On this blog, I frequently dive into more complex spirits and cocktails, but I want to take a second and answer a basic question: Where does liquor come from anyway?

Well, to answer this question, first we have to address where alcohol comes from. Beer and wine are made when tiny organisms called yeasts come into contact with sugars and, through a process called fermentation, the yeasts break those sugars down into alcohol. In ancient times, before modern sterilization and refrigeration, fermentation was humanity’s best defense against bacteria. I know this is a ridiculous oversimplification of fermentation, but basically, grapes have the potential to become wine, and grains have the potential to become beer. You can do this with pretty much anything containing sugar. For example:
Vodka starts out life as a fermented liquid composed mostly of potatoes.
Bourbon starts out life as a fermented liquid composed of corn and other grains.
Tequila starts out life as a fermented liquid composed of agave.
Rum starts out life as a fermented liquid composed of molasses.
Seeing the pattern?
Sugars + Yeast = raw materials for liquor. Now it’s time for distillation.

Distillation is the chemical process of taking that fermented liquid and running it through a still to separate the water and the alcohol. Because alcohol has a lower boiling point than water, applying heat to beer or wine causes the alcohol to evaporate first, and when you collect and condense the resulting alcohol vapor, you have what we call a “neutral spirit” (which you can then bottle or flavor or dilute or age or do whatever with). All spirits are created through this process (fermented liquid + heat – water = spirits), but not all stills are created equal.

The earliest stills were called “pot stills” and involved a simple boiling apparatus still in use for many spirits today (most notably Scotch). In the past two centuries, however, a newer technology called the “continuous still” or “column still” has made it possible to carry out multiple successive distillations in one apparatus, resulting in more concentrated but less expensive alcohol. Regardless of the type of still, distillation is a long process with the concentration of alcohol lessening as time goes on. The sharp, high alcohol spirit collected at the beginning of the process is called the “heads,” while the weak, low alcohol stuff at the end is called the “tails.” The best spirit is what comes in the middle, and this is what’s ultimately bottled and sold.

Now, there’s also the option of aging the spirit, which involves taking that neutral spirit and storing it in a cask (usually oak) for a period of months or years. Over time, the spirit takes on more and more of the atmosphere around it, leading to darker colors and more complex tastes. As discussed last week, flavors may be added at any point in the process.

And that’s where liquor comes from. Obviously, this article paints with a broad brush, but all commercially available spirits follow these core processes: fermentation, then distillation. I’m sure I’ll go more in depth in future articles, but for now, these are the basics you need to know.