Making whiskey can be considered, from a chronological perspective, the last link in a long series of innovations around the ancient art of distillation and sublimation. That it was later used for imbibing started on a long road where the paving stones on the path to our current version that we enjoy today was anything but straight. The long course of distillation’s journey around the world was ironically tied to religion. What little of her influence has survived today is a device known by cooks the world over: the bain-marie, or double boiler. What grew in abundance here were not grapes but grain: oats, rye, barley, wheat and other species that are no longer viable today.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 13, 2020 22:07 UTC