neutral spirits , also known as rectified alcohol, are the purest ethyl alcohol that can be mass-distilled without the use of specialized laboratory equipment. In practice, this means neutral spirits are approximately 95 percent pure ethyl alcohol, with the rest being water and traces of other substances.
Neutral spirits can be produced from any fermentable sugar and are commonly produced from commodity grains, grapes, sugar beets, or molasses. Neutral spirit distilled from grain is typically referred to as “neutral grain spirit” or “grain neutral spirit”; spirit distilled from grapes is called “grape neutral spirit” or “vinous alcohol,” and so forth.
Most gin, absinthe, and aquavit is constructed from neutral spirits, as are many shochus and liqueurs and nearly all vodkas. Other spirits, such as American blended whisky and jonge genever, are produced by blending a neutral spirit with a richer, more flavorful one. Neutral spirits are also used as solvents for producing flavor extracts.
Neutral spirits are the essential product of the continuous still. Prior to the commercialization of continuous-still designs in the mid-1800s, neutral spirits didn’t really exist; instead, relative purity was approximated through repeat pot-still distillations and filtration. Consequently, the availability of neutral spirits beginning in the mid-nineteenth century marked a major transformation in the spirits business.
See also gin; still, continuous; and vodka.
Bryce, J. H., and G. G. Stewart, eds. Distilled Spirits: Tradition and Innovation. Nottingham: Nottingham University Press, 2004.
Buglass, Alan J. Handbook of Alcoholic Beverages. Chichester, UK: Wiley, 2011.
By: Martin Doudoroff