akvavit vs John Barleycorn

akvavit and John Barleycorn both are nouns.

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

As nouns, John Barleycorn is a hypernym of akvavit; that is, John Barleycorn is a word with a broader meaning than akvavit:

akvavit: Scandinavian liquor usually flavored with caraway seeds
John Barleycorn: an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented

Other hypernyms of akvavit include booze, hard drink, hard liquor, liquor, spirits, strong drink.

akvavit (noun)	John Barleycorn (noun)
Scandinavian liquor usually flavored with caraway seeds	an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented