Alcohol is the nectar of the gods, but it appears to be the nectar of the people as well. In 2019, near 90 percent of people over the age of 18 reported that they consumed alcohol at some point in their lives.
But what, exactly, are we drinking? Across the world, people enjoy drinks particular to their cultures as well as globalized brands of beer. Drinks like wine, beer, and spirits are near-universally enjoyed in the most populated countries.
You might be wondering; what are the different types of alcohol? Read on to find out more about the world of alcohol. You’ll be on your way to becoming the mixologist of the friend group with your knowledge of the types of drinks you can create!
Different Types Of Alcohol
If we had to estimate, there are more than 100,000 brands of wine in the world. If just one subcategory of alcoholic drinks has that many variations, then you can imagine the millions of alcoholic drinks that exist. From aphrodisiac alcohol to homemade makgeolli, the possibilities are endless.
What are the larger categories, though? Let’s break it down.
The two broadest categories you will find are fermented and distilled alcohols. Mind you, distilled alcohols have still been fermented earlier in the process, but there’s more to it.
Fermentation
We need the process of fermentation to make alcohol.
Yeast, a bacteria that can be found just about anywhere, has the ability to make sugar into alcohol. By fermenting various solutions with yeast, you are able to brew a concoction that has some percentage of alcohol in it.
For example, you can turn grapes into wine via fermentation.
You can turn rice into rice wine via fermentation.
Beer, by fermenting grains. Ciders, by fermenting various sweet fruit.
And so on!
This should tell you that one of the broadest categories of alcoholic beverages is that which has been fermented. This includes the most popular beer, wine, cider, and other cultural variations like rice wine.
Distillation
What about the alcohol that tastes like pure alcohol? There isn’t anything fruity or flavorful about plain old vodka.
This is because vodka is a distilled beverage. A fermented beverage has a certain cap to its alcoholic percentage; about 15 percent or so. If we wanted to increase the alcoholic content of a beverage to make it into something like a spirit (e.g. baijiu or vodka) we would have to distill it.
Alcohol has a different evaporation point than water, so it can be collected in a gaseous form rather easily and distilled into a purer form. From there it can be added to various spirits to create a distilled drink. Drinks like liquors, liqueurs, and spirits take this form.
Take Baileys, for example. This drink is a liqueur that combines pure alcohol with various flavorings like cream and chocolate. It’s not that cream and chocolate were fermented to make Baileys. It’s that distilled alcohol was flavored with other components.
Even More Variety
Apart from fermented and distilled beverages, there are actually even more different types of alcohol out there. You can also find cocktail bitters and things called alcopops. These drinks contain relatively low alcoholic content but are still considered alcoholic drinks.
If you want more advice on things like how to pair drinks or recognize types of wine, check out our lifestyle section!
