Amaretto

Amaretto is a liqueur, a sweet Italian liqueur that originated in Saronno. There are different brands and each have their slight variations and ingredients vary from apricot kernel, bitter almonds, peach stones or almonds, all these are natural sources of the benzaldehyde that brings the almond flavour to the liqueur. Amaretto usually contains a 21% to 48% Alcohol by Volume.

Amaretto liqueur can be drunk straight or used as an ingredient in mixed drinks, or with coffee.

The name Amaretto originated from the Italian word amaro, meaning bitter. Amaretto's bitterness is derived from the drupe kernel and although the bitterness of Amaretto tends to be mild, sweeteners and at time sweet almonds are added to enhance the flavour of the final product.

Baileys Irish Cream

Bailey's Irish Cream is an Irish cream liqueur, a liqueur is an alcoholic drink made of distilled spirits and flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. They can be rightfully christened as the descendants of herbal medicine. The Bailey's Irish Cream is a sweet, cream and cocoa flavoured thick liqueur with Irish Whiskey being the base alcohol and is one of the most popular liqueurs used in cocktail creation.

Brandy

Brandy, simply put, is a distilled wine. It is categorised under Distilled Alcoholic Beverages along with Whiskey, Rum, Gin, Vodka and Tequila, but it's in a way a cross connection between Fermented liquor and distilled liquor. A Brandy typically containts 35% to 60% Alcohol by Volume ( 70-120 US proof ) and is usually consumed as an after dinner digestif.

Although Brandy is generally classified as a liquor produced by distilling wine, in a broader sense, this encompasses liquors obtained from the distillation of either pomace ( the soild remains of grapes after mashing and extraction of juice for wine making ) or fruit mash or wine.

It may be noted that Brandy like Gin is also one of the original Water of Life or eau de vie, carried over from the medieval tradition of an aquaous solution of ethanol used as a medicine.

The history of Brandy is closely tied to the development of commercial distillation in and around the 15th Century. In early 15th Century French Brandy made way for a new cross-Atlantic trade or Triangle Trade and replaced Portuguese Fortified Wine or Port from the central role it played in trade, mostly due to the higher alcohol content of the Brandy and ease of transport. However by the late 17th Century, Rum replaced Brandy as the exchange alcohol of choice in the Triangle Trade. More info on Wikipedia for the interested Brandy aficionados. Note that an Apricot Brandy can refer to the liquor (or Eau de Vie, Water of Life) distilled from fermented apricot juice or a liqueur made from apricot flesh and kernels.

Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey

American's don't need to be lectured on Bourbon, but still, let's put it in record like all other spirits. A Bourbon in American spirit is a barrel-aged distilled liquor made primarily from corn. The name might have been derived from the French Bourbon dynasty, or from Bourbon County in Kentucky, or Bourbon Street in New Orleans, both named after the French Dynasty.

Technically, most whiskey made in America are legally classified as Bourbon, although Bourbon is in spirit a Southern Whiskey with special connection to Kentucky. Note than although Tennessee Whiskey is classified as Bourbon, Tennessee distilleries do not prefer their whiskey to be unique and referred to as Tennessee Whiskey only.

Distilling came to Kentucky in the late 18rth Century with the Scots, Scot-Irish and other settlers including English, Welsh, German and French, and they brought with them their distilling techniques and ageing processes in charred oak barrels. The charring is what gives the Bourbon the brownish colour and distinctive taste.

To be a legal Bourbon, a whiskey has to meet the following criteria

Produced in the United States and Territories (Puerto Rico) and the District of Columbia
Made from a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn
Aged in new, charred oak containers
Distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80% alcohol by volume)
Entered into the container for aging at no more than 125 proof (62.5% alcohol by volume)
Bottled (like other whiskeys) at 80 proof or more (40% alcohol by volume)

Southern Comfort

Southern Comfort is an American, fruit flavoured whiskey liqueur. Originally created by bartender Martin Wilkes Heron in New Orleans in 1874, the brand has gone through closure during the Prohibitions and transitions and transfer of ownership.

Spirit Historian Chris Morris describes the original recipe of Southern Comfort in an episode of The Thirsty Traveler titled "A River of Whiskey"

Heron began with good-quality bourbon and would add: An inch [2.5 cm] of vanilla bean, about a quarter of a lemon, half of a cinnamon stick, four cloves, a few cherries, and an orange bit or two. He would let this soak for days. And right when he was ready to finish, he would add his sweetener: he liked to use honey. - Wikipedia

In the United States, Southern Comfort is available as 42 US proof (21% ABV), 70 US proof (35% ABV), 100 US proof (50% ABV), and 60 US proof (30% ABV) in Australia. Varieties including additional flavorings, such as lime and caramel, were introduced by Brown–Forman in the latter years of their ownership. These were discontinued by Sazerac - Wikipedia

Triple Sec

Triple-Sec is an Orange flavoured liqueur from France. It is made by macerating sun dried orange peel in alcohol for a day or more before a three step distillation. Triple Sec has a 15% to 40% ABV.

The Triple Sec name refers to the process of distillation. Sec in French means dry or distilled and triple refers to the triple distillation process.

It's been a popular liqueur for more than 150 years, the Dutch East India Company created orange liqueurs by steeping orange peels in alcohol from the island of Curaçao and called it Curaçao liquor, and unlike Triple Sec, the Dutch added spices and herbs to the orange and Curaçao comes in a variety of colours such as clear, orange or blue. Blue Curaçao being the most used of them, in cocktails. Triple Sec is made from neutral spirits and the Orange peel used is harvested from oranges that have the skin still green, so that the essential oils are still in the skin and has not been absorbed into the flesh. This gives Triple Sec the intense flavour.

Bitters

Alcoholic spirits infused with botanicals such as herbs, roots, fruits and leaves, are called Bitters.
Bitters consist of water and alcohol which has been steeped with various herbs, fruits, leaves etc. Bitters are not to be drank neat or even as the base spirit of a cocktail, these are usually concentrated alcoholic concoctions and just a dash or a few drops are all we need to add that taste to a cocktail.
There are exceptions and some bitters like the Italian Amari is consumed without mixing in a cocktail. It has a bitter sweet taste and alcohol content is somewhere between 16%-40%. Generally in Europe its being consumed as an after dinner digestif.

Grenadine

Grenadine is a common non-alcoholic pomegranate syrup with a characteristic deep red colour. It is a very popular cocktail ingredient, used for its pomegranate flavour and more for its ability to add a reddish to pink tint to a cocktail.

The name Grenadine originates from the French for pomegranate, which is grenade.

Grenadine is not subjected to regulations like alcoholic beverages are, and there are no region specific formulae any more, and thus manufacturers often replace pomegranate with blackcurrant juice and other fruit juices while retaining the same flavour profile.

Many producers now use artificial ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, water, citric acid, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate and food grade red colour along with natural and artificial flavours.

Root Beer

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