The Origins of Distillation

Distillation was used for thousands of years before it was ever discovered in Europe. In fact, the Chinese were using distillation as early as 200 BC. They would boil rice wine to make it stronger, and then boil it again to make it even stronger. This process eventually led to the creation of baijiu (or white liquor), which is still made today.

China, 206 BC - 220 AD

The earliest record of distillation comes from China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). In his book The Art of War, Sun Tzu wrote about using alcohol as a weapon against enemies by burning down their camps with it. The word kiu, which means "alcoholic beverage," is written on a bottle in an ancient Chinese tomb dating back to the first century AD.

Writing in the 3rd century BC, Zhao Yanzhi noted that a strong wine called zhi had been made by boiling together fermented grains with other ingredients.

The most common distillation method used in China was an open pot still called "kang" that was made of clay or bronze. Distilled spirits were known as “jiu” in Chinese which means "alcohol". The term is still used today for all hard liquors such as whisky, vodka, rum etc.

First Written Record

The first written record of distillation is in the Book of Sui, said to have been written by a Daoist herbalist named Ge Hong around 543 AD. Ge Hong's book describes how to make a type of medicinal wine from rice, herbs and fruit. It also describes how to make various medicines by boiling them for long periods of time in water. But he also mentions that other methods can be used:

"The method of evaporating (essential oils) by heat (fire) is called 'distillation'. The method of evaporating (essential oils) by steam is called 'sublimation'. The method of evaporating (essential oils) with firewood or charcoal is called 'pyrolysion' [fire distillation]."

Ge Hong mentions another medicinal wine made from fermented grains that was distilled using a still made from clay pots connected with bamboo tubes. This was probably a simple alembic still, similar to those developed later by alchemists in Europe during the following hundred years or so. Extracting pure alcohol from wine not only helped people recover from illness—it also made it easier to preserve wine for long periods of time.

The Egyptians also used distillation for their perfumes and oils during this time period, but they didn't leave behind many written records about their methods or how they came up with them.

Early Chinese distillation methods were crude compared to modern techniques, but they were effective nonetheless. Distillers would simply boil water over a fire, capture the steam rising from it and condense it back into liquid form. They then collected the resulting liquor in ceramic jars or bamboo tubes and drank it straight or mixed with other ingredients.

The process of distilling alcohol was not only used for medicinal purposes but also as a way to preserve wine and increase its potency. By adding certain herbs or spices to wine before boiling it, ancient Chinese alchemists were able to create potent alcoholic beverages that could help people recover from illness or injury more quickly than drinking plain wine alone.

We would see distillation techniques in Spain and Arabic countries in the 12th century before spreading around the world.