Alcoholic Beverages

An alcoholic beverage is one containing more than 2.5 ° of alcohol, specifically ethanol or ethyl alcohol, which is a central nervous system depressant that systematically and progressively numbs the functions of the brain, such as coordination, memory and language. These types of drinks can be classified according to their form of production or their alcoholic graduation. But to get deeper into the subject, it is necessary to know the definition and origin of this concept:

What is alcoholic graduation?

It is the number usually found in one of the lower corners of the container label where it is marketed. In some cases it is expressed as a percentage and, in others, as GL degrees. However, in both cases it represents the same thing.

The acronym GL describes the initials of Gay Lussac. It represents the name of the French chemist and physicist Louis Joseph Gay Lussac, who lived during the second half of the eighteenth century and part of the nineteenth. He made numerous contributions to science in his time that today are still in force. His studies on the ratio of the volume and temperature of gases at constant pressure have had one of their uses in calculating the concentration expressed as% volume of alcohol in alcoholic beverages, taking into consideration that alcohols are extremely substances volatile. The value of the expression Gay Lussac degrees of a drink represents in percentage terms the amount of alcohol present in an alcoholic beverage, with 100% of the total volume of the drink.

The second way to classify alcoholic drinks is its form of production:

Fermented drinks: These were the first kinds of drinks that existed. They are so named because they are produced through alcoholic fermentation. This is a biological process, in which a fermentation without oxygen is carried out. This type of fermentation is due to the activities of certain microorganisms, which are responsible for processing sugars, such as glucose, fructose, etc. (carbohydrates), resulting in an alcohol such as ethanol, CO2 (gas) and ATP (adenosine triphosphate), molecules that are used by the microorganisms themselves in their energy metabolisms.

In this group, which usually has a low alcohol content (5-15 °), there are:

• Wines
• Beers
• Champagne
• Chicha
• Vermouth
• Cider

Distilled drinks: These drinks are obtained through distillation. The distillation consists of heating the fermented one to separate the different liquid compounds (in this case alcohol of water and other compounds) by means of variation of boiling temperatures. The alembic is the apparatus with which the distillation is carried out; consists of a vessel that houses the fermented and placed in the fire with the intention of evaporating the more volatile substances and pass through a condenser to return to the liquid state and be reserved in another container in a concentrated and separate way. It is necessary to take into account that the more times the liquid passes through distillation will obtain a more pure alcohol, but will lose important characteristics. But sometimes other ingredients (starch or fruit) are added to increase the flavor.

In this group you will find:

• Vodka
• Whiskey
• Tequila
• Ron
• Geneva
• Brandy
• Pisco

Fortified drinks: These are first obtained by fermentation and then 'fortified' through the addition of alcohol from a distillation. This is done with the aim of balancing the flavors, but at the same time increases its alcoholic strength.

The main examples of this group are the fortified wines, of which we have:

:

• Porto
• Sherry
• Marsala
• Madeira

Liqueurs and creams: These alcoholic beverages are obtained by maceration, infusion or distillation of various natural plant substances (fruits, herbs, etc.) with distilled spirits flavored with a certain amount of sugar. Maceration is the most common method of producing liquors. It is a process by which liquid is extracted from a solid substance by the action of an extractant liquid, which is water and alcohol in the case of liquors.

Because fruits - or other natural spices - are the main ingredient, there is an immense variety of liqueurs and creams in the world, since they depend on the geographic region where they are prepared.

These beverages have an alcohol content higher than 15 °.