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Encyclopedia > Distilled beverage

A distilled beverage is a consumable liquid containing ethyl alcohol (ethanol) purified by distillation from a fermented substance such as fruit, vegetables, or grain. The word spirits generally refers to distilled beverages low in sugars and containing at least 35% alcohol by volume. Absinthe, baijiu, brandy, gin, rum, tequila, vodka, whisky, and traditional German schnapps are types of spirits. Distilled beverages with added flavorings and a relatively high sugar content such as Grand Marnier, Frangelico and American style schnapps are generally referred to as liqueurs. Fortified wines are created by adding a distilled beverage to a wine. The term liquor may mean spirits; spirits and liqueurs; or all alcoholic beverages, including wine, sake, beer, and mead. Ethyl alcohol, also known as ethanol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless chemical compound, one of the alcohols that is most often found in alcoholic beverages. ... Laboratory distillation set-up: 1: Heat source 2: Still pot 3: Still head 4: Thermometer/Boiling point temperature 5: Condenser 6: Cooling water in 7: Cooling water out 8: Distillate/receiving flask 9: Vacuum/gas inlet 10: Still receiver 11: Heat control 12: Stirrer speed control 13: Stirrer/heat plate... For other uses, see Fermentation. ... For other uses, see Fruit (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Vegetable (disambiguation). ... Grain redirects here. ... Alcohol by volume (ABV) is an indication of how much alcohol (expressed as a percentage) is included in an alcoholic beverage. ... A reservoir glass filled with a naturally-colored verte, next to an absinthe spoon. ... Baijiu (Chinese: 白酒; pinyin: ) or Shaojiu is potent Chinese alcohol. ... For other uses, see Brandy (disambiguation). ... Gin and tonic. ... This article is about the beverage. ... Various brands of tequila Tequila is a spirit made primarily in the area surrounding Tequila, a town in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, 65 km northwest of Guadalajara and in the highlands of Jalisco, 65 km east of Guadalajara. ... Vodka bottling machine, Shatskaya Vodka Shatsk, Russia Vodka (Polish: wódka, Russian: водка) is one of the worlds most popular distilled beverages. ... For other uses, see Whisky (disambiguation). ... Schnapps is a type of distilled beverage. ... Grand Marnier is a liqueur created in 1880 by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle. ... The distinctive Frangelico bottle. ... Bottles of strawberry liqueur A liqueur is a sweet alcoholic beverage, often flavoured with fruits, herbs, spices, flowers, seeds, roots, plants, barks, and sometimes cream. ... A fortified wine is a wine to which additional alcohol has been added, most commonly in the form of brandy (a spirit distilled from wine). ... Alcoholic beverages An alcoholic beverage (also known as booze in slang term) is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol, although in chemistry the definition of alcohol includes many other compounds. ... For other uses, see Wine (disambiguation). ... Sake barrels at Itsukushima Shrine. ... For other uses, see Beer (disambiguation). ... Mead Mead is a fermented alcoholic beverage made of honey, water, and yeast. ...

Contents

Distillation history

Beer and wine were historically limited to a maximum alcohol content of about 15% by volume, beyond which yeast is adversely affected and cannot ferment. Alcohol levels higher than 15 percent have been obtained in a number of ways. For other uses, see Beer (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Wine (disambiguation). ...


Wine heated in an animal bladder draws out water and leaves alcohol behind (the bladder has a natural property which removes water), but there is no evidence this method was used before modern times. [citation needed]


The first evidence of distillation comes from Babylonia and dates from the 2nd millennium BC. Specially shaped clay pots were used to extract small amounts of distilled alcohol through natural cooling for use in perfumes. By the 3rd century AD, alchemists in Alexandria, Egypt, may have used an early form of distillation to produce alcohol for sublimation and for colouring metal. Babylonia was a state in southern Mesopotamia, in modern Iraq, combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. ... The 2nd millennium BC marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age. ... For other uses, see Alchemy (disambiguation). ... This article is about the city in Egypt. ...


Central Asia

Freeze distillation, the "Mongolian still", are known to have been in use in Central Asia sometime in the early Middle Ages. The first method involves freezing the alcoholic beverage and removing water crystals. The freezing method had limitations in geography and implementation and thus did not have widespread use, but remained in limited use, for example during the American colonial period applejack was made from cider using this method. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Fractional freezing. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Applejack is a strong alcoholic beverage produced from apples, originating from the American colonial period. ... Cider in a pint glass Cider (or cyder) is an alcoholic beverage made primarily from the juices of specially grown varieties of apples. ...


