Spirits

Distillation concentrates what fermentation can only dilute, and it arrived through the laboratory rather than the kitchen: Greek and Arabic alchemists refined the still, and the word alembic is Arabic. Europe was distilling wine into aqua vitae by the twelfth century, first as medicine. Every region then applied the apparatus to whatever it already fermented — grain, cane, agave, rice.

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Mahua spiritMalagasy traditional spiritMaltese prickly-pear liqueurMampoerMauritian rumMezcalMolasses rumMoldovan aged grape brandyMongolian arkhiMozambican nipaNamibian ombikeNew Zealand whiskyOgogoroOrujoOuzoPálinkaPanamanian secoPastisPeruvian piscoPoitínPortuguese aguardenteRakiaRakıRaksiRice-aroma baijiuRumRwandan kanyangaSão Tomé cane spiritScotch whiskySeychellois rumShōchūSichuan strong-aroma baijiuSinganiSlivovitzSodabiSojuSotolSouth African brandySouth American grape aguardienteSra sorSri Lankan arrackTennessee whiskeyTequilaTimorese palm spiritTsipouroȚuicăTunisian fig spiritUgandan waragiVietnamese rice spiritVodkaZivania