Beverages containing distilled alcohol begin their story as spirits known in antiquity as aqua ardens, (burning water or fiery water), originating from the Latin root ardere, meaning to burn, connoting the application of heat in the process of distillation.
In essence, the process of distillation is when two or more liquids are separated into smaller parts of desired purity and concentration through the use of heat applied to the liquid. The term to distill comes from the Latin destillare, which translates to “trickling down” referring to the drops of condensed liquid forming during the process through evaporation.
The word for alcohol has a separate origin, stemming from the eighth century Arabic al-ko’hl, generally believed to mean a “ghost spirit” or “ethereal body.” In liquid form it became to represent the “essence” of the raw material, another reference to the purification and separation obtained via distillation.
Distillation itself has a long and rich history across ancient and ancestral The ancient Chinese, Egyptians and Mesopotamians distilled alcohol for medicines and perfumes thousands of years ago, and as early as 3500 BC.
Sanskrit documents provide evidence of different types of alcohol. (In our advanced program we will also explore the possibility of ancestral distillation in Mesoamerica).
The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote about the practice of turning seawater into potable (drinkable) water through distillation, and confirmed that wine and other liquids could be submitted to the same process. The crude and rustic “essences” from the past were now being referred to as aqua vitae, to “lively water” or “water of life”, a term that survives today as the French word Eau-de-Vie, describing any distilled spirit, but most often used specifically for un-aged brandies.
The modern spread of distillation practices can be traced to the Arab, Saracen and Moorish expansion in the early Middle Ages (800-1200 BC). They gave us the word for alcohol, as well as Alembic, which today is synonymous with a “still,” and is also known as a spirit still. The Arab best regarded for the spread of distillation is Albukassen, an alchemist whose writings survive today.
Moorish alchemist technology and theoretical knowledge traveled to Western Europe through Arabian migrations and invasions. In the 13th century, chemists and philosopher Raymon Llul, from Majorca, described distillation practices in detail. By then, these production methods had already spread to the Celts of Eire (modern-day Ireland) and Scotia (modern-day Scotland). These tribes where already producing the predecessor of today's whiskey (also spelled whisky), which was then known as uisge beatha, or uisge baugh, meaning the Water of Life.
The stimulant and digestive nature of alcoholic beverages became desired properties, and they ensured the development of alcoholic beverages over the following centuries. Given that for much of human history most sources of water were unfit for human consumption due to unsanitary conditions, alcohol became the go to alternative for potable beverages.
