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WSET Level 2 Award in Wines & Spirits > Spirits > Flashcards

Spirits Flashcards

1
Q

What is Brandy distilled from?

A

Wine

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2
Q

What are two types of Brandy?

A

Cognac

Armagnac

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3
Q

What is Cognac? Where is it from?

A
  • north of Bordeaux
  • oak-aged grape Brandy
  • must be double distilled used a copper pot still
  • fruity/floral aromas
  • medium/light body
  • smooth alcohol

-oak aging: vanilla, toast, nuts, sweet spices, fruitcake

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4
Q

What is Armagnac?

A
  • south of Bordeaux
  • oak-aged grape Brandy
  • typically made with column still
  • dried fruit
  • medium/full body

-oak aging: vanilla, toast, nuts, sweet spices, fruitcake

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5
Q

What labeling terms are use to label the age of Cognac and Armagnac?

A
  • VS
  • VSOP
  • XO (Napoleon)
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6
Q

What is Whiskey distilled from?

A

Grains (barley, corn, rye)

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7
Q

What is the whiskey conversion process?

A
  • Grains must go through this process to turn starch into fermentable sugars before fermentation.
  • Coarsely grounded, mixed with hot water
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8
Q

How is ‘malted barley’ made?

A
  1. Barley must germinate
  2. Germination halted by heating and drying in a kiln
  3. Peat sometimes used as fuel in kiln (adds smoky flavors)
    Result is mixed with hot water and ready for fermentation
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9
Q

What is Scotch Whiskey? Where is it from?

A

Must be distilled and aged in oak casks in Scotland for at least 3 years.

(Age on bottle indicates age of youngest component.)

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10
Q

What is Malt Whiskey?

A
  • Made using only malted barley

- distillation must take place in copper pot still

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11
Q

What is a Single Malt Scotch Whiskey?

A
  • malt whiskey that comes from only one distillery
  • vary in style
  • floral
  • honey
  • fruity
  • dried fruit
  • nutty
  • medicinal
  • spicy
  • cereal
  • woody
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12
Q

What is a Grain Whiskey?

A
  • made from mixture of grains including corn, wheat, and malted barley
  • column still
  • smooth
  • light
  • rarely seen on its own
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13
Q

What is a Blended Scotch Whiskey?

A
  • Grain Whiskey blended with Malt Whiskey

- ranges: intense or delicate

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14
Q

What is an Irish Whiskey?

A
  • made from mixture of malted and unmalted barley and other grains
  • pot still and column still
  • smooth, light
  • soft, mellow
  • fruit
  • honey
  • flowers
  • oak
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15
Q

What is Bourbon?

A
  • made from mixture of grains
  • MUST contain 51% corn (sweeter)
  • most character comes from aging in heavily charred new American oak barrels:
  • sweet coconut
  • vanilla
  • toffee
  • spice

-can be made anywhere in US, most from Kentucky

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16
Q

What is Tennessee Whiskey?

A
  • can only be produced in state of Tennessee
  • filtered through sugar maple charcoal before barrels
  • mellow, smoother
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17
Q

What is Rum distilled from?

A

Sugar cane

-typically molasses

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18
Q

Describe White Rum that is distilled to high strength.

A

-dry
neutral in character
-light in intensity

-can age in oak and then stripped of color by charcoal filtration

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19
Q

Describe White Rum that is distilled to low strength.

A
  • flavorful
  • intense tropical fruit

-can age in oak and then stripped of color by charcoal filtration

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20
Q

Describe Golden Rum.

A
  • dry or off-dry
  • smooth
  • oak aging
  • intense/complex
  • fruity/oaky
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21
Q

What is a Spiced Rum?

A

A Golden Rum with spice flavorings added

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22
Q

Describe Dark Rum.

A
  • full body
  • sweet
  • dried fruit
  • sweet spice

Best:
-aged in oak (smooth, intense, complex)

Worst:
-caramel added for color (harsh)

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23
Q

What is Tequila distilled from?

A

-must be produced from 51 Blue Agave in Tequila, Mexico

24
Q

How is Tequila made?

A
  • blue agave groves for 7-10 years
  • outer leaves remove
  • hard core cooked to create fermentable sugars
  • sugars fermented
  • double pot distilled
25
Q

Describe Tequila flavors.

A
  • grass
  • citrus
  • earth
  • pepper
  • sharp alcohol
  • oak: vanilla, sweet spice
26
Q

What are the four styles of tequila?

A
  1. Blanco/Silver
  2. Joven/Oro/Gold
  3. Reposado
  4. Anejo
27
Q

Describe Blanco/Silver Tequila.

A
  • dry

- intense vegetal/spicy flavors (pepper)

28
Q

Describe Blanco/Silver Tequila.

