What whiskey, absinthe, cognac and other strong alcoholic beverages are made of

Many people know that beer is a mixture of water, hops, yeast and barley malt. Sometimes various flavorings are added to them, which may vary depending on the type of beer, but the basic recipe remains the same. But the composition of whiskey, tequila or, for example, cognac is not known to everyone. Therefore, we propose to figure out what we occasionally (or not so much) have to drink. And what if these drinks can be prepared by yourself at all?

Authentic cognac is produced in France, using only certain grape varieties, mainly Trebbiano or Folle Blanche. The technology of cognac production, as well as the word "cognac" itself, are regulated and strictly protected. Therefore, we can say that this type of alcohol is exclusively a French drink.

What is called cognac in our country is a kind of brandy. Such a drink is a product of distilling grape wine or fruit braga.

This drink, which is often compared to cognac, is made from different types of grain, most often barley, rye or wheat. Fermentation, malting and distillation processes are used in production. But one of the key points is the aging of the drink in oak barrels. For example, some whiskey varieties are aged in wine barrels so that the alcohol acquires a characteristic shade of taste. There are also varieties of mixed aging: whiskey is aged in two different barrels, and then mixed, or first stored in one barrel, and for the last three years — poured into another.

However, there are two main types of whiskey: Irish and Scottish. The latter is distinguished by the fact that malt is dried for its preparation using peat as fuel — so the drink acquires a special, smoky taste. Malt for Irish whiskey is simply dried in ovens, so this whiskey turns out to be softer.

If you can try to make whiskey at home, then there will be difficulties with tequila. At least because it is made from the juice of blue agave and strictly on the territory of 5 Mexican states. High-quality tequila contains about 50% alcohol obtained from this exotic plant, everything else is alcohol extracted from other raw materials, for example, sugar cane or corn. To make tequila from blue agave, it must go through all the stages of preparation from grinding and baking to fermentation and distillation.

There is also a similar drink called "mezcal". The difference from tequila is that mezcal can be made from different types of agaves and on the territory of 9 states. A real, high-quality tequila should consist of 100% blue agave. Usually on the bottle and indicate: "100% blue agava" or "100% agava".

The alcohol content in absinthe is at least 70%, which makes it one of the strongest alcoholic beverages in the world. However, the main ingredient of the "green snake" is an extract of bitter wormwood. The essential oils of this plant contain a large amount of thujone, a substance with a strong hallucinogenic effect.

It is because of him that absinthe is banned in many countries. Although a modern drink is prepared in such a way that only minor traces of this toxic component remain in it.

Sambuca is a transparent (rarely red or other colors) sweet liquid with a specific "medical" aroma. The drink is made from extracts of berries, sugar, elderberry flowers and various types of anise. In general, it would be a good medicinal tincture, if not for the alcohol in the composition (38-42%).

It is noteworthy that there are about ten different ways of drinking this drink. The most common are: traditional Italian, when sambuca is served with several coffee beans, and more modern - when the liquor is set on fire and alcoholic vapors are inhaled through a straw.

Maotai is a strong alcoholic drink originally from China, which is named after the town of the same name in Guizhou province. It is here that it is produced by Kweichow Moutai. The drink first appeared in China at the beginning of the 18th century. At first, they still did it exclusively "for their own", and then they began to sell abroad. And under Mao Zedong, this unique vodka was necessarily served at all official receptions.

Maotai is made from sorghum, a cereal plant that is widely distributed in China. Sometimes wheat is added to it. Then all this goes through the process of fermentation, distillation and aging for at least 3 years. The strength of the finished alcohol is 35-53%.

A strong drink from a neighboring Asian country is called "nihonshu", but it is better known to us as sake. A traditional Japanese drink is prepared by fermenting a rice-based wort and steamed rice malt. Sake is often called "rice vodka", but this is fundamentally wrong. The fact is that ordinary distillation is used for the production of vodka, sake is prepared by pasteurization.

It is also common to mention sake as a "rice wine", but this is also wrong! The technology of wine preparation includes fermentation, mold fermentation is used to create sake. All this makes it a completely unique drink, which is difficult to attribute to any group of alcohol.

Arak is an alcoholic drink common in the East and Central Asia. There is no single recipe for arak, because it is prepared differently in different regions. Even the main components of the drink may differ: somewhere it is mare's milk, somewhere it is grapes, in some places dates and palm juice are even used as raw materials. But in almost all cases, the drink is flavored with anise essential oil, which, when mixed with water or ice, gives it a characteristic milky hue.

The popularity of arak in warm countries is due to the fact that it does not heat up well in the cold and is very easy to drink in the heat.