   #copyright

Distilled beverage

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Drink

   Various distilled beverages in a Spanish bar
   Various distilled beverages in a Spanish bar

   A distilled beverage is a liquid preparation meant for consumption
   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. Baijiu, Gin, Ginger Wine,
   vodka, rum, whisky (or whiskey), brandy, absinthe, tequila, 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. The term liquor may mean spirits; spirits and liqueurs;
   or all alcoholic beverages, including wine, sake, beer, and mead.

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 historically
   been obtained in a number of ways.

   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.

   The first evidence of true distillation comes from Babylonia and dates
   from the fourth millennium BC. Specially shaped clay pots were used to
   extract small amounts of distilled alcohol through natural cooling for
   use in perfumes, however it is unlikely this device ever played a
   meaningful role in the history of the development of the still. By the
   3rd century AD there is evidence that alchemists in Alexandria, Egypt,
   used distillation to produce alcohol for sublimation and for colouring
   metal.

Central Asia

   Freeze distillation, the "Mongolian still", are known to have been in
   use in Central Asia as early as the 7th century AD. 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.

Middle East

   The development of the still with cooled collector—necessary for the
   efficient distillation of spirits without freezing—was an invention of
   Arab and Persian alchemists in the 8th or 9th centuries. 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 Middle Eastern alchemy.

   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.

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.

   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).

   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). The actual names only emerged in the 16th
   century but the drinks were well known prior to that date.

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.

   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.

   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.

Chemical profile

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

   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 catalyses the formation of poisonous and harmful by-products, such
   as urethane. Removal of these is necessary and warrants a second
   distillation step. Most "coloured" alcohols are distilled in a batch
   process, but continuous processes are found in the production of
   flavourless vodka and similar drinks.

   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, alcohol, fusel oils, and flavouring
   compounds. In some cases, additional 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 flavoured
   drinks such as whiskey and cognac. In drinks intended to be relatively
   flavourless (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.

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.

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

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distilled_beverage"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
