On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1429

Europe. Gin, a whisky-like medicinal
concoction from rye, with juniper added for
its flavor and diuretic effect, was first
formulated in 16th century Holland. The
renowned brandy of France’s Cognac, just to
the north of Bordeaux, arose around 1620.
Rum was first made from molasses in the
English West Indies around 1630, and
monastic liqueurs like Benedictine and
Chartreusedatefromabout1650on.
Overthenextcoupleofcenturies,the
drinkabilityofspiritsimprovedasdistillers
learnedhowtorefinetheircomposition.First
camedoubledistillation,inwhichawineor
beerisdistilled,andthedistillatethen
distilledasecondtime;theninthelate18th
andearly19thcenturiescameingenious
FrenchandEnglishcolumnstills,which
producealcoholsofgreaterpurityinone
continuousprocess.Thegrowingavailability
anddrinkabilityofdistilledliquorsmeantthat
addictionbecameaseriousproblem,


particularlyamongtheurbanpopulationsof
theIndustrialRevolution.InEnglandthe
principalscourgewascheapgin,whichthe
averageLondonerinthelate18thcentury
consumedattherateofnearlyapint/400mla
day“toseekreliefinthetemporaryoblivion
ofhisownmisery,”asCharlesDickenslater

wroteinSketchesbyBoz.Governmentcontrol
ofproductionandsocialprogresslater
moderatedtheproblemofalcoholaddiction,
buthasn’teliminatedit.
FoodWords:Distill
The worddistill comes from the Latin
destillare, “to drip.” It thus captures the
momentatwhichthebarelyvisiblevapors
from a hot liquid condense and
rematerializeonacoolsurface.
WhiskeyinAmericaDistilledalcoholwasso
popular in North America that it gave us an
enduring legacy: the Internal Revenue