Botanist

Question 1

One serving of straight liquor is

Answer 1

1.5 oz

Question 2

The large side of a jigger holds __ oz, the small (called __) holds __

Answer 2

1.5 oz, pony, 0.75 oz

Question 3

Short, wide 6-8 oz tumbler

Answer 3

Old-fashioned glass

Question 4

Tall & skinny 12 oz glass

Answer 4

Highball glass

Question 5

If you don’t have a muddler, use a __ (and make sure to ___)

Answer 5

Wooden spoon, strain (so you don’t end up with plant matter)

Question 6

How do you make a simple syrup? (Remember not to make too much at once b/c it attracts bacteria)

Answer 6

Equal parts water and sugar - boil & dissolve, then cool

Question 7

Why is agave called a century plant?

Answer 7

It blooms once every 8-10 years

Question 8

Agave is used to make

Answer 8

tequila, mezcal, pulque, etc.

Question 9

What is pulque?

Answer 9

The first drink made from agave, from the pulp

Question 10

How is mezcal made?

Answer 10

Pinas are harvested from the agave plant, then roasted and smashed. The resulting liquid is fermented.

Question 11

What is pechuga mezcal?

Answer 11

Mezcal infused with fruit and distilled with a raw, skinned chicken breast to cut the sweetness

Question 12

What are tequila mixtos?

Answer 12

The contain up to 49% non-agave sugars (and are the most common kind of tequila we have)

Question 13

What is an appellation?

Answer 13

Specific origin (like tequila or champagne)

Question 14

Blanco vs aged for a classic margarita?

Answer 14

Blanco

Question 15

What is the recipe for a classic margarita?

Answer 15

1.5 oz tequila, 0.5 oz lime juice, 0.5 oz cointreau (or other orange liquor), splash of simple syrup or agave syrup), garnished with lime

Question 16

Silver tequila (blanco or plata)

Answer 16

unaged

Question 17

Golden tequila (joven or oro)

Answer 17

unaged (may be flavored and colored with caramel color, oak natural extract, glycerin, and/or sugar syrup.)

Question 18

Aged tequila (reposado)

Answer 18

Aged in French oak or white oak barrels for at least two months.

Question 19

Extra aged tequila (añejo)

Answer 19

Aged at least one year in six-hundred-liter or smaller French oak or white oak barrels.

Question 20

Ultra aged tequila (extra añejo)

Answer 20

Aged at least three years in French oak or white oak casks of no more than 600 liters.

Question 21

What is mezcal con gusano?

Answer 21

Mezcal with a worm - just a cheap marketing gimmick

Question 22

What is the flavor profile of an apple good for cider or brandy?

Answer 22

A spitter - super bitter and tannic

Question 23

What’s with apple genetics?

Answer 23

They are more complicated than a human’s, and an apple tree will have nothing in common with its parents and will have a completely distinct genetic profile from any other apple trees

Question 24

Why is cider low in alcohol?

Answer 24

Because apples are low in sugar

Question 25

What is Calvados/applejack/apple brandy?

Answer 25

A distilled spirit made from cider

Question 26

Why did applejack get a bad reputation?

Answer 26

Some people made it through "freeze distillation," which didn't remove toxic impurities like normal distillation, so it could cause blindness and liver problems

Question 27

What is the oldest domesticated living organism?

Answer 27

Yeast

Question 28

What is the science of fermentation?

Answer 28

Yeast eat sugar, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide

Question 29

How is sparkling wine made?

Answer 29

Yeast is added for a second fermentation during the bottling process

Question 30

What causes bread dough to rise?

Answer 30

Carbon dioxide

Question 31

How does fermentation stop?

Answer 31

As alcohol content reaches 15%, the yeast dies

Question 32

What are non-fermenting sugars?

Answer 32

Types of sugar that yeast cannot digest

Question 33

What are congeners?

Answer 33

Imperfect compounds made when an enzyme doesn't match completely correctly. They can be poisonous and distillers must use special techniques to minimize them

Question 34

What is the "head" of a distillation?

Answer 34

Toxic fusel oils, congeners, evaporate first. They can be used as industrial cleaners, and smell like nail polish remover

Question 35

What is the "heart" of distillation?

Answer 35

The alcohol that is the intended product, comes after the "head"

Question 36

What is the "tail" of distillation?

Answer 36

Heavier molecules containing additional toxins, but also flavorful compounds and some is left in to flavor the beverage, comes at the end of distillation

Question 37

Why is barley so useful to fermentation of various grains?

Answer 37

It has high levels of the enzymes that convert starch to sugar, helping to break them down

Question 38

What is malting?

Answer 38

Getting a grain wet to start the process of germination and thus conversion of starches to sugars

Question 39

What is bourbon?

Answer 39

A corn-based whiskey aged in new charred oak barrels

Question 40

How long is straight bourbon aged?

Answer 40

At least 2 years (with no added colors or flavors or other spirits)

Question 41

What is the difference between straight and blended bourbon?

Answer 41

Straight bourbon has no added colors, flavors, or other spirits, blended has to be at least 51% straight

Question 42

What is chica de jora?

Answer 42

A South American fermented corn beer (chica morada is the nonalcoholic version)

Question 43

What is the base of tito's vodka?

Answer 43

Corn

Question 44

What is moonshine/white dog?

Answer 44

A catchall term for unaged whiskeys (usually corn)

Question 45

What is the requirement for the type of barrels bourbon must be stored in?

Answer 45

Charred new oak barrels (can't reuse them)

Question 46

What is brandy?

Answer 46

Distilled wine

Question 47

What is sherry?

Answer 47

A fortified wine

Question 48

What is port?

Answer 48

In Portugal, half-fermented wine + brandy, aged for a few years

Question 49

How is vermouth made?

Answer 49

White wine fortified with brandy or eau-de-vie

Question 50

What is shochu?

Answer 50

Sweet potato

Question 51

What is the difference between rye whiskey and straight rye whiskey?

Answer 51

Straight rye whiskey has been aged 2 years

Question 52

What is St. Anthony's Fire or dancing mania?

Answer 52

Psychogenic effects of ergot in rye

Question 53

What is baijiu?

Answer 53

Chinese sorghum liquor

Question 54

What is the relationship between sorghum and millet?

Answer 54

Millet is a catchall term for several types of grains, including sorghum