What exactly is the difference if any between white and dark liquor? As far as the effect it gives that is.?

Question

And is Vodka and Everclear the only white liquors out there?
What are others?

Answer 1

You've probably heard that red wine is good for your health - but don't pop that cork too soon. Before you raise your glass, here are some things you'll need to know.

Health benefits of red wine

Red wine is the most heart-healthy alcohol. The skin and seeds of red grapes contain a type of antioxidant called flavonoids. It's believed that flavonoids help your heart by:

Instead of turning to wine, follow the more traditional approach: talk to your doctor about your risks, control your weight, get enough exercise and follow a healthy diet.

Answer 2

Contrary to popular believe, not all dark liquors get their color from aging in charred wood barrels or such. Some are direct from coloring agents like molasses. If it is from aging in wood barrels, the charcoal inside usually absorbs some of the impurities but it's the tanin of the wood itself that adds to the color.
As for the effect, there is no scienticfic prove one way or another between light or dark as long as the alcohol content is the same.
ALL distilled liquor come out of the still clear regardless. Yes, whether it be moonshine, cognac, rum, gin, vodka, tequila etc etc. The variance in color and some flavor comes from the different processes it went through AFTER the raw liquor came out of the stills. Most liquor come through way over the 40% alcohol content, they thin it down to 40% by aging, blending new with old, and adding distilled water to creat the final product.
Common clear white liquors are, gin, vodka, rum, tequila, grappa and schnapps.

Answer 3

The primary difference between a dark liquor and a white liquor is the fact that a dark liquor has been aged in a wooden barrel. That's where the color comes from. ALL spirits come out of the still crystal clear and colorless.
For many of the lower quality brown spirits, there are allowances by law to add an amount of caramel color to ensure consistent color between batches, but those ("American Blended Whiskey" is an example) are little more than brown vodka with a little wood flavoring.
The higher quality brown spirits get their color exclusively from the wood of their barrels so absolute consistency from one batch to another is dependent on quality control, not additives. Consistency is not even really expected in these. A notable exception to this would be some of the dark rums where they add a little molasses back to the finished spirit for flavor.

This is not to say that white liquors are all pure neutral spirits, either. Everclear is pure grain alcohol (PGA) and most vodkas are little more than diluted everclear. This alcohol has been so thoroughly distilled and filtered so that essentially no flavor of the fermented grains remains in the product.
Gin is neutral alcohol that's infused by various methods with the flavor of juinper berries and other botanicals.
Rum is distilled from sugar cane and molasses, but not purified to the extend of vodka so that it retains the flavors from the fermented sugars.
Tequila (silver) is distilled from fermented blue agave, so that's where its flavors originate.
Brandy...this is a blanket term for any spirit distilled from fermented fruit...though "brandy" by itself implies grapes. Other than grapes, the specific fruit must be included in the name (apple brandy, peach brandy, raspberry brandy, etc). Traditionally speaking, the line between brandy and schnapps is a fuzzy one. While grape brandy is almost always barrel aged and therefore brown, fruit brandies can be found in both styles.

The "effect" in general for all of them is drunkenness. Most of the time, what "kind" of buzz it gives you is more psychological from knowing what it is you're drinking. However, particularly with the spirits that have more herbal infusions and such, those herbs and additives may have some effect on how the buzz feels. Where it makes a bigger difference is the next day...your hangover or lack thereof. Brown liquors are generally consumed for their flavor. Thus, the distillation process is controlled in such a way that the flavors from the ingredients are kept in the distilled spirit. Too little doesn't taste right, too much allows extra compounds to be included in the spirit which contribute to hangovers (dehydration aside). The choice of where to cut the part that tastes good, but not too strong of nasty compounds is the art of the distiller. That's what you pay for in expensive liquors...that, and the aging.

Answer 4

Dark distilled alcohol vs. light distilled liquor can be thought of somewhat like brown sugar vs. white sugar. The lighter/clearer liquors are typically more refined/purified towards straight alcohol (and water), while the darker ones have more flavors/overtones, due to things like remaining "impurities" or aging in charred oak barrels.

White rum is a nice clear liquor and a great mixer. Gin is clear, but I don't much like the taste. I think rum is kind of sweet, gin is kind of harsh, and vodka and good tequila are somewhere in between. I've only had Everclear once, and that was many, many years ago as part of some "Purple Jesus Punch" I sipped on at a party.

I'm not a huge tequila fan, but there are also light and dark versions of tequila.

If you want to taste the difference between a dark and light liquor, get one nip each of dark rum and light rum. Ideally, you'd sip each of those in turn, straight up, in order to really taste the difference. Because clear liquors have less inherent flavor, they tend to blend with other ingredients more easily.

Percent of alcohol is the same for a given dark or light liquor. For instance, 80-proof light rum and 80-proof dark rum would, for all practical purposes, have the same inebriating effect if drunk under the same conditions.

It may be that darker liquors are more likely to cause hangovers of indulged in to excess. I think it has something to do with the metabolizing of those "impurities".

Answer 5

The impurities give the liquor more color and flavor, but there should be no difference in the effects of the two if the alcohol content is the same. ∠°)

Answer 6

No difference that i have noticed.Tequila can be clear Gin ,rum and i am sure there are a few others