Fermentation and discovery of distillation

Nature alone cannot produce stronger stuff than 14% alcohol. Fermentation is a combustive action of yeasts on plants: potatoes, fruit, grain, etc. The sugar is exposed to wild yeasts in the air or commercial yeasts, which produce an enzyme, which in turn converts sugar into alcohol. Fermentive yeast cannot survive in solutions stronger than 14% alcohol. When that level is reached, the yeast,-which is a living thing, ceases to produce and dies.

Now imagine the widespread joy when something stronger came along. In the tenth century an Arabian physician, Rhazes, discovered distilled spirits. Actually, he was looking for a way to release "the spirit of the wine." It was welcomed at the time as the "true water of life." European scientists rejoiced in their long-sought "philosopher's stone," or perfect element. A mystique developed, and alcohol was called "the fountain of youth," "eau-de-vie," "aqua vitae." Usequebaugh from the Gaelic usige heath, meaning breath of life, is the source of the word "whiskey." The word alcohol itself is derived from the Arabic al kohl. It originally referred to a fine powder of antimony used for staining the eyelids and gives rise to speculation on the expression, "Here's mud in your eye!" The word evolved to describe any finely ground substance, then the essence of a thing, and eventually came to mean "finely divided spirit," or the essential spirit of the wine. Nineteenth-century temperance advocates tried to prove that alcohol is derived from the Arabic alghul, meaning ghost or evil spirit.

Distilled liquor wasn't a popular drink until about the sixteenth century. Before that it was used as the basic medicine and cure for all human ailments. Distillation is a simple process that can produce an alcohol content of almost 93% if it is refined enough times. Remember, nature stops at 14%. Start with a fermented brew. When it is boiled, the alcohol separates from the juice or whatever as steam. Alcohol boils at a lower temperature than the other liquid. The escaping steam is caught in a cooling tube and turns into a liquid again, leaving the juice, water, etc. behind. Voila! Stronger stuff, about 50% alcohol!

Proof as a way of measuring the strength of a given liquor came from a practice used by the early settlers of this country to test their brews. They saturated gunpowder with alcohol and ignited it: too strong, it flared up; too weak, it sputtered. A strong blue flame was considered the sign of proper strength. Almost straight alcohol was diluted with water to gain the desired flame. Half and half was considered 100 proof. Thus 86 proof bourbon is 43% alcohol. Because alcohol dilutes itself with water from the air, 200 proof, or 100%, alcohol is not possible. The U.S. standards for spirits are between 195 and 198 proof.

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