Do you know these alcoholic beverages are made using grains?

Drinking alcohol is a culture in various parts of the world. While some enjoy their hard liquor, others prefer to have a glass of wine or vodka with their friends. Be it any kind of liquor you prefer, we can bet you still don’t know what goes inside your favourite alcohol. In this article, we will talk about 6 popular alcoholic beverages and the main ingredient with which they are made. You will be surprised to know that these beverages are made from popular cereal grains and classified into fermented and distilled beverages. Read more to find out. (image credits- istock)

A clear alcoholic drink, vodka is said to have originated in Russia. This distilled alcoholic beverage is said to be primarily made with water and ethanol that contained flavourings. Though traditionally made from potatoes, vodka is also made from fermented cereal grains like rye, rice, corn and even wheat these days. It is believed that the more distilled vodka is, the better will be its quality and taste.

It’s a fermented alcoholic beverage and is made from malted barley mainly. However, other grains are also added in the fermentation process to change the taste of a whisky. Primarily, barley malt is used to make Scotch whisky, while other grains like corn, wheat, rye, and even oats are used along with barley malt to make other whiskies. It’s said that the higher amount of rye in a whiskey, the spicier it will be. Whiskey is often fermented in charred white oak wood for its distinctive taste.

It’s one of the popular fermented alcoholic beverages and is traditionally made with barley, which is often mixed with other grains to increase the flavour of the beer. You might have noticed the various colours of beer that vary from light yellow to golden and dark yellow. This happens because of the addition of several grains in barley while doing the fermentation. Some of the other grains used to make beer are rye, rice, oats, corn, and even wheat.

It looks quite similar to vodka but there is a lot of differences between the two. It is usually made from wheat or barley, which are used as the base. Some distillers also use rye as the base spirit. These grains are first fermented and then distilled to make gin. During the fermentation process several herbs, plants and spices are added to it along with juniper berries to enhance the flavour of the drink. While vodka is a tasteless spirit, gin on the other hand has several flavours in it. Also, vodka has a high alcohol percentage as compared to gin. It is also said that gin can be made from vodka but vodka cannot be made from gin.

It’s a popular Japanese alcohol beverage and is made from rice and is often called rice wine in Japan. However, it's not wine and is a type of beer and is made from a variety of rice. It’s a non-carbonated alcoholic beverage that contains 14-16 per cent alcohol and is light in colour. Just like beer, sake is also brewed to perfection and has very different tastes.

It’s a type of American whiskey which is aged in a barrel and is traditionally made from a mash of corn, rye and malted barley. The process of making bourbon whiskey is the same as that of whiskey, but the only difference is that the percentage of corn in it must be higher and not less than 51%.

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