All liquors, also called spirits, are distilled. That’s what separates them from beer and wine. The distillation process takes a fermented liquid with roughly 5% to 15% alcohol and concentrates it into a spirit typically ranging from 40% to 60% alcohol by volume. The major categories include vodka, whiskey, gin, rum, tequila, mezcal, brandy, and a wide range of regional spirits from around the world.
How Distillation Creates Spirits
Every distilled liquor starts the same way: with fermentation. Yeast converts sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide, producing a low-alcohol liquid called a wash or mash. Distillation then heats that liquid to separate the alcohol from the water, since alcohol boils at a lower temperature. The result is a far more concentrated spirit.
During distillation, producers make what are called “cuts,” separating the output into three parts. The first liquid off the still (the heads) and the last (the tails) contain harsh or undesirable compounds. The middle portion, called the hearts, becomes the finished spirit. How a distiller makes those cuts has a major influence on flavor and quality.
Two main types of equipment are used. Pot stills are large copper vessels that process one batch at a time. They produce richer, more flavorful spirits and are commonly used for tequila, mezcal, malt whiskey, and some rums. Column stills are tall cylindrical towers that run continuously, distilling to higher alcohol levels and producing cleaner, more neutral spirits. They’re standard for vodka and many bourbons and ryes, though column stills can also produce complex, full-bodied liquor depending on how they’re operated.
Vodka
Vodka is a neutral spirit, meaning it’s distilled to such a high proof that most of the original flavor from its ingredients is stripped away. It can be made from virtually any starch or sugar source: wheat, corn, rye, potatoes, sugar beets, or even grapes. In the U.S., neutral spirits must be distilled to at least 190 proof (95% alcohol) before being diluted with water for bottling at a minimum of 80 proof (40% ABV). That 40% concentration is considered the ideal ratio of alcohol to water molecules, which is why it became the global standard.
In the EU, if a vodka isn’t made from potatoes or cereal grains, the label must say what it was produced from. This is one of the few spirits where the raw material matters less than the distillation itself.
Whiskey
Whiskey is distilled from fermented grain and then aged in wooden barrels, which is where most of its color and flavor come from. The grain bill varies by style. Bourbon uses at least 51% corn. Scotch malt whisky uses 100% malted barley. Grain whiskies were traditionally made from corn but most distilleries shifted to wheat in the 1980s. Rye whiskey, as the name suggests, relies on rye grain.
The U.S. recently added a new official category: American single malt whisky, effective January 2025. It must be made from 100% malted barley, distilled entirely at one U.S. distillery, and stored in oak barrels no larger than 700 liters. To be labeled “straight,” it must age at least two years.
Barrel aging transforms whiskey dramatically. Bourbon barrels contribute vanilla and caramel notes within just a few months. Sherry casks add richer sweetness and dried fruit flavors like raisin. Flavor development stays fairly steady for the first 12 to 15 years, then slows considerably. Beyond 25 to 30 years, grain whisky tends to be smooth and sweet with pronounced oak, orange, and honeydew melon notes.
Gin
Gin starts as a neutral spirit, similar to vodka, but it’s then redistilled or infused with botanicals. The defining ingredient is juniper berries, which give gin its signature piney, resinous taste. Both U.S. and EU regulations require juniper to be the dominant flavor.
Distillers use several techniques to get botanical flavors into the spirit. Maceration involves soaking botanicals directly in the neutral spirit before distilling again. Vapor infusion suspends the botanicals in a basket above the liquid so the rising alcohol vapor passes through them, picking up more delicate flavors. Many craft distillers combine both methods to balance bold and subtle notes. Common supporting botanicals include coriander, citrus peel, angelica root, and cardamom.
Rum
Rum is distilled from sugar in some form. That can be molasses, raw sugarcane juice, sugar syrup, or any other liquid derived from sugarcane. This sugar base is fermented and then distilled, with different techniques producing dramatically different styles.
Light rum (also called white or silver rum) is aged briefly in oak barrels and then filtered to remove color, resulting in a clean, mild spirit. Dark rum may be aged for years, developing intense, complex flavors. Some dark rums are simply unfiltered versions of lighter rums. Spiced rum is flavored after distillation with ingredients like cinnamon, cloves, pepper, aniseed, and cardamom.
Tequila and Mezcal
Tequila and mezcal are both distilled from agave plants, but the similarities end there. Tequila can only be made from blue weber agave, a plant that takes at least seven years to mature. Production is limited to the Mexican state of Jalisco and select municipalities in four other states. The agave must be steam-cooked in brick ovens or autoclaves, crushed with a stone wheel or roller mill, and distilled exactly twice in copper or stainless steel stills.
Mezcal is a broader category. It can be made from over 40 varieties of agave across ten Mexican states, with Oaxaca being the most prominent. The agave is typically roasted in underground pits lined with rocks, which gives mezcal its characteristic smoky flavor. Some agave varieties used for mezcal, like tepeztate, can take up to 30 years to mature. This enormous range of plant types, regions, and production methods makes mezcal one of the most diverse spirit categories in the world.
Brandy and Cognac
Brandy is any spirit distilled from fruit. Most brandy comes from grapes, but versions exist made from apples (calvados), pears, cherries, and plums. Cognac is a specific type of brandy produced in the Cognac region of France, made only from select white grape varieties: Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, and Colombard.
Cognac must be double-distilled, meaning the fermented grape juice goes through the still twice. During each pass, the distiller separates the heads and tails from the heart of the distillate. The exact point where those cuts are made varies between distilleries and is considered a signature part of each producer’s style.
East Asian Spirits
Several major distilled spirits come from East Asia, each with distinct production methods that set them apart from Western liquors.
Baijiu, from China, is the world’s most consumed spirit by volume. It’s made from grains like sorghum, wheat, corn, rice, and glutinous rice using a unique solid-state fermentation process. Unlike Western spirits where fermentation happens in liquid, baijiu’s raw materials stay mostly solid throughout both fermentation and distillation. Traditional fermentation starters called qu drive the process, and the resulting flavors vary enormously depending on the grains and methods used.
Soju, Korea’s national spirit, is traditionally made from rice using a fermentation starter called nuruk, though barley, wheat, and sweet potatoes are also used. Distillation can happen under normal atmospheric pressure or under vacuum, which lowers the boiling point and produces a lighter spirit.
Shochu is Japan’s indigenous distilled spirit, made from an unusually wide range of base ingredients: sweet potato, barley, rice, buckwheat, brown sugar, corn, or even the leftover solids from sake production. Awamori, a related spirit from Okinawa, is made specifically from rice using a particular type of koji fungus.