SC - Re: Aqua Vitae

[Terri Spencer]

Anahita al-shazhiyya wrote:

Also, there's a liquor called aquavit (sp) from Sweden. Is this 
suitable or is it anise or otherwise flavored or just a sort-of-vodka 
by another name?


Hmm - sounds like it's already got a pretty strong flavor: 

"Aquavit (1890)
[Swedish and Danish akvavit, Norwegian akevitt, from Medieval Latin
aqua vitae, "water of life", also spelled aquavite, or akvavit, also
called snaps in Denmark.]
A Scandinavian flavoured, distilled liquor, ranging in alcohol content
from about 42 to 45 percent by volume, clear to pale yellow in colour,
distilled from a fermented potato or grain mash, flavored with caraway
seeds or cumin seed, others that may be used are lemon or orange peel,
cardamom, aniseed, and fennel. 

Liquor was imported to Norway from Europe starting in the 1500s. The
name aquavit is not of Nordic origin, but it has aquired a special
place in the Norwegian as well as the other Scandinavian languages.
Today, aquavit is known as the Norwegian liquor and holds a special
place among liquor lovers all over the world."

From: http://www.cyberclip.com/Katrine/NorwayInfo/Mat/

Yet another undocumented reference to distilled spirits in Europe
before 1600.  And another below that I found along the way.  

"In the Middle East the Persians Geber (8th cent.) and Rhazes (10th
cent.) developed the art of distillation and used it to concentrate
alcohol which was then taken as an anaesthetic. In the late 10th
century in Spain the Arab surgeon Abulcasis described using distilled
alcohol as a solvent for drugs.

>From the 12th to the 14th centuries alchemists in Europe began
experimenting with the distillation of many items, but medicines were
still mostly given as infusions or decoctions of single herbs. Arabic
writings and universities in Spain began to influence Christian schools
of medicine in Italy and France. Two contemporary 13th century Spanish
alchemists, Arnold of Villanova and Raymond Lully, introduced wine
spirits, which they called aqua vitae (water of life), as a solvent
into European medicine. This later became known as brandy, shortened
from the Dutch term for "burnt wine." In the 14th century during the
Black Death brandy began to be used as a medicine by itself. It was
thought of as a polycrest, a remedy of many virtues. By the next
century brandy had also become popular as a recreational beverage." 

With so many of these tidbits out there, you'd think we could find
definitive documentary evidence that alcohol was used in our period for
medicinal and entertainment purposes.  Sigh...

Tara




__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com