About Alcohol.

Blended Scotch Whisky: This is a distilled spirit that is created by the mixture of two or more different malt and grain whiskies.

Blue Curaçao: This is another citrus flavored liqueur made from the dried peel of the Laraha citrus fruit from the island of Curaçao, then died blue with food coloring.

Bourbon: Bourbon is a type of Whiskey (see below) with a grain base of at least 51% corn. This gives it a sweeter flavor profile than other whiskeys.

Brandy: Brandy is made by distilling wine, and may be aged an additional time in wooden casks to impart different flavors to the finished product.

Cachaça: This is a distilled spirit made from fermented sugarcane juice, different from Rum in that the sugarcane juice is fermented prior to distillation.

Chartreuse: This is a French herbal liqueur available in green and yellow versions that differ in taste and alcohol content made by Monks in France. The liqueur is produced in their distillery in nearby Aiguenoire. It is composed of distilled alcohol aged with 130 herbs, plants and flowers.

Coffee Liqueur: is essentially cold brew coffee mixed with the liquor of your choice, and a bit of sugar to balance out the flavors.

Cointreau: Is an orange flavored liqueur manufactured in France. I do sort of feel like if you have one orange flavored liqueur, you probably don’t need more. The more you know.

Fernet: Fernet is an Italian bitter liqueur made with a mix of herbs and spices.

Gin: Gin is a distilled spirit that is made from grain and flavored with a variety of botanicals, depending on what flavor profile the maker is going for. All gin’s are noted for a pine flavor due to its main ingredient, juniper berries, from which it’s name is derived: genièvre, which is French for "juniper" and was eventually shortened to Gin in English.

Grand Marnier: This is an orange flavored cognac made by blending cognac with a bitter orange liqueur.

Irish Cream: This is a cream liqueur made by mixing Irish whisky with cream.

Licorice Liqueur: Licorice liqueur is a distilled, alcoholic beverage flavored with one of many licorice-flavored herbs, such as licorice root, anise seed, hyssop, or star anise.

Liqueur: All liqueur’s are alcoholic beverages composed of spirits and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. So, I’m spelling out some liqueur’s on this list, but basically ALL liqueur’s meet this definition, with the specific flavor profile listed first (i.e. melon liqueur, raspberry liqueur, orange liqueur…).

Melon Liqueur: This sweet liqueur is made with neutral grain spirits, brandy, sugar, and is flavored with melons, hence the name.

Mezcal: Mezcal, like Tequila, is made from an agave plant. However, it is only made from a very specific agave plant, the maguey plant. It is only legally produced in nine Mexican states, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Durango, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.

Raspberry Liqueur: This is a liquor that has a raspberry flavor profile, fairly easy to make your own using vodka, brandy, whiskey, or other alcohol of your choice.

Rum: Rum is alcohol that is distilled from sugar, whether it’s from sugar cane or molasses, the underlying flavor profile is sweet, due to the sugar base. I daresay part of why it’s so popular is that sweet taste.

Rye: Rye whiskey, like it’s cousin bourbon, has a dominant grain, but in the case of Rye its…well…rye. Rye Whiskey is made of at least 51% rye grain.

Scotch Whisky: Scotch is one of those products that is regulated and can only be called scotch if it’s made in Scotland. It’s primarily made of barley which is malted before being heated over a peat fire. This is what helps give it a smoky flavor profile.

Tequila: Tequila is made from the agave plant that grows in Mexico. It is a form of Mezcal, however Mexcal will get it’s own entry on this list due to Tequila’s popularity as a stand alone drink. If I just put Tequila on the Mezcal drink page, much confusion would ensue.

Triple Sec: another orange flavored liqueur originating in France. Now that I know how many orange flavored liqueur’s I have in my cabinet, I need to find more cocktails to mix so that I can use this up.

Vermouth: Vermouth is a type of wine that has been fortified with a distilled liquor like brandy or whiskey.

Vodka: Vodka is liquor distilled from potatoes or grain, and is typically made to be tasteless, making it a good base for cocktails where you want to taste the other flavor profiles.

Whiskey (or Whisky): The only difference between the two is country of origin, where the United States added the “e” and the original Ireland/Scotland blends spells it without the “e”. Whiskey is actually a pretty broad category that encompasses liquors distilled from all grains such as wheat, corn, or rye. Consequently, if you are shopping for Scotch or Bourbon, you might see the bottle marked as “Scotch Whisky” or “Bourbon Whiskey.” Both are whiskey’s, the only difference being which grain makes the base. So rather than having a bunch of different pages for each type of Whiskey, all whiskey cocktails will be on the Whiskey page.