Middle East

Alcohol was fully purified for the first time by Muslim chemists in the 8th and 9th centuries. The development of the still with cooled collector—necessary for the efficient distillation of spirits without freezing—was an invention of Muslim alchemists during this time. In particular, Geber (Jabir Ibn Hayyan, 721–815) invented the alembic still; he observed that heated wine from this still released a flammable vapor, which he described as "of little use, but of great importance to science". Not much later Al-Razi (864–930) described the distillation of alcohol and its use in medicine. By that time, distilled spirits had become fairly popular beverages: the poet Abu Nuwas (d. 813) describes a wine that "has the colour of rain-water but is as hot inside the ribs as a burning firebrand". The terms "alembic" and "alcohol", and possibly the metaphors "spirit" and aqua vitæ ("life-water") for the distilled product, can be traced to Arabic alchemy.[1] Alchemy in Islam differs from the general alchemy in certain ways, one of which is that Muslim alchemists didnt believe in the creation of life in the laboratory. ... The term still is a contraction of the verb to distill. A still is an apparatus used to distill miscible or immiscible (eg. ... Jabir ibn Hayyan and Geber were also pen names of an anonymous 14th century Spanish alchemist: see Pseudo-Geber. ... An alembic is an alchemical still consisting of two retorts connected by a tube. ... For other uses, see Razi. ... The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... A drawing of Abu Nuwas Abu-Nuwas al-Hasan ben Hani al-Hakami (750?–815?) was a renowned Arabic poet. ... Events June 22 - Byzantine Emperor Michael I is defeated in a war against the Bulgarians. ... Alchemy in Islam differs from the general alchemy in certain ways, one of which is that Muslim alchemists didnt believe in the creation of life in the laboratory. ...


Names like "life water" have continued to be the inspiration for the names of several types of beverages, like Gaelic whisky, French eaux-de-vie and possibly vodka. Also, the Scandinavian akvavit spirit gets its name from the Latin phrase aqua vitae. The Goidelic languages (also sometimes called, particularly in colloquial situations, the Gaelic languages or collectively Gaelic) have historically been part of a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland, the Isle of Man, to the north of Scotland. ... For other uses, see Whisky (disambiguation). ... Eau de vie is a French term for a colourless brandy distilled from fermented fruit juice. ... Vodka bottling machine, Shatskaya Vodka Shatsk, Russia Vodka (Polish: wódka, Russian: водка) is one of the worlds most popular distilled beverages. ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ... A bottle and glass of Linie brand akvavit. ...


Medieval Europe

Distilled alcohol beverages first appeared in Europe in the mid-12th century among alchemists, who were more interested in medical "elixirs" than making gold from lead. It first appears under the name aqua ardens (burning water) in the Compendium Salerni from the medical school at Salerno. The recipe was written in code, suggesting it was kept a secret. Taddeo Alderotti in his Consilia medicinalis referred to the "serpente" which is believed to have been the coiled tube of a still. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Salerno is a town in Campania, south-western Italy, the capital of the province of the same name. ...


Paracelsus gave alcohol its modern name, taking it from the Arabic word which means "finely divided", in reference to what is done to wine. His test was to burn a spoonful without leaving any residue. Other ways of testing were to burn a cloth soaked in it without actually harming the cloth. In both cases, to achieve this effect the alcohol had to have been at least 95 percent, close to the maximum concentration attainable through fractional distillation (see purification of ethanol). Presumed portrait of Paracelsus, attributed to the school of Quentin Matsys. ... Grain alcohol redirects here. ...


Claims on the origins of specific beverages are controversial, often invoking national pride, but they are plausible after the 12th century when Irish whiskey, German Hausbrand and German brandy can all be safely said to have arrived. These beverages would have had much lower alcohol content than the alchemists' pure distillations (around 40 percent by volume), and were likely first thought of as medicinal elixirs. Consumption of distilled beverages 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 it was discovered how to distill spirits from wheat, barley, and rye beers; even sawdust was used to make alcohol, a much cheaper option than grapes. Thus began the "national" drinks of Europe: jenever (Belgium and the Netherlands), gin (England), schnapps (Germany), akvavit (Scandinavia), vodka (Russia and Poland), rakia (the Balkans), poitín (Ireland). The actual names only emerged in the 16th century but the drinks were well known prior to that date. Irish Whiskeys For the novel of the same name, see Irish Whiskey (novel). ... For other uses, see Brandy (disambiguation). ... This article concerns the mid fourteenth century pandemic. ... Jenever (also known as genever or jeniever), is the juniper-flavored and strongly alcoholic traditional liquor of the Netherlands and Flanders, from which gin has evolved. ... Gin and tonic. ... Schnapps is a type of distilled beverage. ... A bottle and glass of Linie brand akvavit. ... Vodka bottling machine, Shatskaya Vodka Shatsk, Russia Vodka (Polish: wódka, Russian: водка) is one of the worlds most popular distilled beverages. ... A traditional bottle of slivovitz, plum rakia Croatian Sljivovica and Slovenian Slivovka, two different names for the same drink, a plum rakia Rakia or Rakija (Bulgarian: , Croatian and Bosnian (rakija), Albanian: , Macedonian and Serbian: , Slovenian: , Romanian: ) is hard liquor similar to brandy, made by distillation of fermented fruits, popular throughout... Poitín (or Poteen) is an Irish moonshine and may also refer to Irish Whiskey. ...


