçao is semiarid; most of the plant life is of desert character. Oil refining is the principal industry, and the island has one of the world's largest refineries, receiving oil...

• gin [archaic geneva, from Du. from O.Fr. from Lat.,=juniper], spirituous liquor distilled chiefly from fermented cereals, malted and unmalted, and flavored with juniper berries. It originated in Holland (thus the name...

• Grand Marnier see liqueur.

• grog originally a mixture of rum and water. It is named after Admiral Grogram Vernon, who first ordered the dilution of the British Royal Navy's daily rum ration. The term is now applied to almost any...

• hock see wine.

• hops see hop.

• julep or mint julep, alcoholic beverage of the S United States. Its basis is properly bourbon whiskey, which is combined with water, sugar, crushed ice, and mint leaves. Juleps are sometimes made with other liquors or...

• liqueur strong alcoholic beverage made of almost neutral spirits, flavored with herb mixtures, fruits, or other materials, and usually sweetened. The name derives from the Latin word to melt. Liqueur can...

• marc see brandy.

• mead wine made of fermented honey and water, sometimes flavored with spices. It is highly intoxicating. Mead was known in classical Greece and Rome and was the favorite drink of the tribes of N and W...

• mint julep see julep.

• port [from Oporto ], fortified wine made in Portugal from grapes grown in the Douro valley; Portuguese law allows only this wine to be called port. Various grapes are blended by the growers, and brandy is added...

• porter see beer.

• rum spirituous liquor made from fermented sugarcane products. Prepared by fermentation, distillation, and aging, it is made from the molasses and foam that rise to the top of boiled sugarcane juice...

• sauterne see wine.

• seltzer water mineral water containing free carbon dioxide, obtained originally from springs at Niederselters, Germany. Reputed to have curative value in treating several diseases, it became very popular in the...

• sherry [from Jérez], naturally dry fortified wine, pale amber to brown in tint. The term sherry originally referred to wines made from grapes grown in the region of Jérez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain; today it may refer to any of the fortified wines from S Spain and is also applied to...

• slivovitz see brandy.

• stout alcoholic beverage: see beer.

• tokay see gecko.

• vermouth blend of white wines fortified with additional alcohol and flavored with aromatic herbs, spices, and roots. It contains up to 19% alcohol. The sweeter, darker type of vermouth is sometimes called...

• vodka traditional spirituous drink of Russia, the Baltic states, and Poland; it is now consumed internationally. The best vodka is distilled from rye and barley malt, but the cheaper corn and potatoes...

• whiskey [from the Gaelic for "water of life" ], spirituous liquor distilled from a fermented mash of grains, usually rye, barley, oats, wheat, or corn. Inferior whiskeys are made from potatoes, beets, and other roots. The standard whiskeys of...

• wine alcoholic beverage made by the fermentation of the juice of the grape. So ancient that its origin is unknown, wine is mentioned in early Egyptian inscriptions and in the literature of many lands. The...