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

Mother," he said in a feeble tone, "God bless you for having taught me to avoid ardent spirits.

From Olive Leaves Or, Sketches of Character by Sigourney, L. H. (Lydia Howard)

Again: The total disuse of ardent spirits is essential to the beneficial influence of the example of the temperate upon society at large.

From Select Temperance Tracts by American Tract Society

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

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