Modern distillation

The actual process of distillation itself has not changed since the 8th century. There have, however, been many changes in both the methods by which organic material is prepared for the still and in the ways the distilled beverage is finished and marketed. Knowledge of the principles of sanitation and access to standardised yeast strains have improved the quality of the base ingredient; larger, more efficient stills produce more product per square foot and reduce waste; ingredients such as corn, rice, and potatoes have been called into service as inexpensive replacements for traditional grains and fruit. Chemists have discovered the scientific principles behind aging, and have devised ways in which aging can be accelerated without introducing harsh flavours. Modern filters have allowed distillers to remove unwanted residue and produce smoother finished products. Most of all, marketing has developed a worldwide market for distilled beverages among populations which in earlier times did not drink spirits. This article is about the maize plant. ... RICE is a treatment method for soft tissue injury which is an abbreviation for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. ... Binomial name Solanum tuberosum L. The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a perennial plant of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family, grown for its starchy tuber. ...


Microdistilling is a trend that began to develop in the United States following the emergence and immense popularity of microbrewing and craft beer in the last decades of the 20th century. It is specifically differentiated from megadistilleries in the quantity, and arguably quality, of output. A microdistillery is a term used to reference a small, often boutique distillery, most commonly in the United States. ... Beer barrels outside the Castle Rock microbrewery in Nottingham, England. ... Craft beer generally refers to all-malt beer that is brewed with emphasis on quality rather than mass appeal. ...


In most jurisdictions, including those which allow unlicensed individuals to make their own beer and wine, it is illegal to distill beverage alcohol without a license. For other meanings, see Homebrew. ...


Chemical profile

A distilled beverage is typically manufactured by distillation, aging if applicable and dilution to the set percentage of ethanol. Grain alcohol redirects here. ...


Distillation is done at least twice, due to the chemistry involved. Copper is typically used as a chemically near-inert metal for the equipment. However, it is still very much a transition metal catalyst, and catalyzes the formation of poisonous and harmful by-products, such as urethane. Removal of these is necessary and warrants a second distillation step. Most "colored" alcohols are distilled in a batch process, but continuous processes are found in the production of flavorless vodka and similar drinks. In chemistry, the term transition metal (sometimes also called a transition element) has two possible meanings: It commonly refers to any element in the d-block of the periodic table, including zinc, cadmium and mercury. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Catalysis. ... In chemistry and biology, catalysis (in Greek meaning to annul) is the acceleration of the rate of a chemical reaction by means of a substance, called a catalyst, that is itself unchanged chemically by the overall reaction. ... Ethyl carbamate (also called urethane) is a substance first prepared in the nineteenth century. ... Vodka bottling machine, Shatskaya Vodka Shatsk, Russia Vodka (Polish: wódka, Russian: водка) is one of the worlds most popular distilled beverages. ...


After distillation, the alcohol may be aged in traditional oak casks. Whiskey, for example, is aged at 77%. Dilution is done to attain the standard percentage, from 30 to 80%. The (arbitrary) percentage of 40% is the most common "standard". However, a lower percentages such as 38% may make the drink more palatable. Also people often mix water into the drink to suit their tastes.


