No one really knows when human beings first began to produce concentrated alcohol by the process of heating and recovery known as distillation. Evaporative distillation using the heat of the sun has been used since most ancient times as a method of producing salt from sea water. Julius Caesar reported that he used evaporative distillation and recovery as a method of purifying water.
Fractional distillation is the process by which material is gently heated in a vessel and various fractions of the vapors given off are recovered for later use. This, too, has been used since antiquity by the Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks, and Romans to produce, variously, water, turpentine, and alcohol.
Because of the timing and terminology I’m inclined to believe that Arabs introduced the distillation of alcohol to Europeans. Alcohol seems to have appeared in Europe in the Middle Ages i.e. after the early Crusades. The early terminology of the distillation of alcohol is derived from Arabic as well.  There’s the itself, of course, from al-kuhul, powdered antimony. I’ve wondered if that wasn’t a euphemism. “What’ve you got in that bottle?” “Uh, powdered antimony, yeah powdered antimony. We use a lot of makeup over at our place.”
Then there’s alembic, the vessel in which the material being distilled is retained. That’s from al-anblk or al-ambik, ambik being the Greek name for the vessel.
Here’s the world alcohol in Arabic:
I think that the irony would be delicious: a people for whom alcoholic beverages are forbidden introducing distilled spirits to the world. Sounds like an unsuccessful work-around to me. It may or may not be true that prostitution is the oldest profession but I’m pretty certain that the practice of hypocrisy isn’t far behind.
Dave,
The great Syrah grape originated in Iran (actually it was Persia back then) and it’s Australian-American name betrays its birthplace: Shiraz.
I know this because my ncle and his family lived for years in Shiraz (when the Shah was still around, of course) and told us of the vineyards he found there. Sadly, they are gone. But then again, we can still drink. For now.
Virtually every fruit or grain from which people of European descent distill alcohol originates in lands that are now Muslim: the apple, grape, apricot, cherry, and peach all appear to originate on the Anatolian plateau. Barley, rye, and wheat (vodka is distilled from wheat, not potatoes) are native to the Anatolian plateau (and areas adjacent to the Caspian).
Corn, course, is American. Rice is universal but distillation from rice is distinctly Asian.
On a slight digression the physically most beautiful people I’ve ever seen have been Persian. I remember a girl in college named Beatrice Motamedi who was just exquisite. In Chicago there’s a restaurant named Reza’s that is, of course, Persian. It’s worthwhile going there and just sitting and watching the beautiful, beautiful men and women come there to eat (late in the evening particularly).
You are correct, Dave. Beatrice was, and I’m sure still is, one of the world’s great beauties. It seems slightly creepy, however, your writing about her here on the internet. As for alcohol’s history, the invention of beer, or something similar, has long been credited with transforming man from hunter/gatherer to farmer, leading to the development of cities. So, if you live in one of the many hunter/gatherer sections of rural America, and have few prospects of attending a venue similar to Carnegy Hall, drink up.
your arabic word for alcohol is flawed, those letters don’t look like that in conjunction with eachother