What Are the Major Types of Spirits?

A quick tour of the main spirit families — whisky, gin, vodka, rum, brandy and more — and what sets each one apart.

Every spirit starts the same way: a fermented liquid (made from grain, fruit, sugar cane or another sugar source) is distilled to concentrate the alcohol and separate out flavour compounds. What happens before and after distillation is what creates the different families of spirit.

The core spirit categories

• Whisky (or whiskey) — Distilled from a fermented grain mash (barley, corn, rye or wheat) and aged in wooden barrels, which give it colour and flavour.
• Gin — A neutral spirit redistilled or infused with botanicals, always including juniper. No barrel ageing required.
• Vodka — A neutral spirit distilled to a high purity, traditionally from grain or potatoes, designed to be as clean-tasting as possible.
• Rum — Distilled from sugar cane juice or molasses, ranging from light and unaged to dark and barrel-aged.
• Brandy — Distilled from fermented fruit, most commonly grapes (as in Cognac and Armagnac), and usually aged in wood.
• Tequila and Mezcal — Distilled from the agave plant, made almost exclusively in Mexico.
• Moonshine / white spirit — Unaged "new make" spirit, historically associated with illicit corn whiskey but now also sold legally as a style in its own right.
• Liqueurs — Not a base spirit but a flavoured and sweetened spirit-based drink (see our article on the difference between a liqueur and a spirit).

Why the distinction matters

The raw ingredient (grain, cane, fruit, agave), the still used, and whether the spirit touches wood are the three biggest levers that separate one category from another. Once you understand those three variables, most spirits on a bottle shop shelf start to make a lot more sense — including the growing range of NZ-made whisky, gin, vodka and rum covered elsewhere in this Learn section.