An encyclopedia guide to the thousand-year history and dynamic future of the distillation of whiskey, vodka, gin, rum, brandy, and more.

Distillation is an art. And even an ancient one. It is strange to find that the history of this oldest and still most important method of producing chemically pure substances has ever been written. The reader looking at the bibliography appended to this book might object that many data existed. This may be true but the proper history of the art from the origin up to the present time was lacking.

With 42 woodcut illustrations. This is a detailed handbook of knowledge and practice at the time, said to be possibly the earliest definitive book on distillation, by John French, an English physician who lived in the 17th Century.

Written specifically for use in the educational program of the production division of Seagram Distillers Corporation, this volume provides a fundamental explanation of the physical and chemical processes involved in the operation of a grain alcohol distillery.