[Sca-cooks] Hard liquor in period recipes, was Adamantius pants?

[Bill Fisher]

On Wed, 08 Dec 2004 11:52:33 -0700, Kathleen A Roberts <karobert at unm.edu> wrote:
> On Wed, 8 Dec 2004 12:16:52 -0500
>   Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise
> <jenne at fiedlerfamily.net> wrote:
> 
> > Nope, you're not missing something. Hard liquor (as
> >opposed to beer and
> > wine) is a relatively late innovation, and was only
> >slowly losing its
> > medicinal reputation by the end of period.
> 
> i seem to recall reading that the irish were distilling
> whiskey in the 12th century.
> 
> cailte

Yeah, they were, but the distillation process wasn't widely known
and it was difficult to produce.  Aqua Vitae, or Uisge Beatha as
the Irish called it was produced in small quantities and used 
"medicinally."   As it was hard to make and only monks had the
skills, it was not a widely produced or consumed beverage.
Uisge (oosge) is similar in pronunciation fo Whisky, which became the 
word for the beverage later as the word was corrupted..

At the end of period, this process is beginning to become a 
secular occupation and the production of distilled beverages
becomes more widespread.  

The Irish transplants in Scotland (na Scotti) produced their own
Uisge, but having a lack of wood to use, used peat on their fires
and there you gain the chief differences between Irish Whisky and
Scotch.   The whole Single Malting process is a modern thing
despite what any distillery tours may say.

Cadoc
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