DISTILLED SPIRIT

also called distilled liquor, alcoholic beverage (such as brandy, whisky, rum, or arrack) that is obtained by distillation from wine or other fermented fruit or plant juice or from a starchy material (such as various grains) that has first been brewed. The alcoholic content of distilled liquor is higher than that of beer or wine. The production of distilled spirits is based upon fermentation, the natural process of decomposition of organic materials containing carbohydrates. It occurs in nature whenever the two necessary ingredients, carbohydrate and yeast, are available. Yeast is a vegetative microorganism that lives and multiplies in media containing carbohydratesparticularly simple sugars. It has been found throughout the world, including frozen areas and deserts. Distilled spirits are all alcoholic beverages in which the concentration of ethyl alcohol has been increased above that of the original fermented mixture by a method called distillation. The principle of alcoholic distillation is based upon the different boiling points of alcohol (78.5 C, or 173.3 F) and water (100 C, or 212 F). If a liquid containing ethyl alcohol is heated to a temperature above 78.5 C but below 100 C and the vapour coming off the liquid is condensed, the condensate will have a higher alcohol concentration, or strength. Additional reading Several comprehensive guides include a wealth of information on both wines and distilled spirits: Harold J. Grossman, Grossman's Guide to Wines, Beers, & Spirits, 7th rev. ed., revised by Harriet Lembeck (1983), a popular work prepared for both the industry and the consumer, including an excellent section on both distilled spirits in general and on specific types; and Alexis Lichine et al., Alexis Lichine's New Encyclopedia of Wines & Spirits, 5th rev. ed. (1987), a comprehensive encyclopaedia of alcoholic-beverage terminology, with introductory chapters treating the history of distilled spirits and their development and production. For the history of the process, see R.J. Forbes, A Short History of the Art of Distillation: From the Beginnings Up to the Death of Cellier Blumenthal (1970). G.G. Birch and M.G. Lindley (eds.), Alcoholic Beverages (1985), is a comprehensive book on production methods. Frank M. Shipman Alan T. Thomas