Liquor

Liquor may be consumed on its own (i.e. "neat"), typically in amounts of around 50 millilitres (1.7 US fluid ounces) per served drink; or frequently mixed with other ingredients to form a cocktail.

In an undiluted form, distilled beverages are often slightly sweet and bitter and typically impart a burning mouthfeel with an odor derived from the alcohol and the production and aging processes; the exact flavor varies between different varieties of liquor and the different impurities they impart.

Consistent consumption of liquor over time correlates with higher mortality and other harmful health effects, even when compared to other alcoholic beverages.

Liquor bottled with added sugar and flavorings, such as Grand Marnier, amaretto, and American schnapps, are known instead as liqueurs.

Distillation was known in the ancient Indian subcontinent, evident from baked clay retorts and receivers found at Taxila and Charsadda in Pakistan and Rang Mahal in India dating to the early centuries of the Common Era.

[20] These "Gandhara stills" were capable of producing only very weak liquor, as there was no efficient means of collecting the vapors at low heat.

[24] This did not immediately lead to the isolation of alcohol, however, despite the development of more advanced distillation techniques in second- and third-century Roman Egypt.

[27] In the twelfth century, recipes for the production of aqua ardens ("burning water", i.e., alcohol) by distilling wine with salt started to appear in a number of Latin works, and by the end of the thirteenth century, it had become a widely known substance among Western European chemists.

[29] In China, archaeological evidence indicates that the true distillation of alcohol began during the 12th century Jin or Southern Song dynasties.

[23] In India, the true distillation of alcohol was introduced from the Middle East and was in wide use in the Delhi Sultanate by the 14th century.

[32] It is legal to distill beverage alcohol as a hobby for personal use in some countries, including New Zealand[33] and the Netherlands.

[citation needed] Some countries and sub-national jurisdictions limit or prohibit the sale of certain high-percentage alcohol, commonly known as neutral spirit.

[42] The short-term effects of alcohol consumption range from a decrease in anxiety and motor skills and euphoria at lower doses to intoxication (drunkenness), to stupor, unconsciousness, anterograde amnesia (memory "blackouts"), and central nervous system depression at higher doses.

[43] The risk is greater in younger people due to binge drinking, which may result in violence or accidents.

[44] Unlike wine and perhaps beer, there is no evidence for a J-shaped health effect for the consumption of distilled alcohol.

[47] A survey of high school students in Alstahaug, Nordland county, revealed that adolescents consume alcohol at rates above the national average, with home-made liquor being prevalent and easily accessible, highlighting an urgent need for preventive measures.

An old whiskey still
A display of various liquors in a supermarket
Some single-drink liquor bottles available in Germany
Viru Valge , an Estonian vodka
Distillation equipment used by the 3rd century alchemist Zosimos of Panopolis , [ 13 ] [ 14 ] from the Byzantine Greek manuscript Parisinus graecus 2327. [ 15 ]
An illustration of brewing and distilling industry methods in England, 1858
These flaming cocktails illustrate that some liquors will readily catch fire and burn.
A row of alcoholic beverages – in this case, spirits – in a bar
European countries grouped by preferred type of alcoholic drink, based on recorded alcohol consumption per capita (age 15+) (in liters of pure alcohol) in 2016
Map of Europe with individual countries grouped by preferred type of alcoholic drink, based on recorded alcohol consumption per capita (age 15+) (in liters of pure alcohol) in 2016. [ 40 ]
Wine
Beer
Spirits
Abandoned 19th-century vodka distillery in Estonia