Abbotts bitters

C.W. Abbott and Co. was founded in 1865 in Baltimore, Maryland, which was then one of the great centres of American liquor production. It began selling its bitters in 1872, becoming one of the three biggest-selling bitters during the cocktail era - it was the bitter used in the original Manhattan cocktail. The company continued trading until the 1950s but then disappeared from the market. So what, you may very reasonably ask, happened to Abbott's?

Akvavit / Aquavit

The word akvavit, like the word whisky, originates from the alchemical term water of life or aqua vitae in Latin. It is also known as aquavit. This flavoured white spirit is popular in Scandinavian countries, especially Denmark, where production centres on the town of Aalborg, its place of origin some 400 years ago.

Arak

Arak, Araq is an alcoholic anise-flavoured beverage traditionally served in the Middle Eastern countries of Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, but is also produced and consumed in other Eastern Mediterranean and North African countries. Turkish Raki is comparable to arak but should not be confused with Cretan Raki which does not contain anise seeds (Pimpinella anisum).

Arrack

Arrack is often confused with the similarly pronounced and spelt 'Arak', which is a Middle Eastern anise flavoured distillate, similar to pastis or ouzo. 'Arrack', spelt with two 'r's and a 'c', is harder to define as it is a spirit which does not have a uniform category. Indeed, arrack is a Hindi catch-all term for distilled spirits in the same manner as 'liquor' in English.

Baijiu (白酒) / Shaojiu (烧酒)

Baijiu (白酒) or Shaojiu (烧酒) is a Chinese distilled alcoholic beverage between 40-60% alc./vol. Baijiu literally translates as 'white alcohol' and this clear spirit is most commonly distilled from fermented sorghum bicolor (a grass species cultivated for its edible grain) or maize, but also glutinous rice, wheat, barley and other grains.

Beer eau-de-vie (bierbrand)

Beer eau-de-vie is traditionally made in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and France, typically by smaller breweries and beer brewing monasteries working in conjunction with local distillers. Beer is seldom produced especially for this purpose, instead it is usually a brewery's regular beer which is simply sent to the distiller, or distilled in-house.

Bitters & tinctures etc.

Bitters are alcoholic beverages prepared with herbs, spices, roots, fruits and peels infused in alcohol or glycerin. Popular ingredients include gentian, quinine and orange peel. As the name suggests, they typically have a bitter or bittersweet flavor. The original bitters were medieval therapeutic drinks and throughout the ages bitters were marketed as an elixir.

Black (dark) rums

Whether sold as “black rum” or “dark rum” these molasses-based blended rums have one thing in common, they are deep brown, virtually black in colour due to the addition of caramel and/or molasses. The best also draw colour from aging in heavily charred casks.

Blanche d'Armagnacs

Blanche has long been consumed in the Armagnac region but you had to know a distiller in order to obtain what was flavoursome hootch. However, in 2007 this unaged Armagnac spirit was officially recognised by the French authorities and brought under Armagnac's Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée.

Boker's / Bogart's Bitters

A historic brand of bitters originally created by Johann Gottlieb Böker in 1828 and produced until the 1920s. However, the historic notoriety of these bitters has led to at least three different modern-day producers using surviving vintage bottles and written information to reimagine and recreate these historic bitters.

Botanical spirits

All the botanical influences and low cost of entry distillation opportunities which gin offers, but without gin's restrictive requirement to include and make juniper predominant. This combination makes Botanical Spirits my bet as being the next big spirits category – a category that offers a diversity of flavour and versatility beyond that of any other spirits category.

Bourbon (straight) whiskey

Bourbon is as American as the Stars and Stripes, the Grand Canyon, and pumpkin pie, but there are some common misconceptions about what exactly bourbon is and how it is made. Bourbon is a specific category of American whiskey, and to be labelled a 'bourbon,' it must be produced according to a strict set of rules. The following 'ABC' is a handy reminder of these specific criteria.

Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)

Brandy is distilled from fermented fruit (not grain). The name brandy comes from northern Europe, where 'brand' means to burn, and is a reference to the heat used in distillation. Most brandies are distilled from fermented grape juice (i.e. wine). However, they can also be distilled from other fruits - notably plums, apples and cherries. Most wine-making areas also produce brandy.

Cachaça

In Brazil, Cachaça is also marketed under the name caninha (‘little cane’) or as ‘aguardente de cana’, which means ‘distillate of cane’ but could be uncharitably translated as ‘cane firewater’. However, it has many other nicknames: garapa doida, pinga, parati, cana, imaculada, maria-branca, purinha and zuninga. The four million or so litres exported annually have to be called cachaça on the label.

Calvados & straight applejacks

Calvados is a French brandy made from apples (though it can also contain pears). The name is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, meaning that calvados can only be produced in defined areas of North-Western France. (Calva, the French shortening of calvados, is used to denote an apple brandy other than Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée Calvados.)

