ardent spirits

American  

plural noun

1. strong alcoholic liquors made by distillation, as brandy, whiskey, or gin.

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ardent spirits British  

plural noun

1. spirits, such as rum, whisky, etc

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Etymology

Origin of ardent spirits

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

Yet the nation's most famous glutton spurned ardent spirits for orange juice and lemon pop.

From Time Magazine Archive

It has attacked the Sunday mails, assaulted Free Masonry, triumphed over the intemperate use of ardent spirits, and finally engaged in an onslaught upon the slavery of the South.

From History of American Abolitionism by Fontaine, F. G. de

The article prohibiting licenses for the sale of ardent spirits, which was separately submitted to the people, was also adopted, though by a majority less than that in favor of the other articles.

From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 15, August, 1851 by Various

The great charm of the Mess is to those young, ardent spirits fresh from Sandhurst or Eton, sick of mathematics and bored with false quantities.

From Arthur O'Leary His Wanderings And Ponderings In Many Lands by Lever, Charles James

Ministers and christians, a few years since, were engaged in the use and sale of ardent spirits; but they were all wrong, and they now acknowledge their error.

From Thoughts on African Colonization by Garrison, William Lloyd