Expert: Paul Wagner - 3/11/2005

Question
Whats the difference between....
beer,wine,gin,tequila,whisky,scotch,bourbon,rum,brandy,toddy,martini and vodka?

Answer
Dear Sameer:  

Each of the drinks you have described is different, and I really suggest that you get a nice book on alcoholic beverages to understand the full story.  Basically, these beverages involve three steps:

1.  Fermentation--yeast converts sugar into alcohol, and that process forms the basis of all of these beverages.  Generally, yeast cannot live in an environment of more than about 15% alcohol, so when the alcohol level reaches that point, the yeast dies.  Beer is made from yeast fermenting the sugars in malted grain.  Wine is made from yeast fermentating the natural sugars of the grape.  

2.  Distillation--alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than water, so if you heat any liquid that contains alcohol to about 190 degrees F, the alcohol will evaporate and the water will not.  By condensing the steam from this process, you can create liquids with alcohol levels that reach nearly 100%.  Gin, Tequila, Scotch, Bourbon, Rum, Brandy and Vodka are all made this way.  Scotch and Bourbon are both made from the liquid that comes from fermented grain, Brandy from grapes, Vodka from potatoes, Rum from Sugar Cane, Tequila from Agave, etc. They are all then blended with water to reduce the alcohol level to about 50%.

3.  Finally, each of these drinks can be flavored or mixed.  Most distilled spirits are aged in barrels, which give an added flavor.  Gin is flavored with Juniper berries, Brandy, Scotch, and Bourbon with oak barrels.


A Martini is a mixed drink, which combines gin with Vermouth--which is a wine flavored with herbs.  A Toddy is a combination of Run, brown sugar, and hot water.  

And there are a million recipes for these combinations!

Paul Wagner