Dryness is a property of
alcoholic beverages that describes the lack of a sweet taste. This may be due to a lack of
sugars, the presence of some other taste that masks sweetness, or an underabundance of simple
carbohydrates that can be converted to sugar by
enzymes in the
mouth (
amylase in particular). The term "dry" may be applied to types of
beer,
wine,
distilled spirits, or any other form of alcoholic beverage.