An ''eau de vie'' (
French for
spirit
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
,
[ §16, §17] literally "
water of life") is a clear, colourless
fruit brandy
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation. The fruit flavor is typically very light.
In English-speaking countries, ''eau de vie'' refers to a
distilled beverage
Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard li ...
made from fruit other than grapes. Similar terms may be local translations or may specify the fruit used to produce it. Although ''eau de vie'' is a French term, similar beverages are produced in other countries (e.g.,
German'' Schnaps'',
Greek ''ρακί'',
Turkish ''rakı'',
Balkan ''rakia'',
Romanian ''țuică'',
Czech and Slovak ''pálenka'',
Hungarian ''pálinka'', and
Sri Lankan coconut ''arrack''). In
French, however, ''eau de vie'' is a generic term for distilled spirits. The proper French term for fruit brandy is ''eau-de-vie de fruit'', while ''eau-de-vie de vin'' means wine spirit (
brandy
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...
), and several further categories of spirits (distilled from grape
pomace
Pomace ( ), or marc (; from French ''marc'' ), is the solid remains of grapes, olives, or other fruit after pressing for juice or oil. It contains the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems of the fruit.
Grape pomace has traditionally been used to prod ...
,
lees of wine, beer, cereals, etc.) are also legally defined as ''eau-de-vie'' in a similar fashion. Many ''eaux de vie'' made from fruits, wine, pomace, or rye have a
protected designation of origin
The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...
within the European Union.
[
]
Production
Fruit spirit
Traditional fruit spirit is made with ripe fruit that is fermented, distilled, and quickly bottled to preserve the freshness and aroma of the parent fruit. ''Eaux de vie'' are typically not aged in wooden casks, hence they are clear. Although this is the usual practice, some distillers age their products before bottling.
Geist
Some fruits, such as raspberries
The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...
, rowanberries, rosehip
The rose hip or rosehip, also called rose haw and rose hep, is the accessory fruit of the various species of rose plant. It is typically red to orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species. Rose hips begin to form after pollinat ...
s, and sloes, do not contain adequate sugars for fermenting. Instead, the spirits are produced by macerating
Maceration is the process of preparing foods through the softening or breaking into pieces using a liquid.
Raw, dried or preserved fruit or vegetables are soaked in a liquid to soften the food, or absorb the flavor of the liquid into the food.
I ...
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
in neutral grain spirits
Rectified spirit, also known as neutral spirits, rectified alcohol or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, is highly concentrated ethanol that has been purified by means of repeated distillation in a process called rectification. In some countri ...
for some time before distilling. The legal term used for these spirits within the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
is '' Geist'', meaning "spirit" in German.[ '' Geist'' can also be produced with vegetables, nuts, herbs, and other plant materials such as rose petals, ]mushrooms
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the na ...
[ or ]pumpkin seed
A pumpkin seed, also known in North America as a pepita (from the Mexican es, pepita de calabaza, "little seed of squash"), is the edible seed of a pumpkin or certain other cultivars of squash. The seeds are typically flat and asymmetrically ...
s.
Varieties
Most commonly available flavors in France are ''eau de vie de poire'' (pear, known as '' eau de vie de Poire Williams'' when made from the Williams pear
The Williams' bon chrétien pear, commonly called the Williams pear, or the Bartlett pear in the United States and Canada, is the most commonly grown variety of pear in most countries outside Asia.
It is a cultivar (cultivated variety) of the s ...
), '' Eau de vie de framboise'' (raspberries), ''eau de vie de pomme'' (apple), ''eau de vie de mirabelle'' (Mirabelle plum
Mirabelle plum (''Prunus domestica'' subsp. ''syriaca'') is a cultivar group of plum trees of the genus ''Prunus''. It is believed that the plum was cultivated from a wild fruit grown in Anatolia.
Description
The mirabelle is identified by it ...
), and ''eau de vie de pêche'' (peach). When made from pomace
Pomace ( ), or marc (; from French ''marc'' ), is the solid remains of grapes, olives, or other fruit after pressing for juice or oil. It contains the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems of the fruit.
Grape pomace has traditionally been used to prod ...
, it is called pomace brandy
Pomace spirit (or pomace brandy) is a liquor distilled from pomace that is left over from winemaking, after the grapes are pressed. It is called marc in both English and French, but " grappa" in Italian and "bagaço" in Portuguese. In Spanish it ...
or ''marc Marc or MARC may refer to:
People
* Marc (given name), people with the first name
* Marc (surname), people with the family name
Acronyms
* MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging,
* MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...
''.
While most ''eaux de vie'' from the Alpine regions of Europe only rest very briefly in glass containers, others are aged in wooden casks before bottling. Thus, calvados
Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears.
History In France
Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Nor ...
, an apple-based spirit from northwestern France, is required by law to spend at least two years in wood, and most producers also offer much older products to the market (up to 20 years or more). Some ''slivovitz
Slivovitz is a fruit spirit (or fruit brandy) made from damson plums, often referred to as plum spirit (or plum brandy). If anyone else has a dictionary of some Slavic language that translates your word for slivovitz as "plum brandy", please a ...
'' are also aged in wooden casks, giving them their golden or amber color and some additional flavors. Romanian '' țuică bătrână'' is aged in casks made from mulberry wood, which impart a pale brown color.
In the Caribbean, eaux-de-vie are made from tropical fruits such as banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
, ambarella
''Spondias dulcis'' ( syn. ''Spondias cytherea''), known commonly as () in Sri Lanka or June plum, is a tropical tree, with edible fruit containing a fibrous pit. In the English speaking Caribbean it is typically known as golden apple and el ...
, guava
Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...
, mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...
, pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
, and sapodilla
''Manilkara zapota'', commonly known as sapodilla (), sapote, naseberry, nispero or chicle, is a long-lived, evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An example natural occurrence is in coastal Yucatán in the ...
.
The term can also refer to maple ''eau de vie'', made from maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tree ...
.
Acerum
Acerum is the name used to describe maple eau de vie (brandy) made in Quebec, Canada, following the specifications of Canada's the Union of Maple Spirits Distillers (UDSÉ). Acerum comes from the Latin words “acer” meaning maple and the English ...
is a Canadian eau de vie made in Quebec from maple syrup.
Serving
An eau de vie is usually served as a ''digestif''. The typical serving size is , owing to the high alcohol content of the spirit and because it is typically drunk after a meal during which wine, or some other alcoholic beverage, has already been served.
Sometimes, also is used in traditional recipes of the French cuisine, for deglazing, instead ofor together withthe usual white wine.
''Eaux de vie'' should be served cold.
See also
* Akvavit
''Akvavit'' or ''aquavit'' (; also ''akevitt'' in Norwegian; ''aquavit'' in English) is a distilled spirit that is principally produced in Scandinavia, where it has been produced since the 15th century. ''Akvavit'' is distilled from grain or potat ...
* Aqua vitae
''Aqua vitae'' (Latin for "water of life") or aqua vita is an archaic name for a concentrated aqueous solution of ethanol. These terms could also be applied to weak ethanol without rectification. Usage was widespread during the Middle Ages a ...
* Aguardiente
( Spanish), or ( Portuguese) ( eu, pattar; ca, aiguardent; gl, augardente), is a generic term for alcoholic beverages that contain between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). It originates in the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) and in ...
* Brandy
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...
* Chacha
Cha-Cha, Cha Cha, ChaCha or Chacha may refer to:
Music
* Cha-cha-cha (dance), a dance of Cuban origin
* Cha-cha-cha (music), a genre of Cuban music
* ''Cha Cha'' (album), a 1978 album by Herman Brood & His Wild Romance
* ''Cha Cha'' (soundtrack), ...
* Damassine
* Grappa
Grappa is an alcoholic beverage: a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Italian origin that contains 35 to 60 percent alcohol by volume (70 to 120 US proof).
Grappa is made by distilling the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems (i.e., the poma ...
* Kirsch
Kirschwasser (, ; , German for "cherry water") or kirsch is a clear, colorless brandy traditionally made from double distillation of morello cherries, a dark-colored cultivar of the sour cherry. It is now also made from other kinds of cherries. ...
* Liquor
Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...
* Orujo
''Orujo'' is a pomace brandy (a liquor obtained from the distillation of marc, the solid remains left after pressing of the grape) from northern Spain. It is a transparent spirit with an alcohol content over 50% (100° proof). Its name comes fro ...
* Pálinka
Pálinka is a traditional fruit spirit (or fruit brandy) with origins in Carpathian Mountains, more exactly known under several names, and invented in the Middle Ages. Protected as a geographical indication of the European Union, only fruit spir ...
* Rakia
* Schnapps
Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to neu ...
* St. George Spirits, an American producer of eau de vie
* Williamine
Williamine is a brand of Poire Williams, an eau de vie produced with Williams pears, in Martigny, Canton of Valais, Switzerland.
The trademark ''Williamine'' belongs to the Distillerie Louis Morand & Cie SA.
Williamine's William pears originate ...
Explanatory notes
References
External links
Buying guide
from ''Food & Wine
''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...
''
{{Alcoholic beverages
Fruit brandies