The next time you need to stop a friend from getting drunk at a party try this trick – tell them what their drink is made of. It serves two purposes – it will stop them from drinking (probably because they’ll want you to shut up and let them drink in peace) and it will make you look intelligent.
But either way, you’ll get your point across, that you know what the drink you’re holding in your hands is made of and you know what is it that is getting you intoxicated for the night and putting you in the party mood.
Vodka
Vodka is traditionally made from potatoes or sorghum fermented and/or cereal grains, bur basically anything that has high quantity of starch. It is one of the most loved and used alcoholic drink either neat or as cocktails like Martini, Cosmopolitan and Bloody Mary.
Whiskey
Generally made from fermented grain mash including barley, corn (maize), rye, and wheat, whiskey is fermented/aged in charred white oak wood, that gives it the distinctive taste. Whiskey can only be aged in the casks and once bottled, aging process is stopped. A good whiskey should and may contain upto 40% alcohol by volume.
Brandy
The making of brandy is similar to wine, except it is made from early grapes to achieve higher acidity. Brandy contains 35-60% alcohol by volume and is generalyy consumed as an after-dinner drink. Although brandy can be made from any fruit, traditional brandy is always made using grapes. Brandies unlike whiskeys are aged either in wooden barrels or through caramel coloring.
Rum
Rum, one of the most loved distilled beverage is made using sugarcane byproducts or sugarcane juice directly and is then distilled. The liquid obtained is then aged in barrels. It’s weird how sugarcane can taste like Old Monk, right?
Beer
Beer making requires 4 main ingredients – barley, water, hops and yeast. The sugars from the barley are extracted only to be converted to alcohol by the yeast. Although traditionally barley is used in making beer, other grains such as rye, maize, rice, and wheat have also been experimented with. And when it comes to experimentation with the flavours – the sky is the limit.