spirits vs John Barleycorn

spirits and John Barleycorn both are nouns.

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

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

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

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

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