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

See Examples For:

ardent spirits

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

From Time Magazine Archive

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

We told him that we seldom drank ardent spirits; and I added, that as for myself, I seldom tasted even wine, but, like himself, was content with the use of water. 

From The Bible in Spain Vol. 1 [of 2] by Borrow, George Henry

There is one other occasion for using ardent spirits, which it will be proper to examine.

From Select Temperance Tracts by American Tract Society