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 partic ...

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 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), 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 pro ...

, 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 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 ...

, 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 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 de ...

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 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 name "mushroom" is ...

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 ...

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

, it is called pomace brandy 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, ambarella, guava, mango,

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. Acerum 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.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

Buying guide
from '' Food & Wine'' {{Alcoholic beverages Fruit brandies