Interesting Facts About Alcohol

Fortified wine, liqueurs, and dry champagne are common apéritifs. Because apéritifs are served before dining, they are usually dry rather than sweet.
Flavoring
Pure ethanol tastes bitter to humans, slightly fewer people also describe it as sweet. However, ethanol (alcohol) is also a moderately good solvent for many fatty substances and essential oils. This attribute facilitates the use of flavoring and coloring compounds in alcoholic beverages as a taste mask, especially in distilled beverages. Flavors may be naturally present in the beverage’s raw material. Beer and wine may be flavored before fermentation. Spirits may be flavored before, during, or after distillation. Sometimes flavor is obtained by allowing the beverage to stand for months or years in oak barrels, usually American or French oak. A few brands of spirits have fruit or herbs inserted into the bottle at the time of bottling.