Roots of the evil

On one of Christmas parties I encountered a Christmas tree decorated with tiny bottles of whiskey, rum, vodka, tequila, cognac and all that cute stuff that stewardess sells you during the flight.

Obviously, alcohol does not grow on the trees. Although, it is made from wood for technical use.

Let's see from what the alcohol is sourced as beverage.

Although the table above sums the entire topic, some elaboration might be insightful.

For example, beer is the oldest known alcoholic beverage. It was not always made with water, barley, yeast and hops. Different types of grain were used in different civilizations and ages. The humankind also experimented widely with added to the beer herbs. The reason for herbs was, and is, to mask unpleasant oily nose and tongue. Sometimes it was good ideas, like coriander seeds. And other times it was bad ideas like belladonna leaves. Germany was the first country which "standartized" the beer components.

The processing of grain and type of yeast influences the tast of the final product for booth beers and whiskeys. Recently "white" unaged whiskey is gaining more popularity.

Cachaca and Tequila are used often in cocktails. Yes, other strong spirits are used too. Just these two have too distinct organoleptics which degrades their ranking as self-contained beverage. Sometimes, Tequila is sold a little aged and colored.

Technically speaking, Grappa is made (at least in Italy) from skins, pulp, seeds, and stems left over after the young wine is drained out. In other countries grappa is often made from wine.

Aged grappa becomes either Cognac (if made in Cognac province in France) or brandy. The principal difference between cognac and brandy, beside the origine location, is the age of maturation (lower for brandy), type of wood (less restricted for brandy) and sugar + color additives (allowed in brandy, not in cognac). So cognacs have pretty well defined scent and tast with difference of mellowness only. Brandies, on contrary, often have "caramel" notes due to burnt sugar coloring and wide variety of tastes.

There is almost endless list of low-alcohol grade beverages made from different fruits.

The intermediate liquids in quotes "Wash" and "Braga" are not intended to be consumed as beverage. They are just a step ahead of final product.

Although the main "value" of vodka is in abscence of any specific taste - it's pure alcohol dilutes with water - there is an industrial tendency to add fruity flavours to it.

Any type of beverage has its own history, gained many anecdotes, and deserves its own article.

All these drinks represent a human nature to explore the world even by self-destruction. There is no sense to "fight" with human nature, however, it makes sense to manage the risks. Enjoy responsibly!