44-474: Cachaça ( Portuguese pronunciation: [kaˈʃasɐ] ) is a distilled spirit made from fermented sugarcane juice. Also known as pinga , caninha , and other names, it is the most popular spirit among distilled alcoholic beverages in Brazil. Outside Brazil, cachaça is used almost exclusively as an ingredient in tropical drinks, with the caipirinha being the most famous cocktail. In Brazil, caipirinha
88-583: A concentration over 50%. Beer and wine , which are not distilled, typically have a maximum alcohol content of about 15% ABV, as most yeasts cannot metabolize when the concentration of alcohol is above this level; as a consequence, fermentation ceases at that point. The origin of liquor and its close relative liquid is the Latin verb liquere , meaning 'to be fluid'. According to the Oxford English Dictionary ( OED ), an early use of
132-405: A given year in a country. In Europe, spirits (especially vodka) are more popular in the north and east of the continent. Distilled spirits contain ethyl alcohol , the same chemical that is present in beer and wine , and as such, spirit consumption has short-term psychological and physiological effects on the user. Different concentrations of alcohol in the human body have different effects on
176-614: A longer period, incidentally increasing the evaporation of ethanol. The word tafia is possibly an alteration of ratafia via aphesis . Whereas guildive , a word of the West Indies , is a corruption from the English kill-devil (presumably through a spoken pronunciation, kill-div'l ) and is one of various names of tafia in 1799 by Nemnich Universal European Dictionary of Merchandise ; also, Dutch: keel duivel , Danish: geldyvel , French: gueldive . Guildive or "inferior rum"
220-409: A number of Latin works, and by the end of the thirteenth century, it had become a widely known substance among Western European chemists. Its medicinal properties were studied by Arnald of Villanova (1240–1311 CE) and John of Rupescissa (c. 1310–1366), the latter of whom regarded it as a life-preserving substance able to prevent all diseases (the aqua vitae or "water of life", also called by John
264-531: A person. The effects of alcohol depend on the amount an individual has drunk, the percentage of alcohol in the spirits and the timespan over which the consumption took place. 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. Cell membranes are highly permeable to alcohol , so once it
308-460: A smoother blend. It is often used as an ingredient in caipirinha and other mixed beverages. Dark cachaça , usually seen as the "premium" variety, is aged in wood barrels and is meant to be drunk neat. It is usually aged for up to 3 years, though some ultra-premium cachaças have been aged for up to 15 years. Its flavour is influenced by the type of wood the barrel is made from. There are very important regions in Brazil where fine pot still cachaça
352-518: A trend in the United States following the microbrewing and craft beer movement in the last decades of the 20th century. Liquor that contains 40% ABV (80 US proof ) will catch fire if heated to about 26 °C (79 °F) and if an ignition source is applied to it. This temperature is called its flash point . The flash point of pure alcohol is 16.6 °C (61.9 °F), less than average room temperature. The flammability of liquor
396-452: Is a word that was introduced into the dictionnaire de l'Académie française in 1762. The history of rum and tafia dates back to the 17th century. Both originated on vast sugar plantations in Haiti . In the colonial era, the rum trade became very lucrative and rum production was a major source of the demand for slaves , who were needed to produce sugar cane. In 18th century Louisiana, sugar
440-421: Is also prohibited in some local jurisdictions). Some countries and sub-national jurisdictions limit or prohibit the sale of certain high-percentage alcohol, commonly known as neutral spirit . Due to its flammability (see below) alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content above 70% by volume are not permitted to be transported in aircraft. Microdistilling (also known as craft distilling) began to re-emerge as
484-409: Is an alcoholic beverage that has been produced: Spirit drinks must contain at least 15% ABV (except in the case of egg liqueur such as Advocaat , which must contain a minimum of 14% ABV). Regulation makes a difference between "ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin" and a "distillate of agricultural origin". Distillate of agricultural origin is defined as an alcoholic liquid that is the result of
