If you are studying for the WSET Spirits Exam, take a look.
Quick Take Aways for General Spirits
1) General Spirit Production & Techniques
Filtration: Some producers use activated charcoal filtration.
Flavoring & coloring (natural & added):
Maceration & distillation:
Macerated spirits → tincture.
Redistilled spirits → distillate.
Three redistillation approaches:
Short-time maceration then distill.
Botanicals in the lyne arm (botanical baskets) → lighter style.
Vacuum distillation (lower temp; protects delicate notes like cucumber; equipment is expensive).
Cold compounding: Blend flavorings into a base spirit for human consumption (e.g., some gins/liqueurs).
2) Whisky & Whiskey
Raw materials & mashing
Starch = chains of glucose.
Barley is malted; other grains are cooked, then mixed with malted barley.
Mashing: crush malt + hot water → unroll starch granules → enzymes convert starch to glucose → sweet liquid wort.
Scotch: bought-in enzymes not permitted.
Oak & maturation
New oak = more color & flavor than old oak.
Oak contributes vanilla, coconut, sweet spice.
Casks at the top of warehouses tend to give more color/flavor.
USA
Bourbon: ≥51% corn (sweet corn notes). Rye adds spicy/rye-bread; wheat adds dough/bread. Max distillation 80% ABV. No sugar/caramel permitted (esp. Straight Bourbon).
Tennessee whiskey: maple wood charcoal filtration (Lincoln County Process).
Rye whiskey: ≥51% rye; spicy, lemon-zest, rye bread.
Bottle in Bond: One distillery, one season/year; ≥4 years in wood; only water may be added (applies beyond whiskey to other spirits too).
“Spirits with pronounced aroma intensity can be made in column stills.”
Fermentation can yield banana & citrus aromas.
Canada
Grains fermented individually; blending often combines high-strength/low-intensity corn whisky with low-strength/high-intensity (commonly rye) whisky.
Aged in wooden barrels (no specific wood type required; oak not mandatory).
Up to 9.09% of the bottle can be other aged spirits or fortified wine (min. 2 years) in the blend.
Hiram Walker distillery: ~180,000 L/day capacity (note).
19 grain stills (note).
Sour mash: back-stillage added to fermenter.
Nitrogen may be added to boost fermentation; tank ABV can reach ~17% (note).
Angel’s share ~3% (note).
Scotland
Caramel coloring allowed (sugar not allowed).
Tall stills → more reflux in swan neck → lighter spirit.
Short stills → less reflux in neck/more in condenser → heavier, more pronounced aromas.
Ireland
Unmalted barley in mash → nutty, oily character (pot still whiskey tradition).
Japan
No spirit trade between distilleries; producers develop wide internal style diversity.
3) Rum
Materials & fermentation
From sugarcane juice, syrup, or molasses.
Molasses: caramel & brown sugar aromas; blackstrap common in the Caribbean.
Molasses/syrup diluted with water before fermentation.
Some distillers drive very fruity aromas in fermentation.
Jamaica: high-ester rums (fruity), often ambient yeast.
Distillation, marks & aging
Light marks: can be distilled to ~90% ABV (high strength).
Heavy marks: usually pot still, lower strength.
Both light & heavy marks can be matured in oak; re-used barrels common.
Aged in Europe = continental aging.
Rums are often blended across marks, distilleries, even countries.
Common practices & categories
Short-aged then charcoal-filtered to remove color.
Caramel color widely used.
Sweetening before bottling is common (Jamaica: sugar addition allowed).
Categories: white – gold – amber/dark. (Note: “white” may include aged-then-filtered rums.)
Regions & styles
Martinique / Rhum Agricole: cane juice; column-distilled; grassy/herbaceous.
Rhum blanc: colorless, aged in inert vessels, dry.
Rhum vieux: ≥3 years; made from cane juice (not molasses).
Cachaça (Brazil): cane juice; mostly unaged; vegetal/grassy/fruity; low strength; slightly sweetened; wood-aged examples use local hardwoods (not oak).
Puerto Rico: light/delicate molasses caramel notes; color often removed by filtration.
Jamaica: complex, pronounced molasses; dry, warming, oily; high esters from fermentation; pot & columnblends common; overproof (e.g., 57.15% ABV = 100 proof old British).
Labeling: “Rum from Jamaica”/“Jamaican rum” can be sweetened if aged/bottled elsewhere; “Jamaican Rum” must be aged & bottled in Jamaica.
