The Basics 

all you need to know about:

Wines 

Beer  

Spirits 

Introduction 

Whisky  

Cognac  

Jenevers  

Bitters 

Rum 

Tequila 

Vodka 

Gin 

Liqueur 

 

Others 

home     The Basics     Spirits     Introduction

Spirits: The History

Distilled Spirits go way back to 5000 and 6000 BCE. Its was a result of a deliberate series of experiments conducted by an Arab scholar named Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyam (about 750 CE).

He was experimenting with his al-ambiq, which was kind of like an oversized tea kettle. When liquid was heated in the pot, the vapours rose through the spout to be cooled, condensed, and collected as a liquid in a vessel conveniently positioned under the spout. And just like that, the first distilled spirit was produced.The distilled spirit was called Al-kohl which later became Alcohol.

Distilled spirits spread to other countries with the explorers and the immigrants. The Irish and Scotts brought their own whiskey. The British and Dutch brought gin, the French brandy, and Slavic people vodka. As a rule, all spirits fell into one of two broad categories: clear spirits and dark spirits.

The trend of mixing the spirit with other ingredients became popular during the alcohol Prohibition years. Since alcohol was considered illegal during these years, it had to be bootlegged. So mixing it with different ingredients became more of a necessity than a trend to cover the taste of the badly produced "hooch”. Some of today’s popular cocktails were invented during the prohibition days when cocktails flourished in illegal bars and clubs throughout America.

Back in the 19th Century, the ingredients for the ideal cocktail where the spirit, sugar, water and bitters. However, today’s cocktails are a far cry from this simple recipe. Mixed with different juices, sodas, and carrying crazy names, cocktails have become all the rage. Nowadays, cocktails and mixed drinks are considered symbols of trendy, style and freshness.