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#1732775784614528-411: Is applied in the cooking technique flambé . The flash points of alcohol concentrations from 10% to 96% by weight are: Liquor can be served: The World Health Organization (WHO) measures and publishes alcohol consumption patterns in different countries. The WHO measures alcohol consumed by persons 15 years of age or older and reports it on the basis of liters of pure alcohol consumed per capita in
572-602: Is in the bloodstream, it can diffuse into nearly every cell in the body. Alcohol can greatly exacerbate sleep problems. During abstinence , residual disruptions in sleep regularity and sleep patterns are the greatest predictors of relapse . Drinking more than 1–2 drinks a day increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure , atrial fibrillation , and stroke . The risk is greater in younger people due to binge drinking , which may result in violence or accidents. About 3.3 million deaths (5.9% of all deaths) are due to alcohol each year. Unlike wine and perhaps beer, there
616-462: Is no evidence for a J-shaped health effect for the consumption of distilled alcohol. Long-term use can lead to an alcohol use disorder , an increased risk of developing physical dependence . cardiovascular disease and several types of cancer . Alcoholism , also known as "alcohol use disorder", is a broad term for any drinking of alcohol that results in problems. Alcoholism reduces a person's life expectancy by around ten years and alcohol use
660-531: Is often paired with the dish feijoada . Sugar production was mostly switched from the Madeira islands to Brazil by the Portuguese in the 16th century. In Madeira, aguardente de cana is made by distilling sugar cane juice into liquor, and the pot stills from Madeira were brought to Brazil to make what today is also called cachaça . The process dates from 1532 when one of the Portuguese colonists brought
704-776: Is produced, such as Salinas in Minas Gerais state, Chã Grande in Pernambuco state, Paraty in Rio de Janeiro state, Monte Alegre do Sul in São Paulo, Luiz Alves in Santa Catarina state and Abaíra in Bahia state. Nowadays, producers of cachaça can be found in most Brazilian regions, and in 2011, there were over 40,000 of them. Cachaça is produced in copper stills. Levels of copper in homemade cachaças can exceed
748-514: Is recognized as a type of rum and distinctive Brazilian product, after an agreement was signed in 2013 with Brazil in which it will drop the usage of the term "Brazilian rum". Liquor Liquor ( / ˈ l ɪ k ər / LIK -ər ) or distilled beverages are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains , fruits , vegetables , or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation . Other terms for liquor include spirit , spirituous liquor or hard liquor . While
792-471: Is that rum is usually made from molasses , a by-product after a refinery boils the cane juice to extract as much sugar crystal as possible, while cachaça is made from fresh sugarcane juice, fermented and distilled. Some rums, in particular, the rhum agricole of the French Caribbean , are also made by the latter process. Cachaça is also known as Brazilian rum . In the United States, cachaça
836-483: Is the third-leading cause of early death in the United States. Consumption of alcohol in any quantity can cause cancer . Alcohol causes breast cancer , colorectal cancer , esophageal cancer , liver cancer , and head-and-neck cancers . The more alcohol is consumed, the higher the cancer risk. A survey of high school students in Alstahaug, Nordland county, revealed that adolescents consume alcohol at rates above
880-411: Is typically consumed for the psychoactive effects of alcohol. 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
924-594: The quintessence of wine). In China, archaeological evidence indicates that the true distillation of alcohol began during the 12th century Jin or Southern Song dynasties. A still has been found at an archaeological site in Qinglong, Hebei , dating to the 12th century. In India, the true distillation of alcohol was introduced from the Middle East and was in wide use in the Delhi Sultanate by
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#1732775784614968-590: The Jin (12th–13th centuries) and Southern Song (10th–13th centuries) dynasties according to archaeological evidence. Freeze distillation involves freezing the alcoholic beverage and then removing the ice. The freezing technique had limitations in geography and implementation limiting how widely this method was put to use. The flammable nature of the exhalations of wine was already known to ancient natural philosophers such as Aristotle (384–322 BCE), Theophrastus ( c. 371 – c. 287 BCE ), and Pliny
1012-574: The 14th century. The works of Taddeo Alderotti (1223–1296) describe a method for concentrating alcohol involving repeated fractional distillation through a water-cooled still, by which an alcohol purity of 90% could be obtained. In 1437, "burned water" ( brandy ) was mentioned in the records of the County of Katzenelnbogen in Germany. It is legal to distill beverage alcohol as a hobby for personal use in some countries, including New Zealand and