Cuba & Puerto Rico: molasses; column stills to high strength; must be oak-aged; dry/light to medium with toffee/fruit from molasses/fermentation.
Barbados: birthplace of rum; pot + column blends; molasses; dry & rich; colored aged rums common.
Guyana: one active distillery; historic stills from closed sites; pot & column; molasses; single-mark bottlingsexist.
Spiced rums: oak-aged base + macerated natural flavors (vanilla, cinnamon, etc.); caramel & sugar optional.
4) Agave Spirits (Tequila & Mezcal)
Plant & precursors
Agave lifespan 15–20 years; stores carbs as fructans (highest before flowering).
Herbaceous agave aromas: bell pepper, vegetable, olive, black pepper.
Cooking, extraction & fermentation
Heat converts fructans → fermentable sugars and develops flavors in the piña.
Cooking: steam in brick ovens (traditional) or autoclaves (modern).
Diffuser: controversial; not used by producers seeking maximal agave flavor.
Formulation = preparing the sweet liquid for fermentation.
Agave fibers & ambient yeast often used in mezcal fermentation.
Distillation & aging
Distilled often <60% ABV for complexity.
Aged in inert vessels or short time in oak, depending on style.
Tequila
Producers can add non-agave sugars; final spirit must be ≥51% agave sugars.
Five regions; most known: Jalisco.
Highlands (Jalisco): fruitier than Tequila Valley.
Aging terms:
Blanco/Plata/Joven/Oro: no minimum aging.
Reposado: 2 months.
Añejo: 1 year.
Extra Añejo: 3 years.
Gold Tequila: abocante caramel color allowed only in Tequila (adds textural smoothness).
Autoclave: stainless-steel pressure vessel for cooking agave.
“Mixto” is not a labeling term (note).
Mezcal
Produced in 9 Mexican states (most important: Oaxaca).
Any agave species (most common: Espadín).
In Oaxaca, agaves are commonly roasted.
Usually unaged; stored in inert vessels pre-bottling.
Flavor: earthy, smoky, vegetal.
Tahona stones common for milling.
Categories:
Mezcal: any cooking method; milling by hand/tahona/other; column stills permitted.
Artesanal: pit or brick-oven roast; hand/tahona milling; direct-heated copper/wood/clay pot stills.
Ancestral: pit roast; hand/tahona; direct-heated clay/wood stills only.
Aging terms: blanco (unaged), reposado (2 months), añejo (1 year).
5) Fruit Spirits & Brandies
Pathways
Fermented fruit → distilled (most common).
Maceration + redistillation where juice yield is low (e.g., some berries; also used for high-quality flavored vodkas).
Pot and column stills both used.
Grapes & apples
Any grapes can be used; white grapes more common than black.
Most spirits from grapes & apples are matured.
Cognac (France)
Grapes: predominately Ugni Blanc (high acid, low aroma → concentrates on distillation).
Double pot distillation in copper; often direct-fired; worm-tub condensers noted.
Maturation: ≥2 years; often new → older barrels.
Very old cognacs kept in demijohns.
Caramel & sugar commonly used (slight sweetening → off-dry).
Armagnac (France)
Grapes: Ugni Blanc, Baco Blanc (prunes), Folle Blanche (floral).
Short column stills → lower-strength spirit.
Vintage-dated expressions common (grapes from the same year).
Blanche Armagnac: 3 months in stainless steel.
Regions: Bas Armagnac & Armagnac Ténarèze.
Calvados (Normandy)
Mostly apples (not pears).
Pot & column stills; matured in large old oak.
Distinct cider-apple aroma.
Grappa (Italy)
From pomace; many styles unaged; some matured.
Moscato (Muscat) often used; some rest ≥1 year in inert vessels.
Pisco (Peru & Chile)
Highly aromatic grapes; pot-distilled.
Peru: must be unaged.
Chile: may be wood-aged a few months.
Profile: colorless, pure, pronounced fruity & floral.
6) Gin, Vodka, Absinthe, Bitters, Liqueurs
Gin
Botanicals: juniper, coriander seed, citrus peel, angelica root, orris root.
EU: must use neutral spirit. USA: any distilled spirit base.
If oak-aged, color tends to pale lemon.
Vapor infusion (botanicals in lyne arm/Carterhead style; e.g., Bombay Sapphire).
Vacuum distillation helps capture heat-sensitive botanicals.
Heads & tails: gin distilleries usually do not recycle them.
Styles: juniper-forward & contemporary (less juniper).
Old Tom: sweetened (sugar or liquorice historically as flavoring).