Canadian Whiskey

Canadian whisky (spelt without an 'e') has for decades been the best-selling whiskey in the USA and tends to be light bodied in style.

Cognac & cognac-style brandies

Cognac is a fine French brandy (eau-de-vie) from the region that surrounds the little town of Cognac in southwest France. Like champagne, its mere name suggests luxury and indeed it is the undisputed king of all brandies.

Genever/Jenever

Genever, also known as jenever, jeneva, geneva and hollands, is a juniper-flavoured spirit from Holland and Belgium. Like gin, juniper is an obligatory ingredient for genever but in general, genevers contain less juniper than gin.

Grappa

Grappa is an Italian marc brandy made from the fermented skins, pips and stalks (known as pomace, marc or vinaccia in Italian) left after grapes have been pressed to extract juice for wine making. It may be bottled after distillation or matured in oak or other woods. Grappa originated in Italy and, in the E.U. to be termed a grappa, a brandy must be distilled in Italy from Italian grape pomace.

Naval Rum

The long connection between the Royal Navy and rum can be traced back to 1655 and Vice-Admiral William Penn's expedition to the West Indies. In addition to his own flagship, Penn's fleet consisted of 37 Men-of-war carrying 3,000 soldiers. His mission was to pursue Cromwell's aggressive policy of colonial expansion in the Caribbean against the Spanish, who were also pursuing a similar policy.

Peruvian pisco

Pisco is the Peruvian National spirit. It is made by distilling wine fermented from the fresh must of eight specific varieties of vines to produce a clear, transparent brandy. Peruvian pisco stands out due to its traditional artisanal production methods and consequently tends to be more expensive than Chilean pisco and is considered by many the premium style of pisco.

Pisco

Sometimes described as a squabble, a dispute, a deep-seated grievance or even a war, the disagreement between Peru and Chile over who owns pisco has been going for generations. The South-American grape brandy is produced in both countries, adored and excessively consumed in both, and they are each adamant it is their national drink.

Poteens / poitins

Pronounced 'puh-cheen', this spirit has been produced in Ireland since the 1600s, when potatoes were first harvested. Sometimes known as 'Irish Moonshine' or 'Mountain Dew', the original Gaelic name Poitín is a diminutive of the Irish word 'pota', meaning 'little pot', highlighting the small-scale production in pot stills. Poitín has been anglicised to also be spelt poteen.

Scotch - blended Scotch whisky

Blended Scotch Whisky, or 'Scotch' for short, is by far the world's most popular whisky and accounts for well over 85% of all Scottish whisky sales. Although 'malt whisky' was the original Scottish whisky, and although it's become popular in recent decades, the majority of pot still malt whisky is still sold as a component in blended whiskies rather than as single malt whisky.

Scotch Grain Whisky

Until the 1830s almost all Scottish whisky was made exclusively from malted barley and produced in pot stills – i.e., it was what we would today call ‘malt whisky’. However, two developments brought about ‘Scottish grain whisky’ and ‘Scotch blended whisky’. The first was the development of a new type of still, the Coffey still, the second was the repeal of the British Corn Laws.

Scotch Malt Whisky

The term ‘Single Malt Scotch’ refers to a whisky that fulfils all three elements of the term: SINGLE – the whisky must be from only one distillery. MALT – the raw material used must be malted barley and no other grain or fermentable material may be used. SCOTCH – the whisky must be distilled and matured in Scotland.

Speyside single malt whisky

Single Malt Scotch whiskies are grouped by region, each embracing certain characteristics. These are: Highlands (inc. & Speyside), Lowlands, Islands, Islay and Campbeltown.

Spiced / Flavoured Rums

The spectrum of rum ranges from light, vodka-like extra-light white rums through to characterful cognac-like aged rums with Navy, Dunder and such like in between. This already huge diversity of style and flavours is further bolstered by flavoured rums, including: spiced, vanilla and orange. The following defines the key categories:

Tasmanian whisky

Easily misunderstood as a pretty wilderness south of the mainland and famous for the Beaconsville mine collapse that left two men trapped a kilometre underground for two weeks, Tasmania is commonly referred to by the rest of Australia as a hippie backwater. But the world's 26th largest island is home to a well-respected and growing craft whisky industry.

Tsipouro / Τσίπουρο

Tsipouro (Greek: τσίπουρο) is a traditional Greek spirit distilled from grape pomace. Bottled at 40-45% alc./vol, tsipouro comes in two types: unflavoured and flavoured, the latter usually with anise and fennel.

Whisk(e)y

The word ‘whiskey’ derives from the Gaelic ‘uisque beatha’, meaning ‘water of life’ and whiskies are distilled in countries around the world including Scotland, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia and Japan. The spelling varies between countries with the ‘e’ either included or omitted (though ‘whiskey’ is the spelling for whiskies in general).