Sometimes a problem is cleverly turned into an advantage. The world is indeed fortunate that barley is good for little more than making beer. But for that, it is excellently suited.
Wine and beer aficionados often enjoy making their own. Even if it's just a casual hobby, the experiments are fun and often produce some worthwhile results. But making vodka, gin and others is partly just a matter of continuing or altering slightly that same process.
Last year European Union officials gathered to debate the question posed by the title. One would think that after centuries, the issue would be easy to settle. But legal definitions for purposes of trade and regular names are sometimes two different things.
There's no limit to the ingenuity of mankind. Anyone who could look at a juniper bush and think: "You know, I'll bet the fruit from that tree would make a great addition to an excellent spirit" just has to be some kind of genius. Adding the juice to distilled grains has created a drink popular for centuries: Gin.
Few would have thought that a member of the parsley family could be used to make an outstanding liqueur. Yet, anisette, based on the oil from anise seeds, is just that.
