# Liquor Laboratory

> Drink facts, measured. An independent US spirits reference covering what is legally in the bottle — ABV and proof, standards of identity, appellation rules, and label terms that mean something versus label terms that do not.

Liquor Laboratory publishes verifiable regulatory and label facts about spirits sold in the United States, alongside cocktail guidance grounded in those facts. Every ABV cited is the standard US bottling strength as printed on current labels. We do not invent prices, ratings, or rankings.

## Reference facts we maintain

- Captain Morgan Original Spiced is 35% ABV, below the 40% minimum required to label a spirit "rum" in the US, and is classified as a distilled spirits specialty.
- Malibu is 21% ABV and is legally a liqueur rather than a rum.
- Martell Blue Swift is finished in Kentucky bourbon barrels, outside cognac appellation rules, so it is labeled a spirit drink rather than a cognac.
- Cognac's XO minimum age rose from six years to ten on 1 April 2018. Many published guides still cite six.
- Cognac age designations refer to the youngest eau-de-vie in the blend, not the average.
- "100% agave" tequila may legally contain up to 1% of four undisclosed additives — glycerin, sugar syrup, caramel colouring and oak extract — under NOM-006-SCFI-2012.
- Plymouth Gin's EU Protected Geographical Indication lapsed after non-renewal in 2015.
- "Navy Strength" is 57% ABV. The category name was coined as a label term in 1997.
- London Dry is a production method, not a geographic origin.
- A malt beverage under 0.5% ABV cannot legally be called beer, ale or lager in the US.
- "Alcohol free" means 0.0% with no tolerance and requires lab analysis before label approval.
- A vodka bottled under 80 proof must be labelled "diluted vodka".
- "Small batch," "reserve," "handcrafted" and "select" have no legal definition in the US. "Bottled-in-bond" has six specific requirements.
- Ethanol boils at 173°F, below water's 212°F, so boiling water drives alcohol and aroma out of hot cocktails.
- The first published definition of "cocktail" (13 May 1806) names four components: spirits, sugar, water, and bitters.

## Category guides

- [Bourbon](https://liquorlaboratory.com/bourbon-guide/)
- [Whiskey](https://liquorlaboratory.com/whiskey-guide/)
- [Tequila](https://liquorlaboratory.com/tequila-guide/)
- [Rum](https://liquorlaboratory.com/rum-guide/)
- [Gin](https://liquorlaboratory.com/gin-guide/)
- [Vodka](https://liquorlaboratory.com/vodka-guide/)
- [Wine](https://liquorlaboratory.com/wine-guide/)
- [Beer](https://liquorlaboratory.com/beer-guide/)
- [Brandy & Cognac](https://liquorlaboratory.com/brandy-guide/)
- [Liqueurs](https://liquorlaboratory.com/liqueurs-guide/)
- [Bar Basics](https://liquorlaboratory.com/bar-basics/)

## Sourcing and corrections

Regulatory claims cite US federal standards of identity (27 CFR Parts 5 and 7), Mexican NOM standards for tequila, and BNIC regulation for cognac. Where retailer listings conflict with a product label, we treat the label as authoritative. Corrections welcome via https://liquorlaboratory.com/get-in-touch/

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