The initial first distillation results in plain ethanol... vodka

It doesn't matter if it's distilled from potatoes or anything else, because the first initial distillation results in pure ethanol, also known as vodka...


Then with further distillation, the vodka is finally mixed with various other products like juniper, which is called gin

Or put into wooden casks, and allowed to absorb the color and Smoky flavor of the wood, which you call bourbon or whiskey

Or perhaps the vodka is further distilled with sugar and spices, which you call rum


But all liquors are nothing more than vodka that have been adulterated