Beer

The brewing of beer involves steeping barley in water until it is partially germinated and subsequently having it dried in a kiln. A more intense kilning of the malt will precipitate a darker beer. The types of barley used and malting method employed produce specific aroma, be it nuts, caramel, chocolate of liquorice. While resins and essential oils are the principal source of beers aroma and drtness, the hop ( a member of the cannabis family ) helps clarify and preserve the beer.
 

Types of Beers	Description
Ale	Peculiar to britain and Belgium, Ale is a top-fermented, golden brown beer.
Bitter	Well-hopped ale, most often on draught.
Draught Beers	Beers kegged in steel drums or wooden barrels. Ideally, they should be consumed within a week on leaving the brewery.
Lager	A beer originated from Germany. It is stored, or aged for a period of time prior to packaging.
Pilsener	A stout beer characterised by a strong hop flavour with a dry finish.
Porter	A mixture of an old ale, a very strong beer and a weaker fresh beer.
Stout	A top-fermented and hopped like ale with a well-toasted malt flavour.

 

Brandy

Brandy is made from grape though a distillation process. As lower heat intensifies the aroma released, the more gentle and slow is the process, the better will be the brandy. Common to all new brandies is their taste being oily and unpalatable. A true brandy will only emerge after a long hibernation in the oak casks.
 

Types of Brandies	Descripition
Cognac	Brandy that is made from grapes grown, fermented and distilled in a clearly defined specific region.
VS or ***	Meaning 'Very Superior'; this refers to brandy that is less than five years old.
VSOP	Abbreviation for 'Very Superior Old Pale', is brandy that is between five to ten years od age.
XO	Fine cognac more than 20 years old.

 

Champagne

An hour from Paris is the Champagne region, occupying approximately 25 000 hectares of vineland, where this light and white wine is produced. With a few exceptions such as Blanc de Blancs, etc.., most champagnes produced are blends of three grape varieties, namely, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The flavours and character of a champagne depend very much on its contact with the sediment of dead yeast lees-the longer the contact, the fuller and richer is the champagne. Champagne is a drink for all occasions and should be served chilled though not to be frozen.
 
 

Types of Champagnes	Descripition
Prestige cuvee	Also known as Luxury cuvee, this top range champagne is usually vintage dated. Famous labels include Dom Perignon, Bollinger Tradition and Krug.
Vintage Champagne	Made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the two finest varieties of grapes, it is released after about 6 years old though capable of ageing for many more years.
Non Vintage (NV) Champagne	Typically a blend of two-thirds black grapes, namely Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, and one-third white Chardonnay, the NV champagne accounts for approximately 85% of the total champagne output.
Blanc de Blancs	Comparatively lighter and more delicate than other champagnes, Blanc de blancs, made exclusively from Chardonny grapes, are perfect as aperitifs.
Pink / Rose Champagne	Having a colour that ranges from subtle blush to salmon pink, Pink / Rose champagnes are usually made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with some red Pinot Noir wine as the base wine. Well known brands include Roederer, Moet & Chandon.

 

Cocktail

Cocktail is essentially a drink prepared by mixing liquor and or wine with fruit juices, eggs or bitters. Cocktails of liquor and wine are to be stirred while those of sugar or egg are to be shaken or mixed in a blender. Ice is always used to dilute the cocktails to some degree. While crushed ice is used to dilute cocktails that to be shaken, ice-cubes are used for long drinks that are stirred.
 

Gin

Gin is a perfect mixer for popular concoctions such as Pink Gin, Gin & Tonic, Gin Sling and Gin Lime. The neutral spirits, used in the production of gin is either brewed in-house or bought in bulk from other distillers. They normally have a strength not less than 96% alcohol by volume. Juniper berries (which are rich in aromatic oils) - the main flavouring - with other ingredients such as coriander, angelica root, cassia bark, cinnamon bark, lemon, orange peel and liquorice are added into traditional copper pot stills for 'rectification'.

The mixture is then boiled by passing steam through internal copper coils. The vaporised content subsequently condenses and cools to become gin distillate from which the core liquid is extracted.
 

Ice Wine

Expressed from frozen grapes in sub-zero winter temperature, Ice Wine is a young wine of pure concentrated honey-like juice. It contains 50% Brix and 12% alcohol. The production of  Ice Wine involves a series of clarification followed by a slow fermentation induced by the activation of high-sugar by special yeasts. The fermentation process lasts for months.

Liquer

Liquers acquire their character from herbs, seeds or the fruits dissolved in it. They are sweetened spirits which get their flavour from the afore-mentioned vegetable substances.
 

Types of Liquers	Descripition
Natural-coloured Fruit Liquers	These included cherry, creme de cassis and apricot.
Colourless Plant Cordials	Anisette and kummel are, but two liquers that fall into this category.
Creme Liquers	Relatively new category from Ireland which combined Irish whisky and cream.

 

Vodka

This colourless and tasteless beverage is an alcohol which can either be distilled from fermented mash or to be made from any carbohydrate matter. The best vodka is produced from a mash of grain, usually wheat, rye, barley and maize.

Wine

Wine ia an alcoholic drink made from fermented juice of grapes. It is said that drinking wine is an acquired taste. Drinking wine, or tasting wine as what the connoisseur may say, is a pleasure. Wine is meant to be sipped, not quaffed. Pause between sips allow the bouquet linger on the palate and the warmth of the wine spread through every vein.

Some of the common wines are listed below :
 

White Wines	Country Of Origin
Chablis	France
Chardonnay	Australia, California, France
Liebraumilch	Germany
Pouilly-Fuisse	France
Frascati	Italy

 
 

Red Wines	Country Of Origin
Beaujolais	France
Burgundy	France
Chianti	Italy
Merlot	France, Chile, USA
Cabernet	Australia, California
Sauvignon	France

 

Whisky

Tasting whisky is definitely a pleasure and knowing its production would be a reward.
 
The Whisky-making stages
 

Malting	This is the stage at which barley is converted to malt. By soaking barley in water in a 'steep' and spread on the malthouse floor, each grain is encouraged to grow a tiny rootlet, rendering its sugars more soluble for fermentation.
Kilning	A 'smoky' flavour is imparted during this process as the grains are dried in a klin with a furnace traditionally fuelled with peat.
Mashing	Malt is ground into coarse flour of oatmeal porridge consistency. It is then mixed with water and pumped into a large vessel to enable the sugars to be released into the fluid.
Fermentation	The product is siphoned into 'washbacks' (huge wooden or stainless steel containers) and have yeast added to convert the maltose to alcohol.
Distillation	Huge copper pots are used to boil the low-proof alcohol. These pots have tapering necks that lead to a tube where hot alcohol steam condenses as alcohol again. The resultant 'fireshot', a crude, impure distillate is distilled a second time. For Scotch and Irish Whisky malt whiskies, a third distillation is carried out.
Maturing	Young whiskies of 115 degrees and 120 degrees proof are diluted with water to the required maturation. Water used in this stage is crucial to the quality of the whisky produced.

 

Happy Drinking!!
Remember : If you drink don't drive, if you drive don't drink !!

 

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