A
  • unaged

- caramel added to add color and soften flavor

29
Q

Describe Reposado Tequila.

A
  • rested

- aged in oak for short time

30
Q

Describe Anejo Tequila.

A

-aged for long time

31
Q

What is Vodka distilled from?

A

Anything..

  • grains (barley, wheat, rye)
  • grapes
  • potatoes
32
Q

How is Vodka made?

A
  1. distilled using column still to 95-96% abv
  2. filtered through charcoal
  3. add water to reduce to 40% abc
    - typically unaged
33
Q

Describe Vodka.

A
  • neutral
  • light
  • versatile for cocktails

others:

  • Polish/Russian
  • more flavorful
  • show base material
34
Q

What are the three ways to flavor spirits?

A
  1. Maceration (soaking flavoring ingredients in spirit)
  2. Re-distillation (with ingredients)
  3. Essences (artificial flavors)
35
Q

What is flavored vodka?

A

-adding extra flavor to vodka
(vanilla, fruit, toffee, herb, spice)
-essence or maceration

36
Q

What is Gin?

A

-neutral base spirit flavored with botanicals
-must have juniper as the main flavoring
-typically unaged
other:
-coriander seeds, angelica root, citrus peel

37
Q

What is London Dry Gin?

A
  • must be produced by re-distilling neutral spirit in a pot still with juniper as main flavoring
  • intense, long finish
38
Q

What is a liqueur?

A
  • A distilled spirit that has been flavored and sweetened with:
    1. dairy
    2. herb
    3. fruit
    4. seed/nut
  • Most use neutral base spirit
  • Some use rum, brandy or whiskey
  • some artificial flavorings
  • sugar added before bottling
  • must have legal min of sweetness
39
Q

How does distillation work?

A
  1. Start with alcoholic liquid (fermentation)
  2. Boil alcohol off to a vapor
    Left over: water, solids, color compounds, sugars, acids
  3. Collect, cool and condense alcohol back in to a high strength alcoholic liquid
40
Q

At what temp does ethanol boil? Water?

A

Ethanol: 78.3 degrees C
Water: 100 degrees C

41
Q

What is a pot still?

A
  • oldest, simplest still
  • batch process (must be cleaned between each round)
  • can only raise alcohol level slightly (needs two of more rounds)
42
Q

Describe how a pot still distills.

A
  1. Alcoholic liquid in pot shaped vessel is heated
  2. Alcohol boils off, becomes a vapor
  3. Vapor moves through neck
  4. Condensor uses cold water to condense vapor back into liquid
  5. Repeat but only keep some of the condensed liquid (the heart), always clear and water white
43
Q

What does the ‘heads’ refer to?

A

The most volatile components of the condensed liquid that are boiled off first.

44
Q

What does the ‘heart’ refer to?

A

AKA the spirit

Contains the high porpotion of ethanol and the lowest proportion of undesirable impurities.

45
Q

What does the ‘tails’ refer to?

A

The least volatile components that boil off last.

46
Q

What happens to the heads and the tails? Why?

A
  • Returned to the pot to be redistilled with the next batch.

- Contain concentrated levels of undesirable components.

47
Q

What is a column still?

A
  • Tall, vertically structured column
  • internally divided into plates with holes to allow alcoholic liquid and vapor to move up and down
  • spirit is smooth and light
  • can be run continuously aka ‘continuous stills’
48
Q

How does a column still work?

A
  1. Alcoholic liquid heated and enters the still as a vapor
  2. At each plate, come vapors will condense forming a liquid layer on every plate
  3. Rising vapors cause liquid to boil, forces more vapor upwards
  4. With each ‘mini distillation’ on each plate, alcohol increase
49
Q

Describe the Distillation strength’s affect on the spirit.

A

High strength:
-lighter in flavor and character
-doesn’t require maturation
(typically column still)

Low strength:
-spirit retains a lot of character of base material
-harsher, need oak aging or charcoal filtration to soften
(typically pot still)

50
Q

What does oak aging do to a spirit?

A
  • softens harsh alcohol
  • add oak flavors (vanilla, sweet spice)
  • allows extra oxygen to dissolve in the spirit (complexity)
51
Q

What’s sometimes added after distillation?

A

-Sweetness
-Tannins
-Acid
(oak barrels or added)

52
Q

What is used to color aged spirits for consistency?

A

Caramel

53
Q

What is used to remove color from short-aged spirits?

A

Charcoal filtration

54
Q

When coming off the still, what color are all spirits?

A

Water-white

55
Q

What is added to spirits to decrease the alcohol to 40% abv?

A

Demineralized water.

WSET Level 2 Award in Wines & Spirits (11 decks)

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