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)

Bitter

Angostura Bitters is a concentrated bitters based on gentian, herbs and spices, from the House of Angostura in Trinadad and Tobago. Note that the Angostura Bitters from the House of Angostura do not contain Angostura bark.
However, Angostura Bitters or Angobitter offered by other brands like Riemerschmid and Hemmeler, contain angostura bark, possibly to justify using the word "Angostura" in their names.

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.

Orange Bitters are traditionally the zest of Seville Oranges mixed with other spices such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, anise and burnt sugar in an alcohol base.
Note that Orange Bitters are not to be confused with Angostura Aromatic Bitters, although the House of Angostura produces an Orange Bitters brand too.

Fernet Branca Bitters is brand of Fernet ( Fernet is an Italian type of Amaro, a bitter aromatic spirit, made from herbs and spices like myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe and saffron ), formulated in Milan in 1845, and manufactured by Fratelli Branca, it is one of the best known Italian bitters.

Fernet Branca formulated by herbalist Bernardino Branca, in 1845, was originally formulated and marketed as a cure for Cholera and menstrual cramps. The product gained popularity and the Fratelli Branca Distillery was established and later in 1907, they began exporting it to Argentina where it gained immense popularity and in 1925, Fratelli Branca established a distillery in Argentina. In USA, it gained popularity during the prohibitions since it was sold at pharmacies as a Medicine.

The original recipe is still in use and is a trade secret. The Branca Distillery states on its web site that the drink contains "Rhubarb from China, Gentian from France, Galanga from India or from Sri Lanka, (and) Chamomile from Europe [or] Argentina",[16] as well as linden (tiliae flos), iris, saffron, zedoary, myrrh and cinchona. - Wikipedia

Becherovka is a Czech herbal bitters, often drunk as a digestif. It is produced in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic by the Jan Becher Company. It is made from a secret recipe of over twenty herbs and spices, and has a ginger and/or cinnamon flavour. It is a 38% ABV or 76 proof liqueur.
It was invented by spice trader, apothecarist and liquor maker Josef Vitus Becher of Karlovy Vary upon discussion with Prince Maximillian Friedrich von Plettenberg’s English physician, Dr. Christian Frobrig, as the “English Bitter” liqueur for the treatment of stomach diseases, in 1805.

Fee Brothers Peach Bitters are made from fresh peaches that give the bitters a tangy flavour and is pretty sweet for a bitters, a distinctive version of Cherry Bitters, this works well in classic Manhattan.

Peychaud’s Bitters is a gentian based bitters created in around 1830 by Antoine Amedee Peychaud, a Creole apothecary from the French Colony of modern day Haiti. It is comparable to Angostura bitters, but with a with a predominant Anise aroma with a background of mint. It is now a brand owned by the Sazarec Company.

Soda Water

Soda refers to carbonated water, sweetened, flavoured or plain, but there is a difference between Soda and plain Carbonated Water or Sparkling Water, which is known as Seltzer Water, while Seltzer Water is plain water carbonated to add fizz, Soda water contains potassium bicarbonate and potassium sulphate in the water, and according to research Seltzer Water is safer for teeth health and sparkling water provides true hydration and is better at it than regular soda or diet soda.

Sugar

Brown Sugar is a sucrose sugar with a distinctive brown colour from the presence of molasses, it is a partially refined or unrefined sugar containing sugar crystals and residual molasses giving it a distinctive taste and flavour of crystallised molasses or toffee. The taste of dark brown sugar is described as a caramel taste with a deep molasses flavour.
Brown sugar is used in cocktails where a caramel candy or toffee flavour is expected.

Caster Sugar is finely ground granulated sugar. It is not as fine a powdered confectioners' sugar and has a little grit to it. It is somewhere between confectioners' sugar and granulated sugar, and melts in mouth with a mild spicy feel to the tongue

Vanilla Sugar is the regular granulated sugar infused with vanilla flavour, by using vanilla pods and seeds to flavour the sugar. A home made alternative is to use vanilla sticks or pods in a jar of sugar and leave it sealed for 4 weeks to allow the vanilla flavour to infuse. Or to use granulated sugar and vanilla extract and blend in a mixer, although this ends up in powdered sugar.

Maraschino Cherry

Maraschino Cherries are preserved, sweetened cherry, typically light coloured cherries like Royal Ann, Rainier and Gold varieties are used. Maraschino Cherries are used in many cocktails and Tequila Sunrise and Queen Mary are too bright examples.
The name Maraschino originates from the marasca cherry of the Dalmatian region, Maraschino Liqueur is made from it, and the marasca cherries that were macerated to create the pre-distillation liquor, were pickled and preserved for use, the steeping in spirit helped in the preservation, and since the production of these cherries and their alcohol pickle was scarce, the Maraschino Cherry, as they were known in Croatia because of it's origin in the Maraschino Liqueur making process, became a delicacy of the royalty and the wealthy across Europe.
Due to scarcity of the Marasca Cherry the Maraschino pickled cherry soon no more just Marasca cherries, other cherries were preserved in the same method and were sold as "Maraschino Cherry".
In USA, in 1912, the USDA defined Maraschino Cherries as Marasca cherries preserved in Maraschino Liqueur, but since Prohibition from 1920, alcohol preserved cherries fell out of preference and regulations prevented cherries from being pickled in alcohol too, and different brining methods were invented that produced pickled cherries that were far from the Maraschino Cherry that they claimed to be.
Most modern versions of Maraschino Cherries have little or no alcohol, and since post prohibition, under the pressure from the non-alcoholic preserved cherry industry, the FDA redefined Maraschino Cherries as "cherries which have been dyed red, impregnated with sugar, and packed in a sugar syrup flavored with oil of bitter almonds or a similar flavor" since 1940.