WHAT ARE ALCOHOLIC SPIRITS?
And how can you categorize pálinka?

Broadly speaking, all alcoholic beverages are made by fermenting some form of sugary brew into ethanol and CO2. As the yeast created in the process can only ferment so much before alcohol levels become toxic, brewers have to distill the liquid in order to achieve a higher alcohol concentration.

Besides their history, this is the reason ‘spirit’ type drinks like whiskey, gin, and fruit spirits can be differentiated from other alcoholic beverages: they’re distilled, and they have much higher alcohol by volume (ABV) content on average.

TYPES OF SPIRITS

Alcoholic spirits range from all-time classics to lesser known regional drinks and a myriad of variants. Among the many distilled spirits available, we can differentiate two prominent categories: base liquors (brandy, gin, rum, tequila, vodka, and whiskey) and cordials, types of flavored and sweetened spirits. While distilling using similar methods, each is unique in flavor and style.

Base liquors

Brandy is made from distilled wine or fruit and categorized by its aging process, while gin is made out of grains such as corn, barley, and malt, and then flavored with juniper berry. Vodka can also be made from distilled grains, but potatoes can also serve as substitutes in the distillation process. Different in every region it’s produced in and typically aged in barrels, whiskey can be made from fermented grain mash but also from distilled beer.

Rum is a prominent drink in Caribbean nations and is made out of sugarcane juice or molasses in different styles. Another exotic base spirit hails from Mexico: tequilais made out of blue agave, while its mezcal variant is virtually the same but with a worm placed in the bottle.

Cordials

Last but not least, cordialsor commonly referred to as liqueurs are sweetened, flavored distilled spirits. They are typically made from one or more of the base liquors or a neutral grain spirit blended with sweeteners and flavoring ingredients.

MORE ON BRANDY

Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine that contains between 35-60% alcohol and is typically consumed as a digestif. The term brandy is a shortening of ‘brandywine’, which can be traced back to the Dutch word ‘brandewijn’, which is derived from ‘gebrande wijn’, meaning ‘burned wine’.

If an alcoholic beverage is made from a particular fruit (or must) other than exclusively grapes, it is most commonly referred to as ‘fruit brandy’ or ‘fruit spirit’ or named in accordance to the specific fruit used, such as ‘peach brandy’.

Defining fruit brandy

Fruit spirit or fruit brandy is a distilled alcoholic drink produced from mash, juice, wine, or edible fruit residues. Fruit brandies are a broad class of spirits produced across the world, excluding alcoholic beverages made from grapes, which are referred to simply as brandy or pomace brandy.

In the United States, fruit brandy as a category is used for alcoholic drinks that are distilled exclusively from the fermented juice or mash of fruit, or from standard fruit wines. In the European Union, however, fruit spirits may not be labeled as fruit brandy and instead, the legal English denomination is fruit spirit, which is produced exclusively by the alcoholic fermentation and distillation of fruit or must of such fruit, berries, or vegetables, with or without stones. As mentioned before, most of the European fruit spirits have a protected designation of origin and are labeled with their respective protected names like calvados, grappa, or pálinka, while a smaller number of fruit spirits may be labeled with alternative names regardless of their country of origin.

BRANDY TRADITIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

As is the case with all alcoholic spirits, the brandy category also has different specialties throughout the world. Chile and Peru are famous for Pisco, a clear wine distillate, while a similar spirit, Cognac is produced in southwestern France. Also from France are Fines and Marcs, both distilled spirits made from by-products of the winemaking process; Calvados, a spirit made from the distillation of cider from selected apples; and Armagnac, a wine distillate brandy. 

Protected drinks in Europe

For the most part, brandy types originating from Europe have protected names in the EU. Such as grappa, an Italian fruit spirit made from the distillation of the leftover from winemaking, grape pomace. To be called grappa, the production of the drink should only happen in Italy, in the Italian part of Switzerland, or in San Marino.

Hungary’s national spirit: pálinka

We have a similar case with pálinka, the original Hungarian fruit brandy beloved for its unique potency, flavor, and fragrance. Alcoholic spirits may only be called pálinka if they are fermented exclusively from fruit grown in Hungary, free of additional ingredients, and they are grown, distilled, and bottled in Hungary as well, while also containing at least 37.5% alcohol.

Get to know our selection of Agárdi pálinkas.