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

On the night after the action upon the Thames, thirty-five British officers supped with him upon fresh beef roasted before the fire, without either salt or bread, and without ardent spirits of any kind.

From The Land of the Miamis An Account of the Struggle to Secure Possession of the North-West from the End of the Revolution until 1812 by Barce, Elmore

He lived no longer among ardent spirits who would brave everything and do anything for human perfectibility.

From Shelley, Godwin and Their Circle by Brailsford, Henry Noel

The excise law on ardent spirits distilled within the United States, had, from the time of its enactment by Congress in 1791, met with opposition from the inhabitants of the Western counties of Pennsylvania.

From The Student's Life of Washington; Condensed from the Larger Work of Washington Irving For Young Persons and for the Use of Schools by Irving, Washington

As a beverage they do not use ardent spirits, and seem to have no taste or desire for the article, though they drink the ordinary claret—rarely anything stronger.

From Due South or Cuba Past and Present by Ballou, Maturin Murray