John Barleycorn vs hard liquor

John Barleycorn and hard liquor both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
John Barleycorn	Yes	No	No	No
hard liquor	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, John Barleycorn and hard liquor are synonyms defined as:

John Barleycorn and hard liquor: an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented

Other synonyms of John Barleycorn include booze, hard drink, liquor, spirits, strong drink.

John Barleycorn (noun)	hard liquor (noun)
an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented	an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented