Eau de Vie is a clear fruit brandy. It can be made with apples, berries, or stone fruits. If it is made with grapes, it will often be termed eau de vie de vin.
Eau de vie is made by fermenting and distilling fruit juice, and is sometimes double-distilled and rarely aged in wood. This makes a clear, dry product with no sweetness, high alcohol (typically 40% alcohol by volume) and subtle fruit flavors. This is very unlike fruit liqueurs, which are thick, sweet, usually colored, and typically around 20% alcohol by volume.
Well-known eaux de vie include framboise, made with raspberries; calvados, from apples, kirschwasser, made with cherries; poire Williams, from pears; quetsche, from damsons, and abricotine or Barack Palinka, from apricots.