… “spirits” as a reference to “distilled alcohol beverages” apparently traces back to the belief that they drinks held the “life force” (i.e. “spirit”) or the “essence” of the grains or plants that were used.
the English word “spirit” (first usage as a noun – 14th Century) traces back to the Latin “spiritus” (literally, breath, from “spirare” to blow, breathe – thank you Merriam-Webster)
SO most likely folks figured out how to make wine and beer first – then the wine makers figured out the distillation process, and we got things like “aqua vitae” and whiskey/whisky. fwiw: If the product is made in America or Ireland – it is most likely called whiskey (notice the ‘e’) and the rest of the world spells it without the ‘e’ – so we get “Scotch whisky” but that is “Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey”
for most of American history (well, probably right up to the “prohibition era” – 1920-1933) whiskey almost had the status of “legal tender.” In an era before mass transit and refrigeration making whiskey was simply good business – i.e. an in demand product that had a long shelf life and could be transported (relatively) easily.
Of course in 2023 making “spirits” is still very profitable for the same reasons – but distillation of alcohol is also heavily regulated for various reasons — e.g. protecting public health (e.g. if done incorrectly you get methanol – which will kill you fast – instead of ethanol – which will also kill you, just a little slower), and collecting tax $$ being the big factors.
Oh, and “home brewing” of beer became legal in the 1970’s — I don’t know if “making wine” for “personal consumption” has ever been illegal in the U.S. (i.e. I’m pretty sure “home wine making” was still allowed even during the “prohibition era” – for “religious/cultural” reasons, but I’m not 100% on that)
… but of course if you mess up the wine or beer making process – you just end up with something that tastes bad, but isn’t likely to kill you fast. Transporting beer between state lines used to be illegal (e.g. the plot for “Smokey and the Bandit”). Living in Ohio we couldn’t (legally) get “Yuengling” beer from Pennsylvania until 2011 – there are conflicting stories on “why” it took until 2011, but I’m sure its “root cause” goes back to prohibition era laws (e.g. the two states border each other – so you would think that Ohio would have been one of the first States to get “Yuengling distributors” rather than the last).
random observation — a “beer truck” was involved in an accident in Ohio recently – I was a little concerned and then I saw pictures of cases of “Coors Light” and thought “that wasn’t a beer truck – that was Coors Light – which isn’t the same thing (ok, I like darker, heavier beers – neither “Bud” and/or “Coors” are at the top of my “preferred list”)
ANYWAY – the idea of the “mixed drink” is probably as old as “drinking.” From an “ancient history” point of view alcoholic beverages were always “watered down” before being consumed – this was probably the same idea as modern “carbonated beverage” distribution. e.g. “fizzy drink maker” sells the “drink syrup” to establishments that then add the carbonation before serving to customers – which is how restaurants are able to give “free refills” on “fountain drinks” and “fast food chains”/”convenience stores” can sell “huge drink” for $1 — so the “wise ancients” would have stored their wine/liquor in a more concentrated form – and then added water to adjust for “proof”/potency
random thought: for “mixed alcohol drinks” larger ice cubes tend to be used (primarily) because the cubes melt slower, and therefore don’t dilute the drink as much – and if you are paying for some exotic concoction that comes with ice in the glass, you might care how it tastes – i.e. no ice served with “shots” but they will probably have been “chilled” if requested or if the bartender wants to put on a show.
For whiskey they have “whiskey stones” that can be chilled and won’t melt – but they come across as gimmicky to me – maybe add a drop of water to that high quality whiskey/whisky to activate the flavors, and if you are “drinking for effect” don’t pay for the good stuff
The “modern cocktail” is sometimes described as the United States’ contribution to world “liquor culture.” The short form idea being that a lot of “cocktails” were created to mask the taste of bad liquor mass produced (illegally – you know gangsters/bootlegging/that whole thing) during prohibition — Winston Churchill’s quote about how to make a martini (“Glance at the vermouth bottle briefly while pouring the juniper distillate freely.”) illustrates the point that “high quality gin” (which Mr Churchill would have been drinking) didn’t require vermouth to make it palatable).
That same concept kind of applied to “tough guy” drinks – e.g. the cowboy is drinking whiskey while standing at the bar – the hard-boiled private eye had a bottle of whiskey in a desk drawer. Philip Marlowe tended to drink “Gimlets” which (originally) was just gin (or vodka) and lime juice – but you can add simple syrup if you want it sweeter. The “Gimlet” name most likely traces back to a 19th century British Navy Doctor (Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Desmond Gimlette) – who suggested adding lime juice to Officers “daily ration” of gin (enlisted men got rum – add lime juice to the rum and you get “Grog”)
Glance at the vermouth bottle briefly while pouring the juniper distillate freely.
Winston Churchill
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