spirits vs hard liquor

spirits and hard liquor both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
spirits	Yes	No	No	No
hard liquor	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, spirits and hard liquor are synonyms defined as:

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

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

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