What's The Difference Between Liquor And Spirits?

From the plains of Texas to the shores of Georgia, as far north as Covington, Kentucky, to the far beaches of Key West, Southern bartenders are shaking, stirring, and pouring some of the best cocktails in the country. Surrounded by glittering shelves of beautiful bottles, these master mixologists know just what liquors, liqueurs, tinctures, and syrups to combine to create drinks you’ll love to sip. But with so many bottles to choose from, how are you to know what’s what? We asked Cameron Lapierre, bar manager at Parkside on Fifth in the historic Avondale neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama, to share his wisdom with us.

The Difference Between Liquor and Spirit

According to Lapierre and Oset Babur, Senior Drinks Editor at Food & Wine, all liquors are spirits, but not all spirits are liquors. “Simply put, you can’t make a liqueur without a spirit, Babur says. “A spirit is created by distilling fruit, grain, sugarcane, or various other ingredients with naturally present sugars.” Not to confuse you, but some spirits are liqueurs—which are compositionally distinguishable from liquors because of what goes in them.

The Difference Between Liquor and Liqueur

Turns out that liqueur is not just a fancy-sounding, perennially confusing way to spell liquor. “A liqueur is a type of liquor that has been sweetened and flavored to a point,” says Lapierre. “They’re typically much lower in alcohol by volume.” Liquors like gin, bourbon, vodka, and rum serve as the foundations of most cocktails, whereas liqueurs are the flashier elements of the build, like paint or wallpapers.

Can You Taste the Difference Between Liquor and Liqueur?

“Typically liquor, to the taste, isn’t sweet,” Lapierre says. “That sugar is what you’re going to get from liqueurs pretty much across the board.” But far from mere sweetness, liqueurs are loaded with flavorings that set them apart. For example, kirsch gets its flavor from cherries, triple sec from oranges, and amaretto from almonds and stone fruit pits. But that’s just the tip of the liqueur iceberg. “St-Germain is one of our favorites at Parkside,” Lapierre says. “It’s bright, floral, and not super sweet—it adds a nice complexity to any cocktail.”

How Do You Know Which Liqueurs You’ll Like?

“Liqueurs are so much more expensive than liquors—you’ll go broke if you try to buy a bottle of each one that catches your eye,” Lapierre says. The best way to get to know a liqueur is to ask your bartender for a taste. “My job as a bartender is to do more than just mix drinks—I’m here to provide some sort of education if you have questions. Never be afraid to ask what something is or what it tastes like.”