Section

Spirits & Liqueurs

Gin, whisky, rum, agave and how each is made.

11 drinks
4min Spirits & Liqueurs · Picker What makes a liqueur a liqueur? The sugar rule, and a sweetness and strength checker In the EU, liqueur is a legal word: at least 15% alcohol and at least 100 grams of sugar per litre, a little less sweet than regular cola… 4 min 4min Spirits & Liqueurs · Picker Pot still or column still? Why the shape of the still decides how much flavour survives, with a still bench Cognac and vodka are both distilled, yet one tastes of fruit and oak and the other of almost nothing. A big reason is the still: a pot… 4 min 4min Spirits & Liqueurs · Picker Why is mezcal smoky and tequila isn't? How the agave is cooked, with a method picker Pour a mezcal next to a blanco tequila and one smells of campfire, the other of cooked fruit and pepper. Both come from agave, so where… 4 min 5min Spirits & Liqueurs · Picker What makes a gin a gin? Juniper, botanicals and the main styles, with a picker What makes a gin a gin? Only two things are fixed by law: it must taste mainly of juniper and it must be at least 37.5% ABV. Everything… 5 min 4min Spirits & Liqueurs · Picker Blanco, reposado or añejo? What the age on a tequila label means, with a clock you can drag Blanco, reposado, añejo and extra añejo are legal categories set by time in oak, not by colour. Drag a clock from zero to four years and… 4 min 5min Spirits & Liqueurs · Picker What does 40% mean on a vodka label? A pour calculator for strength, units and mixers Vodka is a spirit distilled until most of the flavour of its base, whether grain, potato or grape, is gone, then cut with water to a set… 5 min 5min Spirits & Liqueurs · Picker VS, VSOP or XO? What a cognac label really says, with a blend-age builder VS, VSOP and XO on a cognac label are age statements, and they are about the youngest spirit in the blend, not the average. A bottle can… 5 min 4min Spirits & Liqueurs · Picker Whisky or whiskey? What the label tells you about Scotch, bourbon, rye and Irish A whisky label is a short list of legal claims. Single malt, blended, bourbon, straight and an age statement each say something exact about… 4 min 3min Spirits & Liqueurs · Explainer White, gold or dark rum: what the colour tells you, and what it doesn't Clear means young and dark means old? Not in rum. Colour comes from time in wood, charcoal filtering, caramel and added sugar, and only the… 3 min 4min Spirits & Liqueurs · Explainer What London dry gin means: how the way gin is made sets its label "Gin", "distilled gin" and "London dry gin" are not quality grades. They are legal descriptions of how the bottle was made. Flip five… 4 min 3min Spirits & Liqueurs · Explainer Blanco, reposado, añejo: what time in an oak barrel does to tequila Tequila goes from clear to deep amber without any colouring, thanks to time in an oak barrel. Mexican law names the stages: blanco… 3 min