Liquor

Distillation equipment used by the 3rd century alchemist Zosimos of Panopolis,[4][5] from the Byzantine Greek manuscript Parisinus graces.[6]

Early evidence of distillation comes from Akkadian tablets dated c. 1200 BC describing perfumery operations, providing textual evidence that an early, primitive form of distillation was known to the Babylonians of ancient Mesopotamia.[7] Early evidence of distillation also comes from alchemists working in Alexandria, Roman Egypt, in the 1st century.[8] Distilled water was described in the 2nd century AD by Alexander of Aphrodisias.[9] Alchemists in Roman Egypt were using a distillation alembic or still device in the 3rd century.

Distillation was known in the ancient Indian subcontinent, evident from baked clay retorts and receivers found at Taxila and Charsadda in modern Pakistan, dating back to the early centuries of the Christian era. These "Gandhara stills" were capable of producing only very weak liquor, as there was no efficient means of collecting the vapors at low heat.[10]

Distillation in China could have begun during the Eastern Han dynasty (1st–2nd centuries), but the distillation of beverages began in the Jin (12th–13th centuries) and Southern Song (10th–13th centuries) dynasties according to archaeological evidence.[11]

Freeze distillation involves freezing the alcoholic beverage and then removing the ice. The freezing technique had limitations in geography and implementation limiting how widely this method was put to use.

An illustration of brewing and distilling industry methods in England, 1858

The medieval Arabs used the distillation process extensively, and there is evidence that they distilled alcohol. Al-Kindi unambiguously described the distillation of wine in the 9th century.[12][13][14] The process later spread to Italy,[12][10] where later evidence of the distillation of alcohol comes from the School of Salerno in southern Italy during the 12th century.[15][16]

In China, archaeological evidence indicates that the true distillation of alcohol began during the 12th century Jin or Southern Song dynasties.[11] A still has been found at an archaeological site in Qinglong, Hebei, dating to the 12th century.[11]

In India, the true distillation of alcohol was introduced from the Middle East, and was in wide use in the Delhi Sultanate by the 14th century.[10]

Fractional distillation was developed by Taddeo Alderotti in the 13th century.[17] The production method was written in code, suggesting that it was being kept secret. In 1437, "burned water" (brandy) was mentioned in the records of the County of Katzenelnbogen in Germany.[18] It was served in a tall, narrow glass called a Goderulffe.

Claims upon the origin of specific beverages are controversial, often invoking national pride, but they are plausible after the 12th century AD, when Irish whiskey and German brandy became available. These spirits would have had a much lower alcohol content (about 40% ABV) than the alchemists' pure distillations, and they were likely first thought of as medicinal elixirs. Liquor consumption rose dramatically in Europe in and after the mid-14th century, when distilled liquors were commonly used as remedies for the Black Death. Around 1400, methods to distill spirits from wheat, barley, and rye beers, a cheaper option than grapes, were discovered. Thus began the "national" drinks of Europe: jenever (Belgium and the Netherlands), gin (England), Schnaps (Germany), grappa (Italy), borovička (Slovakia), horilka (Ukraine), akvavit/snaps (Scandinavia), vodka (Poland and Russia), ouzo (Greece), rakia (the Balkans), and poitín (Ireland).

It is legal to distill beverage alcohol as a hobby for personal use in some countries, including New Zealand[19] and the Netherlands.

In the United States, it is illegal to distill beverage alcohol without a license. In some parts of the U.S., it is also illegal to sell a still without a license. However, all states allow unlicensed individuals to make their own beer, and some also allow unlicensed individuals to make their own wine (although making beer and wine is also prohibited in some local jurisdictions).

Some countries and sub-national jurisdictions limit or prohibit the sale of certain very high-percentage alcohol, commonly known as neutral spirit.

Due to its flammability (see below) alcoholic beverage with alcohol content above 70% by volume is not permitted to be transported in aircraft. [20]

Microdistilling (also known as craft distilling) began to re-emerge as a trend in the United States following the microbrewing and craft beer movement in the last decades of the 20th century. In contrast, large-scale distillation facilities were never as dominant in Scotland, so the tradition of small-scale distillation was never really lost in the Scotch whisky market.

Distilled spirits contain ethyl alcohol, the same chemical that is present in beer and wine and as such, spirit consumption has short-term psychological and physiological effects on the user. Different concentrations of alcohol in the human body have different effects on a person. The effects of alcohol depend on the amount an individual has drunk, the percentage of alcohol in the spirits and the timespan that the consumption took place, the amount of food eaten and whether an individual has taken other prescription, over-the-counter or street drugs, among other factors.

Drinking enough to cause a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.03%-0.12% typically causes an overall improvement in mood and possible euphoria, increased self-confidence, and sociability, decreased anxiety, a flushed, red appearance in the face and impaired judgment and fine muscle coordination. A BAC of 0.09% to 0.25% causes lethargy, sedation, balance problems and blurred vision. A BAC from 0.18% to 0.30% causes profound confusion, impaired speech (e.g., slurred speech), staggering, dizziness and vomiting. A BAC from 0.25% to 0.40% causes stupor, unconsciousness, anterograde amnesia, vomiting, and respiratory depression (potentially life-threatening). Death may occur due to inhalation of vomit (pulmonary aspiration) while unconscious. A BAC from 0.35% to 0.80% causes a coma (unconsciousness), life-threatening respiratory depression and possibly fatal alcohol poisoning.

As with all alcoholic beverages, driving under the influence, operating an aircraft or heavy machinery increases the risk of an accident; as such many countries have penalties for drunk driving.

The main active ingredient of distilled spirits is alcohol, and therefore, the health effects of alcohol apply to spirits. Drinking more than 1-2 drinks a day increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, and stroke.[27] The risk is greater in younger people due to binge drinking which may result in violence or accidents.[27] About 3.3 million deaths (5.9% of all deaths) are believed to be due to alcohol each year.[28] Unlike for wine and perhaps beer, there is no evidence for a J-shaped health effect for the consumption of distilled alcohol.[2]

Alcoholism, also known as "alcohol use disorder", is a broad term for any drinking of alcohol that results in problems.[29] Alcoholism reduces a person's life expectancy by around ten years[30] and alcohol use is the third-leading cause of early death in the United States.[27]

Consumption of distilled alcohol is the most important single factor behind variation on mortality rates and life expectancy for men in Europe. For example, in heavily Islamic regions of the Caucases (Islam forbids alcohol consumption) the life expectancy gap between women and men is five years; in nearby Christian areas it is ten years, and in the Czech Republic (where beer predominates) the chance of a man dying between the ages of 15 and 60 is less than half that of nearby Ukraine.[2][31]