Representation of Distinct Liquors/Spirits in EU5

[King_Potat]

The current setup for the production of the Liquor good is not good at representing spirit production or the capabilities of distilleries to focus on specific spirits. The only thing we have been shown so far in this regard is the distillers guild building which looks like this:

What we have here are six distinct production lines which are as following

Sugar + Clay + Glass = Spirit (Rum, Rhum Agricole)
Rice + Clay + Glass = Spirit (Sake, Soju)
Potatoes + Clay + Glass = Spirit (Vodka)
Wheat + Clay + Glass = Spirit (Vodka, Gin)
Beer + Clay + Glass = Spirit (Bierbrand, Jonge Genever)
Wine + Clay + Glass = Spirit (Brandy, Cognac, Oude Genever)

The problem with these production lines is that they appear easily interchangeable (which they weren’t) and they leave out a number of other important spirits for the time which don’t fit neatly into any of these lines like Arrack (both Batavia and Coconut), Mezcal (including Tequila), Bourbon, Pisco (including Singani), many Whiskys, Baiju, Rakija, many Gins, and Apple Brandy (or any type of fruit brandy for that matter). Essentially, the distillers guild building is inadequate to represent the trends and production of many spirits which were relevant during the time period. As such, they should be split along the production lines and subject to stricter requirements to build (climate, culture, prevalence of nearby goods, etc) to make this building more historically accurate.

So what production lines should these buildings include and what should their requirements be? At base, they should require some clay (for distillation), wood (for storage and transport), and glass (for consumption, usually) alongside the base for the spirit. Additionally, the base required should be being produced in or next to the location the distillery is in (ex: Rum Distillery would require Sugar to be being made in its location or directly next to its location) and not be in a desert location. Grouping certain lines together is probably a good idea, or else these buildings will multiply exponentially, so here are my groupings:

Rum Distillery (only in tropical climate):
Sugar + Clay + Glass + Lumber = Spirit

Batavia Arrack Distillery (only in tropical climate):
Rice + Sugar (equal amount of sugar & rice) + Clay + Glass + Lumber = Spirit

Coconut Arrack Distillery (only in tropical climate & only for philippine cultures & sinhalese):
Fruit + Rice + Clay + Lumber (more lumber required than other buildings) = Spirit

Mezcal Distillery (only in one of the Mexican areas):
Fiber Crop + Clay + Glass + Lumber = Spirit

Bourbon Distillery (only can be made in the Americas):
Maize + Clay + Glass + Lumber = Spirit

Shōchū/Soju Distillery (only Japanese and Koreanic cultures):
Rice + Clay + Glass + Lumber = Spirit

Neutral Spirit (Vodka & Gin) Distillery:
Maize + Clay + Glass + Lumber = ½ Spirit
Potatoes + Clay + Glass + Lumber = ½ Spirit
Wheat + Clay + Glass + Lumber = ½ Spirit
Sturdy Grains + Clay + Glass + Lumber = ½ Spirit

Whisky Distillery:
Maize + Clay + Glass + Lumber (more lumber required than other buildings) = ⅔ Spirit
Wheat + Clay + Glass + Lumber (more lumber required than other buildings) = ⅔ Spirit
Sturdy Grains + Clay + Glass + Lumber (more lumber required than other buildings) = ⅔ Spirit

Bierbrand/Jonge Genever Distillery (only by Dutch and Germanic Cultures):
Beer + Clay + Glass + Lumber = Spirit

Brandy Distillery:
Wine + Clay + Glass + Lumber = Spirit
Fruit + Clay + Glass + Lumber = ½ Spirit

Pisco/Rakija Distillery (only by colonizer south american and Balkan cultures):
Fruit + Clay + Glass + Lumber = Spirit

Baiju Distillery (only by Chinese cultures):
Rice + Wheat + Clay + Glass + Lumber = Spirit
Wheat + Clay + Glass + Lumber = ⅔ Spirit

Numbers probably need some balancing, but generally the flexible ones are available to anyone (as long as they are of a culture that does not prohibit alcohol) whereas others are culture, region, or climate specific. Perhaps this is nothing more than flavor, but it could have effects on building profitability in a shortage, so I still think it could be cool to implement.

 

[MalcolmZeta]

Damn you are very focused of alcohol, dude. Like i want a diverse game too, but you understand that they can't include every single option in the world right? 6 base recipes are already good amount to cover wast majority of alcho in the world.
Your offered divercity in production iv seen only in mods, so maybe consider pitching this idea to modding community or maybe consider modding yourself.

 

[Lord_Baltimore]

I suspect that in practice the production methods won't be interchangeable because most of the raw goods come from different locations and different RGOs, and availability of goods will influence what production method the distillery used

 

[King_Potat]

Damn you are very focused of alcohol, dude. Like i want a diverse game too, but you understand that they can't include every single option in the world right? 6 base recipes are already good amount to cover wast majority of alcho in the world.
Your offered divercity in production iv seen only in mods, so maybe consider pitching this idea to modding community or maybe consider modding yourself.

Eh probably, but the lack of Arrack and Fruit Brandy production lines is odd, considering they were some of the most popular spirits in the world for some time. Arrack was the most used spirit among the nobility in the Lowlands and Scandinavia in the 16th and early 17th centuries, and Apple Brandy was the spirit of choice in the 13 colonies and early United States.

 

[SAmaster]

Damn you are very focused of alcohol, dude. Like i want a diverse game too, but you understand that they can't include every single option in the world right? 6 base recipes are already good amount to cover wast majority of alcho in the world.
Your offered divercity in production iv seen only in mods, so maybe consider pitching this idea to modding community or maybe consider modding yourself.

This could make for a crazy mod though. And I don't mean an enhanced economy mod. I mean turning the game into an alcohol brewing simulator.