Liquor (/ˈlɪkər/ LIK-ər, sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. While the word liquor ordinarily refers to distilled alcoholic spirits rather than drinks produced by fermentation alone, it can sometimes be used more broadly to refer to any alcoholic beverage (or even non-alcoholic ones produced by distillation or some other practices, such as the brewed liquor of a tea).
The distillation process concentrates the alcohol, so the resulting condensate has an increased alcohol by volume. As liquors contain significantly more alcohol (ethanol) than other alcoholic drinks, they are considered "harder". In North America, the term hard liquor is sometimes used to distinguish distilled alcoholic drinks from non-distilled ones, whereas the term spirits is more commonly used in the United Kingdom. Some examples of liquors include vodka, rum, gin and tequila. Liquors are often aged in barrels, such as for the production of brandy and whiskey, or are infused with flavorings to form flavored liquors, such as absinthe.
