The names of some beverages are determined by the source of the material fermented. In general, a beverage fermented from a starch-heavy source (grain or potato), in which the starch must first be broken down into sugars (by malting, for example), will be called a beer; if the mash is distilled, the end product is a spirit. Wine is made from fermented grapes.
Grains
| Source | Name of fermented beverage | Name of distilled beverage |
|---|---|---|
| barley | beer, ale, barley wine | Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, shōchū (mugijōchū) (Japan) |
| rye | rye beer, kvass | rye whiskey, vodka (Poland), Roggenkorn (type of Korn, from Germany) |
| corn | chicha, corn beer | bourbon whiskey, vodka (only a few, like Tito's from Texas) |
| sorghum | burukutu (Nigeria), pito (Ghana), merisa (southern Sudan), bilibili (Chad, Central African Republic, Cameroon) | maotai, gaoliang, certain other types of baijiu (China). |
| wheat | wheat beer | vodka, wheat whisky, Weizenkorn (type of Korn, from Germany) |
| rice | Ruou gao (Vietnam), huangjiu, choujiu (China), sake (Japan), sonti (India), makgeolli (Korea), tuak (Borneo Island), thwon (Nepal) | rice baijiu (China), shōchū (komejōchū) and awamori (Japan), soju (Korea) (some soju also made from potatoes), |
| millet | millet beer (sub-saharan Africa), tongba (Tibet) | |
| buckwheat | shōchū (sobajōchū) (Japan) |
Juice of fruits
| Source | Name of fermented beverage | Name of distilled beverage |
|---|---|---|
| juice of grapes, | wine | brandy, Cognac (France), Vermouth, Armagnac (France), Branntwein (Germany), pisco (Chile & Perú), Rakia also Rakiya, Rakija, Rakı (The Balkans, Turkey), singani (Bolivia), Arak (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan) |
| juice of apples | cider (US: 'Hard Cider'), apfelwein | applejack (or apple brandy), calvados, cider |
| juice of pears | perry, or pear cider; poire (France) | pear brandy, Eau-de-vie (France), pálinka (Hungary) |
| juice of plums | plum wine | slivovitz, tzuica, palinca, umeshu, pálinka |
| juice of pineapples | tepache (Mexico) | |
| bananas or plantains | Chuoi hot (Viet Nam), urgwagwa (Uganda, Rwanda), mbege (with millet malt; Tanzania), kasikisi (with sorghum malt; Democratic Republic of the Congo) | |
| gouqi | gouqi jiu (China) | gouqi jiu (China) |
| ginger with sugar, ginger with raisins | ginger ale, ginger beer and ginger wine | |
| Myrica rubra | yangmei jiu (China) | yangmei jiu (China) |
| pomace | pomace wine | Raki (Turkey) tsipouro, tsikoudia (Greece), grappa (Italy), Trester (Germany), marc (France), zivania (Cyprus), aguardente (Portugal), tescovină (Romania), Arak (Iraq) |
Vegetables
| Source | Name of fermented beverage | Name of distilled beverage |
|---|---|---|
| juice of ginger root | ginger beer (Botswana) | |
| potato and/or grain | potato beer | vodka: potato mostly used in Poland and Germany, otherwise grain or potato. A strong drink called aquavit or brännvin in Sweden, akvavit in Denmark and akevitt in Norway, and brennivín in (Iceland) is made from potato or grain. Actually, vodka is Russian for "little water" and can be done out of almost anything. - In Ireland, Poitín (or poteen) is a recently legalised drink made from potatoes. |
| sweet potato | shōchū (imojōchū) (Japan) | |
| cassava/manioc/yuca | nihamanchi (South America), kasiri (sub-saharan Africa), chicha (Ecuador) Can be fermented from 3 to 10 days for strength) | |
| juice of sugarcane, or molasses | basi, betsa-betsa (regional) | rum (Caribbean), pinga or cachaça (Brasil), aguardiente, guaro |
| juice of agave | pulque | tequila, mezcal, raicilla |
Other
| Source | Name of fermented beverage | Name of distilled beverage |
|---|---|---|
| sap of palm | coyol wine (Central America), tembo (sub-saharan Africa), toddy (Indian subcontinent) | |
| honey | mead (Poland), teg (Ethiopia) | distilled mead (mead brandy or honey brandy) |
| milk | kumis, kefir, blaand | Araka |
| sugar | kilju (Finland) | shōchū (kokutō shōchū): made from brown sugar (Japan) Courtsey and more information: http://en.wikipedia.org |
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