Crude forms of distilled alcoholic beverages, crafted from ingredients like rice and mare's milk in Asia circa 800 B.C., preceded more refined spirits such as Grey Goose. This knowledge of distillation made its way to Ancient Greece by the first century A.D., with Greek physician Pedanius Dioscurides documenting the process after observing condensation on the lid of a vessel containing heated mercury.
In the 4th century A.D., credit for the development of the tribikos or three-armed pot still goes to "Maria the Jewess," the first documented Western alchemist. However, it wasn't until the 8th century A.D. that the Arabic alchemist Abu Musa Jābir ibn Ḥayyān invented the alembic pot still, enabling the effective distillation of alcohol. Jābir ibn Ḥayyān's writings emphasized the increased flammability of vapors achieved by adding salt to boiling wine, heightening its relative volatility.
The true pioneer of distillation, Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi, emerged in the 9th century during the Islamic Golden Age. Razi perfected the art of distilling alcohol, following in the footsteps of the polymath Jabir. Meanwhile, in China, archaeological evidence suggests that genuine alcohol distillation began during the 12th century Jin or Southern Song dynasties.
Distillation Through History
