5.4 ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES 121 Do you know what ingredients may be used? The word liqueur is derived from the Latin liquefacere, meaning to make liquid . Do you know how liqueurs are mainly consumed? LIQUORS, DISTILLED SPIRITS, LIQUEURS The terms liquor, distilled spirits and liqueurs are frequently used interchangeably, yet they are entirely distinct since they differ in processing, flavour and use. Processing procedures Brewing: this process typically referred to beer making consists in crushing the grains of malted barley, extracting starches to be converted into sugars and placing them into a fermentation vessel where yeast is added. Distilling: it begins with a nearly identical process to brewing, but it goes one step further. The liquid and yeast in the fermentation vessel is boiled to extract alcohol and the steam is condensed into a liquid with a far higher alcohol concentration. Unmalted corn, rye, wheat, or barley is used, depending on the type of drink being made. Fermentation: it is the biological process of distillation through which microorganisms like yeast and bacteria convert starch and sugar into carbon dioxide and ethanol. Alcoholic drinks Liquors. Any non-brewed alcohol is considered liquor. It is essentially an alcoholic distilled beverage containing ethanol. It is created via the fermentation of grain, fruit, or vegetables. They are sweeter than other drinks, owing to the flavour and sugar that are added into them. brewing: birrificazione charred: carbonizzato starch: amido yeast: lievito 248 Food processing Spirits. These strong alcoholic drinks are specific liquors created to have special flavours. They contain at least 20% alcohol by volume (ABV) and no added sugar: spirits are less sweet than liquors. The use of certain ingredients will determine the resulting type and flavour, which develops progressively as spirits ferment. Brandy, gin, tequila, rum, whisky and vodka are the most common spirits. Liqueurs . They are flavoured and sweetened distilled spirits, with 24% 60% ABV and 30° 50° alcoholic gradation. Examples are Amaretto, Bayley, Grand Marnier and Campari. Liqueurs are produced by combining a base spirit, usually brandy, with fruits, nuts, herbs, and spices, as well as coffee or chocolate, and are sweetened by adding a sugar syrup. A particular kind of liqueur is Bitter (in Italian Amaro), made by infusing alcohol with a variety of herbs and spices, and sometimes dried orange peel to get a bitter or bittersweet flavour. This is achieved through maceration or distillation, or a combination of the two. Sometimes this infusion is mixed with sugar syrup to balance out the bitterness. It is the mix of ingredients, as well as the times they are left to infuse and age, that give any particular amaro its unique flavour. Primarily served neat as afterdinner digestifs, they are also popular ingredients in many cocktails.