As with the rest of the series, most of the material is adapted from the WSET textbook “Wines and Spirits: Looking behind the label” and conversations I had in class. However, this lesson in particular is mostly adapted from another video material from WSET. I’m not intending to make this a self-containing reference book, so the contents will most likely be heavily condensed and may not cover everything in the curriculum.

From Pixabay under CC

3. Spirits

3.1. Distillation

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Distillation is done to concentrate alcohol by removing water. It’s done by heating up and boiling alcoholic liquid. As ethanol boils at a lower temperature (78.3c), the vapour created from evaporation contains more alcohol than what is in the boiling liquid. The vapour travels to the condenser. It is then cooled and condensed. The resultant product is called new make spirit.

There are two type of stills: pot and column. Pot stills are usually made by copper and are only capable to distil one pot at a time. The alcoholic liquid is heated, evaporated through the still head and into the condenser. The condenser is filled with cold water which converts the vapour back into liquid. A single distillation process takes several hours. However, the product is usually not strong enough to be sold as a spirit and must be distilled again. The first liquid to come off after the second distillation is called the heads. This is followed by the heart, which is used to make the spirit. The last part of the distilled is called the tails. The heads and tails which can contain unpleasant components are redistilled with the next batch. Spirits made from pot still have lower strength and tend to have more delicate characteristics and flavour.

Column stills are usually very tall and can be ran continuously. Column stills consists of multiple layer of plates with holes to create an environment where ethanol rises through the top of the still while water flows down the still. With enough plates it is possible to produce a spirit that is almost pure ethanol. Spirits produced from column stills are typically stronger, smoother and light in character.

All new make spirits are colourless. From here distillers can choose from multiple options.

Maturation: Some spirits are unaged and stored in stainless steel while others are aged in oak vessels. Aging softens the alcohol and adds colour, spice, tannin and flavour. This is particularly important for low strength spirits as they can taste a bit harsh when they come of the still.

Colour: Distillers can add colour to the spirit by adding caramel or aging the liquid in oak. Colour can also be removed by a method called charcoal filtration.

Sweetened: This can be done by adding sugar or aging in oak.

Dilution: Nearly all spirits are diluted to 40% ABV by adding de-mineralised water.

3.2. Typical spirits

3.2.1. Brandy

Brandy are made from wine. Two important examples are cognac and armagnac.

Cognac: North of Bordeaux, oak aged, double pot distilled, fruity and floral.

Armagnac: South of Bordeaux, oak aged, normally column stilled, dried fruit aromas. Oaking gives brandy the flavour of vanilla and sweet spice.

In terms of labelling, from the youngest to the oldest it goes VS, VSOP and finally XO (Napoleon).

3.2.1. Whiskey

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It’s typically made from grains such as barley, corn or rye. Grains are hard and dry which cannot be fermented by yeast. In order to enable to fermentation, the starch is first converted into sugar and dissolved into water. The beer-like liquid is then distilled and matured.

Scotch: They must be aged for at least three years in Scotland. Honey, cereal, dried fruit and oak. Sometimes peat. The peat aroma, if present, is added when converting the starch to sugar. Malted barley, double pot distilled. Single malt means that it’s made by one distillery. Blended scotch is made by blending malt and grain whiskies. The grain proportions are made in column stills.

Irish: Made by mixture of grains and distilled by both methods. It’s smoother and lighter with flavour of fruit, honey, flowers and oak.

Bourbon: Can be made anywhere in the USA but typically Kentucky. At least 51% corn, aged in heavily charred American oak barrels. Sweet coconut, vanilla and spice.

Tennessee: Can only be made in Tennessee. Identical to bourbon except that it is filtered by sugar maple charcoal prior to maturation. This process mellows the whiskey.

3.2.2. Rum

Made by sugar cane, usually in the form of molasses. Molasses are dark and syrupy and must be diluted with water prior to fermentation. Distillation can be done by either type of still and maturation is optional.

White rum: Typically, light in flavour

Gold rum: Oaked aged. Tropical fruit and oak

Spiced rum: Gold rum with spices added to it

Dark rum: Generally full bodied. Dried fruit and sweet spice. Oak aged. Intense and complex. Colour is usually darkened by caramel.

3.2.3. Tequila

Made by blue agave. The core is cooked and fermented. Usually pot distilled. Maturation is optional.

Blanco/Silver tequila: Unaged, transparent. Intense vegetable and spicy aromas from agave.

Joven/Gold/Oro tequila: Same as silver with added caramel

Reposado tequila: Aged for short period of time

Anejo tequila: Aged for longer than Reposado. The aging process mellows the agave flavours and adds in the flavour of vanilla and sweet spice.

3.2.4. Vodka

Unaged and can be made by any raw material. While grains are popular, some are made in potatoes or grapes. Distilled by column still to 95-96% ABV. The product is almost neutral in flavour although a very small amount of character from the raw material may retain. Charcoal filtration prior to dilution is optional. The neutral characteristic makes the spirit a very popular choice in cocktails.

3.2.5. Flavoured spirits

Flavours can be added to spirits in many ways. Three examples are by macerating (soaking) botanicals, by redistilling the spirits with botanicals or simply by adding essence or flavourings into the spirit.

Flavoured vodka comes with a range of flavours and are usually created by adding essence or by maceration.

From pixabay under CC

Gin is a spirit with pronounced aroma and must be flavoured by juniper. A wide range of other botanicals such as coriander seed, angelic root and dried citrus root are also added. Typically unaged. London Dry Gin must be made by redistillation and no flavour must be added after redistillation. Distilled gin is also made by redistillation but flavours can be added after the process. Gin not covered above may be flavoured with essences.

Liqueurs are flavoured, sweetened and often coloured. They are usually high-strength and/or characterful. The flavouring can vary greatly by the product and can be fruity, nutty, herbaceous or with added dairy.

Previous notes on wine:

The Cooking Sketchbook #3 | Pairing Food with Wine

The Cooking Sketchbook #2 | Tasting and Evaluating Wine