John Barleycorn vs spirits

John Barleycorn and spirits both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
John Barleycorn	Yes	No	No	No
spirits	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, John Barleycorn and spirits are synonyms defined as:

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

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

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