A distillate, or spirit, is an alcoholic beverage obtained by distilling a fermented,
sugar-containing liquid, generally of plant origin: grains, starchy roots and tubers,
fruit, or wine.
General
From a technical standpoint, distillates belong to the category known as spirit drinks —
alcoholic beverages with particular organoleptic characteristics and a minimum alcohol
content of 15% vol. Spirit drinks are produced either directly through distillation,
maceration or the addition of flavourings, or by blending a spirit drink with another
beverage, with agricultural ethyl alcohol, or with certain distillates.
In fact, alongside true spirits, the broader "spirit drinks" category also includes
liqueurs — blends of alcohol or other distillates with water, sugar and various
aromatic substances — as well as bitters (amari).
In theory, a distillate can be obtained from any fermentable sugary material. However,
the raw materials most commonly used to produce distillates are:
Countless other distillates exist, produced from a wide range of fermented materials,
sometimes even of animal origin, often for extremely local use.
Origins
The technique of distillation was already known to the Babylonians and the ancient
Egyptians, who distilled wine and cider. It was also known to the Greeks, who used it to
obtain fresh water from seawater, though not for alcoholic beverages; in Egypt during the
Hellenistic-Roman era, distillation was the preserve of priests and a small circle of
initiates, and it was later passed on to the Arabs. The spread of distillates in the West
began around the 10th century, thanks to the Salerno Medical School, which took up the
techniques taught by Andalusian Arab physicians, extracting spirit from wine — initially
for medicinal use only.
Production process
The production process can be summarised in the following steps:
Preparation of the must
The first stage consists of preparing the must to be fermented by yeasts. If the raw
material is made up of simple sugars such as glucose or fructose, it is enough to crush
or grind it to obtain a must that is already highly fermentable. If, on the other hand,
the raw material is starch-rich — such as grains or potatoes — a further process is
needed to make this complex sugar fermentable.
Starch is made up of long, sometimes branched chains of glucose, and therefore needs to be
broken down by specific enzymes, which may already be present in the food (endogenous) or
may need to be added (exogenous). Following this process — similar to the malting process
used in beer production — fermentation proceeds through the addition of selected yeasts.
Fermentation
By adding Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts, an alcohol content of roughly 12%, along with
other compounds, is obtained within three to four days.
Distillation
Distillation is a physical process that separates the volatile components of a fermented
liquid according to their different boiling points. In this way, the ethyl alcohol present
in the fermented liquid can be concentrated, and the desirable substances of the distillate
can be selected while unpleasant or unnecessary ones are discarded.
Distillation can be continuous (column still) or batch (pot still). In batch distillation,
the charge — known as the "cook" — is discharged once exhausted, after which the still is
recharged with new fermented liquid. This method is carried out in copper stills with a
so-called "swan neck" and is used for the production of malt whisky, cognac, brandy,
grappa, calvados, and generally for higher-quality distillates. In continuous distillation,
the column is fed uninterruptedly with the fermented liquid, and the distillate is
continuously extracted. This method is used for the production of vodka, grappa, brandy,
gin, rum, tequila, grain whisky, and for the industrial production of neutral spirit.
During distillation, the most volatile fractions (acetaldehyde and other acetates) are
separated first, forming what is known as the "heads"; next comes the noble fraction (the
"heart"), made up of ethyl alcohol; finally, the heavier compounds that vaporise at higher
temperatures are removed — the "tails" — which contain compounds responsible for poor or
even unpleasant organoleptic qualities.
(source: Wikipedia)
Liqueur
Description
Flavouring can be achieved using essential oils, or through cold maceration, hot infusion,
or percolation of alcohol with herbs or aromatic substances. To make a liqueur, the
following are also added: a sweet component (usually sugar syrup), water to bring the
liqueur to the desired strength, and, where needed, colourings.
The term "liqueur" is sometimes used, not entirely correctly, to also refer to distillates
(or spirits), which form a separate family of spirit drinks and — unlike liqueurs — are
obtained by distilling fermented products, without the addition of sugar or flavourings.
Classification
Liqueurs can be classified according to the substances used:
From a technical-legal standpoint, liqueurs fall under the category of "spirit drinks" —
that is, "alcoholic beverages intended for human consumption." By definition, they have
particular organoleptic characteristics and a minimum alcohol content of 15% vol.
Simple liqueurs
These contain the extract of a single aromatic substance that gives the liqueur its
character, along with, where needed, small quantities of auxiliary substances used to
adjust flavour, colour or aroma.
Compound liqueurs
These generally contain blends of plant extracts: some act on the digestive system with a
bitter-tonic, choleretic or eupeptic effect, while others serve auxiliary functions for
flavouring or for correcting colour or taste.
Examples of digestive plants: aloe, bay laurel, boldo, artichoke, cinchona (china), great
gentian, masterwort, rhubarb.
Examples of auxiliary plants: orange, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, juniper, saffron,
zedoary, ginger.
(source: Wikipedia)
(Selection 2026)