The final drink contains water, ethanol, fusel oils, and flavoring compounds. In some cases, sugar is added. Fusel alcohols are higher alcohols than ethanol, are mildly toxic, and have a strong, disagreeable smell and taste. Fusels in moderate quantities are considered to be essential parts of the taste profile of flavored drinks such as whiskey and cognac. In drinks intended to be relatively flavorless (such as vodka), they are defects. Incompetently distilled drinks also contain distillation heads, which are poisonous in large amounts and consist mostly of methanol and foul-smelling byproducts of fermentation. Grain alcohol redirects here. ... Fusel alcohols, also sometimes called fusel oils, are higher order (more than two carbons) alcohols formed by fermentation and present in cider, mead, beer, wine, and spirits to varying degrees. ... Whisky (or whiskey) is an alcoholic beverage distilled from grain, often including malt, which has then been aged in wooden barrels. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Vodka bottling machine, Shatskaya Vodka Shatsk, Russia Vodka (Polish: wódka, Russian: водка) is one of the worlds most popular distilled beverages. ... Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naptha or wood spirits, is a chemical compound with chemical formula CH3OH. It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colourless, flammable, poisonous liquid with a distinctive odor that is somewhat milder and sweeter than ethanol (ethyl alcohol). ...


Etymology

The source for "liquor" and its close relative, liquid, come from the Latin verb liquere, meaning "to be fluid." According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an early use of the word in the English language, meaning simply "a liquid", can be dated to at least 1225. The first use OED mentions in reference to a "liquid for drinking" comes from the early to mid 1300s, while its reference to an intoxicating alcoholic drink appears by at least the 16th century. The Oxford English Dictionary print set The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP), and is the most successful dictionary of the English language, (not to be confused with the one-volume Oxford Dictionary of English, formerly New Oxford Dictionary of English, of...


Serving

Spirits may be served in a variety of ways, some of which include:

  • On the rocks — spirits are to be served and drunk over ice.
  • Straight up — the spirit is to be shaken or stirred with ice, but drunk by itself, with the ice filtered out.
  • Neat — the spirit is served and consumed by itself, with nothing added.
  • With a simple mixer such as tonic water, cola, etc.
  • With water
  • With water poured over sugar, e.g. absinthe.
  • As ingredients in cocktails

Straight up is a term used in bartending. ... A reservoir glass filled with a naturally-colored verte, next to an absinthe spoon. ... For other uses, see Cocktail (disambiguation). ...

See also

The American Whiskey Trail[1] is a cultural heritage and tourism initiative of the Distilled Spirits Council in cooperation with historic Mount Vernon. ... Eau de vie is a French term for a colourless brandy distilled from fermented fruit juice. ... Revenue men at the site of moonshine stills, Kentucky, 1911 or earlier For other uses, see Moonshine (disambiguation). ... Rectified spirit or rectified alcohol is high concentration alcohol purified by the process of rectification (repeated or fractional distillation). ...

Notes

  1. ^ Ahmad Y Hassan, Technology Transfer in the Chemical Industries

Ahmad Y. al Hassan (born 1925) Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur: Historian of Islamic and Arabic science and technology. ...

References

  • Needham, Joseph; Science and Civilization in China; Cambridge University Press; ISBN 0-521-08732-5; hardcover, 2004
  • Forbes, Robert; Short History of the Art of Distillation from the Beginnings Up to the Death of Cellier Blumenthal; Brill Academic Publishers; ISBN 90-04-00617-6; hardcover, 1997
  • Multhauf, Robert; The Origins of Chemistry; Gordon & Breach Science Pub; ISBN 2-88124-594-3; paperback, 1993
  • The Word Origin Calendar,2006, word of the day May 23, 2006

Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (December 9, 1900 – March 24, 1995) was a British biochemist and pre-eminent authority on the history of Chinese science. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Distilled beverage - Definition, explanation (827 words)
A distilled beverage, also called spirits, is a preparation for consumption containing ethyl alcohol purified by distillation, or other method, from a substance such as wine, grain or wood.
In a basic form the technique of distillation goes back to Babylonia in the fourth millennium BC when specially shaped clay plots, it is thought, were used to extract some small amounts of distilled alcohol through natural cooling, for the manufacture of perfumes.
Distillation seems to have been known by alchemists in Alexandria, around the 3rd century AD, who used alcohol only for the coloring of metal and sublimation and was not widely known.
Alcoholic beverage - Encyclopedia, History, Geography and Biography (3176 words)
Alcoholic beverages have been widely consumed since prehistoric times by people around the world, seeing use as a component of the standard diet, for hygienic or medical reasons, for their relaxant and euphoric effects, for recreational purposes, for artistic inspiration, as aphrodisiacs, and for other reasons.
Distilled alcohol appeared first in Europe in the mid 12th century and by the early 14th century it had spread throughout Europe.
Vodka can be distilled from any source (grain and potatoes being the most common) but the main characteristic of vodka is that it is so thoroughly distilled as to exhibit none of the flavors derived from its source material.
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

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