Smirnoff Vodka

Vodka is an European clear distilled alcoholic drink that has been one of the most popular drinks across the world .

You'll find it to be the most popular spirit in drink making because of it's neutral taste and absence of flavour and colour.

Vodka often replaces Gin in many traditional cocktails

Vodka is known to be good for the heart, and if consumed in moderation, can prove to be good for cardiovascular health

Note that these days there are flavoured Vodka available in the market too, and some cocktails do make use of them.

Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky

Scotch Whisky or simply Scotch is one of the most famous traditional whisky, the other being Irish Whiskey, Canadian Whisky, American Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey, Japanese Whisky and Australian Whisky.

Just like in Ireland ( Uisce Beatha ), the Scottish word for Whisky is a derivative of the Scottish Gaelic word Uisge Beatha, meaning the Water of Life.

Scotch Whiskey is a Geographically Identified Product and there are regulations that has to be met for a Whisky to be labeled a Scotch Whisky.

Traditionally Scotch Whisky is made from malted barley, but there had been deviation and variations too. A distinctive characteristic of a Scotch Whisky is drying of the malted barley over a peat fire, that attributes a smoky aroma to the Whisky. post distillation, maturation or aging is done in oak barrels previously used for bourbon whiskey, Sherry, Wine, Fortified Wine, Rum and other Spirits. This Aging process that spans years is the largest contributing factor that impact the flavour of the Whisky.

To be labeled a Scotch, a Whisky has to be pass several guidelines and production standards designed by the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009.

• 1. Comprises a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 40% (80 US proof)
• 2. Contains no added substances, other than water and plain (E150A) caramel colouring
• 3. Is produced at a distillery in Scotland from water and malted barley (to which only whole grains of other cereals may be added) all of which have been:
  • 3.1 Converted at that distillery to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems
  • 3.2 Distilled at an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 94.8% (190 US proof)
  • 3.3 Fermented at that distillery only by adding yeast
  • 3.4 Processed at that distillery into a mash
• 4. Is wholly matured in an excise warehouse in Scotland in oak casks of a capacity not exceeding 700 litres (185 US gal; 154 imp gal) for at least three years
• 5. Retains the colour, aroma, and taste of the raw materials used in, and the method of, its production and maturation

Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey 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)

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.

Midori Melon Liqueur

A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage made mostly from rectified neutral spirits flavoured with sugar, fruits, herbs and spices. Liqueurs are often served as aperitif or digestif or used as bitters, and some are ceremonial or have regional cultural significance.
Most liqueur recipes that date back to the medieval or early modern era tend to have secret recipes and legends following them trough centuries. Liqueurs mostly began in the laboratories of pharmacists as medicines or at homes as ways of preserving seasonal fruits, or were created by monks in their monasteries. and then took off as fragrant, flavourful liqueurs, either filtered to be clear or cloudy.
Liqueurs are created by infusing or macerating fruits and herbs in neutral grain spirit, brandy base like cognac, rum, vodka or even whisky and then filtering the infused alcohol to produce the unique sweet beverage.

Premium Lager

Lager is a beer that has been brewed at low temperatures using a technique knows as bottom fermenting in which the bottom fermenting type of yeast is added to the brew at a lower temperature and the yeast cells settle at the bottom of the fermenting liquid and it is a slower process than the top fermenting process used in brewing Ales.

The word Lager is a German word for "Storage" and it's origin is continental Europe while Ales are British in origin. Lager is light coloured and highly carbonated.

Jagermeister Herbal Liqueur

Jägermeister is a German digestif made with 56 herbs and spices. It was developed in 1934 by Wilhelm and Curt Mast. Mast-Jägermeister SE is a German liquor company owned by the Findel-Mast family,

Jägermeister is 70 US Proof ( 35% ABV )

Absinthe Herbal Liqueur

Absinthe is an anise flavoured spirit derived from several plants including grand wormwood. green anise and fennel ,along with other medicinal and culinary herbs. Absinthe is Swiss in origin, and was created in the late 18th Century, it rose to tremendous popularity in the late 19th and early 20th Century among Parisian artists and writers, and became associated with the Bohemian culture and notoriety.

Earnest Hemmingway, James Joyce, Charles Baudelaire, Toulouse-Lautrec, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, Lord Byron to name a few celebrated auteurs and thinkers who were Absinthe aficionados and it's needless to say their association took Absinthe to an unprecedented popularity and notoriety at the same time. It also has the reputation of being a psychoactive drug and hallucinogen, although these claims don't have any scientific evidence, resulting in Absinthe ban in USA and Europe for a long period.

Absinthes are of two types, distilled and cold mixed. Distilled Absinthe used a technique similar to Gin where the distillation removes the undesired herbal bitter influences while producing the clear spirit with the desired complexity and aroma retained in it.

Cold mixed Absinthe is produced using the inexpensive process of blending flavouring essencs and artificial colouring in commercial alcohol, just as flavoured Vodka is produced by infusion, it is this Cold Mixed Absinthe that can reach as high as 90% ABV. Beware that due to the lack of Absinthe regulations in many countries. producers falsify advertising claims like, referring to their product as "distilled".

Wild Turkey 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)