1056-567: The 1st century. Distilled water was described in the 2nd century AD by Alexander of Aphrodisias . Alchemists in Roman Egypt were using a distillation alembic or still device in the 3rd century. 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
1100-464: The Elder (23/24–79 CE). 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 . An important recognition, first found in one of the writings attributed to Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (ninth century CE), was that by adding salt to boiling wine, which increases the wine's relative volatility ,
1144-606: The European distillate grappa . There are more than two thousand words to refer to the Brazilian national distillate. Some of these nicknames are: abre-coração (heart-opener), água-benta (holy water), bafo-de-tigre (tiger breath), and limpa-olho (eye-wash). In the beginning of the 17th century, the producers of sugar from various European colonies in the Americas used the by-products of sugar, molasses , and scummings as
1188-759: The Gin category but any gin cannot be considered as London gin). Spirit drinks that are not produced within the EU, such as tequila or baijiu , are not listed in the 44 categories. Early evidence of distillation comes from Akkadian tablets dated c. 1200 BC describing perfumery operations, providing textual evidence that an early, primitive form of distillation was known to the Babylonians of ancient Mesopotamia . Early evidence of distillation also comes from alchemists working in Alexandria , Roman Egypt , in
1232-577: The Netherlands. In many others including the United States , it is illegal to distill beverage alcohol without a license, and the licensing process is too arduous for hobbyist-scale production. In some parts of the U.S., it is also illegal to sell a still without a license. Nonetheless, all states allow unlicensed individuals to make their own beer , and some also allow unlicensed individuals to make their own wine (although making beer and wine
1276-476: The additional term "drink") refers to liquor that should not contain added sugar and is usually 35–40% alcohol by volume (ABV). Fruit brandy , for example, is also known as 'fruit spirit'. Liquor bottled with added sugar and flavorings, such as Grand Marnier , amaretto , and American schnapps , are known instead as liqueurs . Liquor generally has an alcohol concentration higher than 30% when bottled, and before being diluted for bottling, it typically has
1320-701: The alcohol and the production and aging processes; the exact flavor varies between different varieties of liquor and the different impurities they impart. Rapid consumption of a large amount of liquor can cause severe alcohol intoxication or alcohol poisoning , which can be fatal either due to acute biochemical damage to vital organs (e.g. alcoholic hepatitis and pancreatitis ), or due to trauma (e.g. falls or motor vehicle accidents ) caused by alcohol-induced delirium . Consistent consumption of liquor over time correlates with higher mortality and other harmful health effects, even when compared to other alcoholic beverages. The term "spirit" (singular and used without
1364-412: The chemical composition of cachaça . Sugarcane bagasse has been proposed as a selective adsorbent. For more than four centuries of history, cachaça has accumulated synonyms and creative nicknames coined by the Brazilian people. Some of these words were created for the purpose of deceiving the supervision of the metropolis in the days when cachaça was banned in Brazil; the beverage was competing with
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1408-438: The distillation, after alcoholic fermentation, of agricultural products which does not have the properties of ethyl alcohol and which retain the aroma and taste of the raw materials used. Annex 1 to the regulation lists 44 categories of spirit drinks and their legal requirements. Some spirit drinks can fall into more than one category. Specific production requirements distinguish one category from another (London gin falls into
1452-527: The distiller wants. Up to six grams per liter of sugar may be added. Figures from 2003 indicate 1.3 billion liters of cachaça are produced each year; only 1% of this is exported (mainly to Germany). Cachaça , like rum , has two varieties: unaged ( Portuguese : branca , "white" or prata , "silver") and aged ( amarela , "yellow" or ouro , "gold"). White cachaça is usually bottled immediately after distillation and tends to be cheaper. Some producers age it for up to 12 months in wooden barrels to achieve