Vodka (flavored)
Traditional: maceration with honey, fruits, spices (e.g., bison grass herb).
Modern: wide flavor range (vanilla, fruits, peppers, chili).
Absinthe vs Pastis
Absinthe: bottled high; diluted with water to no greater than wine-like ABV; not sweetened; wormwood required.
Pastis: sweetened; must use liquorice.
Bitter Spirits (Amaro) & Cocktail Bitters
Maceration is the method to extract bitterness.
Botanicals often include quinine, gentian, bitter orange, artichoke.
Bitterness is perceived on the palate (taste, not aroma).
Sugar and natural/artificial colors used.
Consumed pre-meal (aperitif) or post-meal (digestif).
Cocktail bitters: highly concentrated, high-strength bitter spirits.
Liqueurs
Sweetened flavored spirits; most use neutral spirit bases, but some use aged bases (e.g., Grand Marnier = Cognac; Drambuie = Scotch).
Cream liqueurs are among the few truly opaque alcoholic drinks.
ABV reference notes: ~40% USA, ~37.5% EU (per notes).
7) Aromatized & Fortified Wines
Vermouth: aromatized wine that must use wormwood (most are sweetened).
Quinquina (FR) / Chinato (IT): flavored with quinine.
Americano: flavored with wormwood & gentian (yellow/red appearance; color may come from added color or red base wine).
Bitterness components can include wormwood, quinine, gentian, bitter orange, artichoke.
Sugar balances bitterness.
Mistelle: adding spirit to grape juice before fermentation to halt yeast (retains grape sugar). Sugar can also be added to dry base wine.
Fortification: distilled alcohol to ~14.5–22% ABV.
Most aromatized wines are sweetened.
Red vermouth is often made from white wine + caramel color (not red wine).
Cocktail role: add sweetness, bitterness, acidity.
Port wine (notes):
During fermentation, grape spirit or brandy/cognac is added (fortification).
Serve port chilled.
Sweet wines served chilled (note).
8) Cocktails
Short drinks
Limited ingredients; rely on dilution via shaking/stirring to balance stronger components.
Spirit-forward: Old Fashioned, Sazerac, Manhattan, Martini, Negroni.
Short Sours: Pisco Sour, Whiskey Sour, Daiquiri, Sidecar, Margarita, Clover Club.
Texture: egg white or aquafaba (chickpea water).
Long drinks
Built longer with soda/tonic/NA mixers as weak components.
Highball family: Cuba Libre; Gin & Tonic; Vodka Tonic; Greyhound (vodka + grapefruit); Horse’s Neck (cognac + ginger ale + bitters); Americano (Campari + sweet vermouth + soda).
Long Sours: Tom Collins; Paloma; French 75; Mojito; Singapore Sling.
9) Service & Event Planning (from your notes)
40 people planning notes:
“1 bottle” (context note).
Absolut Smoky Piña: 35 people.
Jameson Black Barrel: 35 people.
Tasting: 2 bottles each per SKU.
Serves: Absolut Smoky Piña + tonic (2 bottles each). Jameson + ginger ale (qty per plan).
Yield: single-shot pour → ~25 cocktails per bottle → ~50 cocktails per brand (if 2 bottles).
Total target: 100 cocktails for 35 people.
Stock example: 4 bottles Absolut Smoky, 4 bottles Jameson Black Barrel.
10) Extra Info (kept intact, for reference / to verify / use in decks)
Highland Park: Orkney Islands.
Paul John & Amrut (India): research prompt.
Bimber Distillery: research prompt.
Laphroaig: anecdote—King Charles likes it; “lands by private plane” (story note).
Pagoda roofs: note says “designed by a Dutch architect from Amsterdam” (keep as a verify-later note).
Presentation tips:
Add a video from Instagram.
Include old/new ad campaigns and latest innovations.
Japan: Yamazaki founded 1923.
Pop culture: Lost in Translation scene—Suntory Hibiki 17 sip; early moment for Japanese whisky popularity.
Ownership note: “Bowmore – Auchentoshan bought by Beam Suntory.”
Tormore Distillery: “Speyside’s jewel; used to be ours, then sold.”
USA categories: “36+ categories in America” (note).
Cuban & Puerto Rican rums are similar (molasses, column, oak-aged, dry/light to medium).
Rhum/Jamaica labeling nuance (see Rum section).
Gin: Bombay Sapphire uses Carterhead/vapor infusion; vacuum distillation helps with fragile botanicals; heads/tails not recycled.
Aromatized wines: “Vermouth must be sweetened with wormwood”
