In the beginning…Fallen fruit breaks down, gets exposed to naturally occurring yeast, and ferments – creating alcohol. As the yeast breaks down the fruit’s sugar and converts it into ethanol, these enticing fumes signal its sweetness.
Drawn to the alluring aromas of ethanol, hoping for a sugary treat, animals would eat the fermented fruit and become intoxicated.
Following the lead of drunken animals, early humans also tried fermented fruit and first encountered alcohol. In fact, early humans’ ability to consume and safely breakdown alcohol allowed for greater caloric intake and food security as they could enjoy fresh fruit, as well as (over)ripe fruit flush with ethanol.
Early humans worked to understand the phenomenon of fermentation and learned to control it and recreate it.Wine has been made for thousands of years. Archeological evidence reveals that fermented rice and rice/grape based drinks were made in China circa 7000 BC. The European tradition of wine making most likely arose near modern day Georgia around 6000 BC. The ability to cultivate the land and produce wine altered society. The stabilization and storage of this agricultural product allowed for enhanced trade and travel, commerce and conquest.
The spirit of creativity and innovation was almost immediately applied to wine. Hippocras is wine augmented with spices, herbs, botanticals, and/or honey. This was done both for purported medicinal benefits, as well as to improve its taste.
The precise birthplace of distillation is lost to history. However, it is known that ancient civilizations in China, Egypt, and Mesopotamia all experimented with rudimentary distillation. The main purposes of these distillates were for the creation of medicines, elixirs, and perfumes.
368 BC–348 BC The philosopher and early scientist, Aristotle, wrote, "Experiment has taught us that sea-water when converted into vapor becomes potable, and the vaporized product, when condensed, no longer resembles sea-water.” He also performed distillation experiments on wine; however, his simple setup lacked advanced enough controls to condense and capture distilled spirits. Instead, his methods resulted in a loss of the alcohol and a recapture of merely purified water.
23/24-79 The natural philosopher and author, Pliny the Elder, was able to build upon the distillation methods of Aristotle. In his Naturalis Historia he outlines how to distill pine resins (turpentines) and utilize wool in order to capture and condense this essence.
During the Islamic Golden Age, great advances in science and scholarship occurred. Persian alchemist Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan, born circa 721 in modern-day Iran, was a revered alchemist and is recognized as the father of chemistry. One of his great inventions was the Alembic Still, which could distill the essence of rose for perfumes, the culinary arts, as well as distilling spirits. Intellectual and commercial exchange between Christendom and the Islamic world transpired via Al-Andalus (711-1492, modern day Spain). Around 800, the first evidence arises indicating European adoption of the Alembic Still.
The processes of distillation for medical tonics was eventually applied to wine. The process of distillation was viewed to reveal the soul of wine, and most considered distilled spirits to be beneficial to long life. From this understanding, the early distilled spirits were called “eau de vie,” “aqua vita,” or ”aquavit,” all of which mean “water of life.”
1240 – 1311
The recorded history of Arnaud de Villeneuve are sometimes contradictory and often fantastical. According to some accounts, he was born in modern day Spain and learned Arabic. As an adult, he studied medicine and worked as a physician. In furthering his work, he translated numerous Islamic treatises.
He is credited with being the first European author detailing the techniques of distillation. "We extract, by distillation of wine or its lees, burning wine, called also eau-de-vie.” He praised this water of life as an elixir for long life.
Early written reports of distilling wine referred to the result as “burnt wine” or Brandewijn. In the European Low Countries (modern day Belgium and The Netherlands) artisans transformed this harsh alcoholic base into Genever, the ancestor of gin. One of these artisans moved to Cognac, France and refined the process with the indigenous French grapes, calling it a shortened version of Brandewijn, Brandy. From the 13th century onwards, European interest in distilled spirits continued to grow.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Ottoman Empire waged several campaigns in Europe. In addition to the ravages of war, these skirmishes provided another avenue for introduction of Islamic technology and practices throughout Europe. Some of these include spreading the secrets of distillation. The "al-ambiq" (alembic) still was popularized and revered for its production of "al-koh'l" (alcohol).
Due to multiple factors including agricultural availability and competing market forces, as well as a neverending spirit for creativity, distillers across Europe experimented with new source materials for distillation. Both Russia and Poland claim to be the birthplace of transforming potatoes into “wodka” or vodka, meaning water, however Russia lays claim to the first known distillery. Early whisk(e)y arose from the distillation of grains and was called, “uisge beatha” meaning “water of life” in Gaelic. The pronunciation was eventually shortened to “whisk(e)y.” Eventually, as exploration and commerce crossed oceans and continents, agave would be processed into tequila and sugarcane became rum.
As technological and economic factors advanced, distilled spirits became part of drinking culture and daily routine throughout Europe. Each region started creating specialized spirits establishing a diverse drinking bounty. In 1727, French writer Francois Guislier de Verges referred to liqueurs as "Conversation beverages" to be consumed with after dinner conversation and of which he remarked "one might drink three times the quantity of other spirits without injury". The evolution from medicinal to recreational drinking was fully underway.
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is a bureau under the Department of the Treasury, whose mission is to collect Federal excise taxes on alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and ammunition and to assure compliance with Federal tobacco permitting and alcohol permitting, labeling, and marketing requirements to protect consumers. The current TTB was officially established in 2003, however, its historical predecessor the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was formed in the years following the Civil War. With taxation and money generation such an integral part of the organization, tax code and legal requirements resulted in the generation of a vast framework of rules and codifications. One of the many distinctions notated was the classification of six distinct distilled spirits: Brandy, Gin, Rum, Tequila, Vodka, and Whiskey.
The TTB recognizes 6 base spirits: Brandy, Gin, Rum, Tequila, Vodka, & Whiskey. These categories are very useful but limiting. Tax code should not limit the width and breadth of studying and enjoying distilled spirits. Over the years, the TTB definitions have changed to better reflect the wide world of Distilled Spirits. For example, Bourbon no longer needs to be made in Kentucky, and it can be cask finished. Cachaça used to have to be labeled “Rum." Tequila is a reognized category, but it is actually a subcategory of Mezcal.
The TTB categories are a great approach to understanding and breaking down all distilled spirits, however, global traditions of distilling and drinking don’t always align. Most exist due to geographical or base spirit nonconformities. Everything that does not quite fit the TTB six categories of distilled spirits will be featured and explored in the Nonconformist Trail to complete the TTB puzzle.
Many of the distilled spirits in the Nonconformist Trail are not adequately covered by the TTB spirits due to the global diversity of distilled products. The TTB codified spirits arising from a European-Transatlantic history; however, spirits are made all around the world!
Alchemy was the ancient study attempting to transmute materials into gold. While this endeavor proved fruitless, this same passion has been applied to various ingredients for centuries in the pursuit of distilled spirits. Throughout the centuries of distillation history, countless base ingredients have been tried. New technology and boundless curiosity allows for ever greater distillation of nonconformist source materials. If sugar is a component and it can undergo distillation, someone has, or someone will, eventually turn it into a distilled spirit!
A Sample List of Nonconformist from Absinthe to Zwack, including, but not limited to:
- Absinthe
- Aguardiente
- Amaro
- Applejack
- Aquavit
- Avant-Garde Distillates
- Baijiu
- Bitters
- Boukha
- Distilled Tea
- Eau de Vie (non-grape-based)
- Feni
- Fortified Wines
- Genever
- Grogue
- Limoncello
- Liqueur
- Non-Alcoholic Spirits
- Pulque
- Rotovap - Bespoke Distillates
- Soju
- Vin de Liqueurs / mistelle
- Zwack