1496-589: The early centuries of the Common Era . Frank Raymond Allchin says these terracotta distill tubes were "made to imitate bamboo". These " Gandhara stills" were capable of producing only very weak liquor, as there was no efficient means of collecting the vapors at low heat. Distillation in China could have begun during the Eastern Han dynasty (1st–2nd centuries), but the distillation of beverages began in
1540-446: The first cuttings of sugar cane to Brazil from Madeira. Cachaça can only be produced in Brazil, where, according to 2007 figures, 1,500,000,000 litres (396,000,000 US gal; 330,000,000 imp gal) are consumed annually, compared with 15,000,000 litres (3,960,000 US gal; 3,300,000 imp gal) outside the country. It is typically between 38% and 48% alcohol by volume . When homemade, it can be as strong as
1584-529: The flammability of the resulting vapors may be enhanced. The distillation of wine is attested in Arabic works attributed to al-Kindī (c. 801–873 CE) and to al-Fārābī (c. 872–950), and in the 28th book of al-Zahrāwī 's (Latin: Abulcasis, 936–1013) Kitāb al-Taṣrīf (later translated into Latin as Liber servatoris ). 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
1628-441: The legal limits established by Brazilian law . Some copper is considered desirable in the distillation process as a catalyst for the oxidation of sulfur compounds produced by fermentation, but the levels must be controlled by adequate maintenance and cleaning of the still to remove accumulated verdigris . Adsorbents are used, but the most commonly used adsorbents, activated carbon and ion-exchange resin , have been shown to alter
1672-427: The national average, with home-made liquor being prevalent and easily accessible, highlighting an urgent need for preventive measures. Tafia Tafia (also called guildive ) is a drink similar to rum made from sugarcane juice. It is typically unaged whereas rum is typically aged in wooden barrels to reduce the level of fusel . Most of the fusel is absorbed in the first two years. Premium rums are aged for
1716-617: The raw material for the production of alcoholic spirits. The resulting beverage was known by several names: in British colonies, it was named rum ; in France, tafia ; in Spain, aguardiente de caña ; and in Portugal (Brazil), aguardente da terra , aguardente de cana and later cachaça (locals also call it "Pinga", which translates to drip). The major difference between cachaça and rum
1760-435: The taste. In the making of rum, the juice from sugarcane is boiled down to syrup . This syrup is briskly stirred until crystals form. When the crystal layer is removed, the remainder — molasses — is boiled again and water and yeast are added to the molasses and water mixture and allowed to ferment . Rum made directly from cane juice is known as rhum agricole . The fermented mixture is then distilled . The distilled product
1804-522: The term hard liquor is sometimes used to distinguish distilled alcoholic drinks from non-distilled ones, whereas the term spirits is more commonly used in the United Kingdom . Some examples of liquors include vodka , rum , gin and tequila . Liquors are often aged in barrels , such as for the production of brandy and whiskey , or are infused with flavorings to form flavored liquors , such as absinthe . Like other alcoholic drinks, liquor
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1848-498: The word liquor ordinarily refers to distilled alcoholic spirits rather than beverages produced by fermentation alone, it can sometimes be used more broadly to refer to any alcoholic beverage (or even non-alcoholic products of distillation or various other liquids). The distillation process concentrates the liquid to increase its alcohol by volume . As liquors contain significantly more alcohol ( ethanol ) than other alcoholic drinks, they are considered "harder". In North America ,
1892-577: The word in the English language, meaning simply "a liquid", can be dated to 1225. The first use documented in the OED defined as "a liquid for drinking" occurred in the 14th century. Its use as a term for "an intoxicating alcoholic drink" appeared in the 16th century. In accordance with the regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 17, 2019, a spirit drink
1936-518: Was grown more for households and local needs, not as an export crop, although it was used to make tafia for local consumption. Clairin is an analogous spirit produced in Haiti. Often, both tafia and rum were produced. Tafia is a kind of rum mostly for local consumption, as it is easier and cheaper to make. Rum took more time, effort, and resources to produce, but it was a more profitable product that could be shipped to distant markets, because it refined
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