Aqua vitae ˌækwə_ˈvi:tei (Latin for "water of life") or aqua vita is an archaic name for a concentrated aqueous solution of ethanol. These terms could also be applied to weak ethanol without rectification. Usage was widespread during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, although its origin is likely much earlier. This Latin term appears in a wide array of dialectical forms throughout all lands and people conquered by ancient Rome. The term is a generic name for all types of distillates, and eventually came to refer specifically to distillates of alcoholic beverages (liquors).
Aqua vitae was typically prepared by distilling wine and in English texts was also called ardent spirits, spirit of wine, or spirits of wine, a name that could be applied to brandy that had been repeatedly distilled.
The term was used by the 14th-century alchemist John of Rupescissa, who believed the then newly discovered substance of ethanol to be an imperishable and life-giving "fifth essence" or quintessence, and who extensively studied its medical properties.
Aqua vitae was often an etymological source of terms applied to important locally produced distilled spirits. Examples include whisky (from the Gaelic uisce beatha), eau de vie in France, acquavite in Italy, and akvavit in Scandinavia, okowita in Poland, оковита (okovyta) in Ukraine, акавіта (akavita) in Belarus, and яковита (yakovita) in southern Russian dialects.
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An alcoholic beverage (also called an adult beverage, alcoholic drink, strong drink, or simply a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The consumption of alcoholic drinks, often referred to as "drinking", plays an important social role in many cultures. Most countries have laws regulating the production, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages, and the temperance movement advocates against the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Vodka (wódka ˈvutka; водка ˈvotkə; vodka vɔdkɑː) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is made by distilling liquid from fermented cereal grains, and potatoes since introduced in Europe in the 1700s. Some modern brands use corn, sugar cane, fruits, honey, and maple sap as the base. Since the 1890s, standard vodkas have been 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) (80 U.
Liquor (ˈlɪkər ) is an alcoholic drink produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit, distilled beverage, spirituous liquor or hard liquor. The distillation process concentrates the liquid to increase its alcohol by volume. As liquors contain significantly more alcohol (ethanol) than other alcoholic drinks, they are considered "harder.
A method and apparatus serve to determine spectroscopically a concentration of ethanol in a test sample of an alcoholic aqueous beverage. The determination is based upon providing calibration data which establish a relation between (A) a plurality of trans ...
Using a paradigm by which rats forced to drink a weak ethanol solution (2.5% w/v) (conditioning session) develop ethanol preference in consecutive retention testing days, the effects of the administration of the kappa opioid antagonist MR-2266-BS, prior to ...