Space Hall

Perhaps nothing in man’s rich history has more profoundly affected his well-being than liquor-for good as well as for evil. As a pleasant release from the anxieties of the day, or as a voracious, consuming addiction, liquor is-and most certainly will be-a constant in the lives of men.

It is sufficient for us to recognize and to accept the enormous impact of beverage alcohol upon our society. Nearly two million of our fellow citizens are employed in making, transporting and selling spirits. Retail sales exceed 32 billions of dollars annually. Federal and local taxes generate over nine and a half billions each year. It is a usurious fact that taxes amount to about three times the manufactured cost of the product!

Yet, America’s overall alcoholic consumption has leveled off in recent years; In all forms, we consume each year about 2.7 gallons for every person over 14 years of age. That may seem a lot, but compare it to Portugal’s 6.2 gallons; France’s 5.9 gallons; or Germany’s 3.9 gallons per person. Admittedly, these others are wine imbibing nations! In our pioneer years, we Americans consumed over 7 gallons per person, so we have moderated considerably.

In terms of abuse, there is a considerable body of professional opinion that cultural ignorance may be a causal factor. A director of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has stated that society, rather than individuals may be the greatest cause of alcoholism. He wrote of findings that societies which have alcohol commonly in the diet-those that sip their alcohols slowly and generally with food in relaxed, comfortable surroundings-have a lower incidence of alcoholism.

The urbane commentator Gilbert Chesterton once said that the two things people did not wish to discuss were religion and politics and that these were the only two things worth talking about! Mr. Chesterton should have added alcohol to his list! There is some evidence that we are emerging from
the dark ages in the treatment of alcohol consumption. The point of view, of this book is that beverage alcohol as a chemical substance is neither good nor evil. Its uses and abuses, however, are profound commentaries on contemporary society.

Temperance and moderation are the companions of knowledge.

We will become more moderate in our use of alcohol as we increase our understanding of the workings of the chemical in our system.

Paleozoic Era

Paleolithic Era

9750 B.C.

5500 B.C.

2800 B.C.

1200 to 800 B.C.

600 B.C. to 247 A.D.

Honey and grape wines ferment naturally as seas recede and bearing plants develop.

During the Stone Age, nomads settle in permanent shelters. domesticate animals, and cultivate grains and fruits. Beer and wine are common to all ancient diets.

The cultivation of seeds, peas, beans and cucumbers is common. Pottery and weaving crafts appear, as does the consumption of alcohol during communal and religieus rites.

Farming in the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys near modern Iran is now common. This is the birthplace of the wine grapes of Western civilization.

The Great Flood: Noah lands the ark at Mount Ararat and makes wines.

The Phoenecians of Northern Africa became traders of the Mediterranean, and so further enrich culture and grape development.

The Roman culture dominates Western civilization. Grapes arrive at Marseille in 600, and from 300 B.C. to 50 A. D. in the French areas of Burgundy, Bordeaux, the loire Valley, and in Britain and the Rhine and Moselle river valleys of Germany.

4

2

410

475

Jesus is born.

Drinking feasts are common everywhere in Rome where three times as much wine is consumed as in Greece.

The Visigoths sack Rome.

The culturation and development of wine is now controlled by the monasteries of the church.

550

563

711 to 1492

800

St. Patrick brings Christianity to Ireland and probably the distilling techniques he learned in Alexandria.

St. Columba settles in Ionia Island off the coast of Scotland, forms an abbey, and is thought to have distilled the first Scotch whisky.

Arabian Moors dominate Spain protecting vineyards for fruit, but wine abounds despite the prohibitions.

Jaber Ibn Hayyan (Ceber). an Arabian alchemist, writes of “al Kohl” in Liber Investigationes Magisteri. The report covers the process of raising aqueous vapors: the freeing of liquor in the manner of a common eye cosmetic called “Kohl” which is made from antimony. Also, the Chinese distill spirits from rice wine.

822

1000

1066

1150

1172

1250

1290

Monks at Weser, Germany, use hops to preserve and flavor brews.

The Vikings discover America and name it “Vinland” because of the profusion of wild grape vines there. Beer and mead is celebrated in the Anglo-Saxon epic “Beowulf.”

William, Duke of Norrnanv, conquers England at Battle of Hastings. French-English wine trade rapidly expands.

White spirits from sweet fruit is distilled commonly as “alcool Blanc.” Vodka, or neutral spirits, are first produced from grain in Russia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.

King Henry II invades Ireland and discovers a native spirit called “Uisge Baugh” which is made from native grains.

Apothecaries in Italy commonly produce spirits spiced and sweetened as the earliest of liqueurs.

Arnauld of Villeneuve, a professor of medicine at Montpellier in southern France, popularizes a medical panacea which he ca!!s “aqua vitae” (the water of life). For the next 400 years, aqua vitae, in numerous forms, comprises a part of medical phamacopea. “It prolongs life, clears away ill humours, revives the heart, and maintains youth.”

1411

1419

1451

1493

The first French distilleries are given licenses in Alsace and Armagnac.

The island of Madeira is settled by the Portugese and developed for agriculture including grape growing.

German grain spirits called “schnapsteufel” (the devil’s drink) are produced, the precurser of modem Schnapps.

On his second expedition, Columbus takes sugar cane from the Canary Islands and plants at St. Croix in the Virgin Islands which begins the prodigious rum trade.

1503

1510

1525

1553

1561

1580

1585

1606

1630

1640

Scotland makes peace with England, opening the whiskey trade.

The recipe for Benedictine liqueur is developed, but remains in private hands until 1884.

Amaretto liqueur is developed in the town of Sarrona, Italy.

Eau de vie de Cidre, or applejack, is first produced in Normandy, France. It is named Clavados in 1558 in honor of the Spanish Galleon visiting the area.

Beer is first produced for sale in glass bottles in Germany.

Jerez wine is commonly distilled to fortify and preserve Sherry.

Dutch ships carry the first “burnt wine” or brandy from Cognac, France, to England and the lowlands.

The Virginia Company is formed, and early grape growing experiments begin.

Governor John Winthrop makes the first prohibition move in an attempt to outlaw all liquor in Boston.

Frances Sylvius, at the University of leyden, Holland, develops a neutral aqua vitae from beer and adds juniper berry as a medicinal diuretic. For western civilization, this well-meaning procedure opened the causeway through which flowed the flood of grain spirits, a ubiquitous source for distillation. Frances named his concoction “Ienevre” which was shortened to Gin by the English.

1652

1657

1680

1685

1690

1693

Spirits are made from corn and rye in the first commercial distillery in the United States, operated by William Kieft on Staten Island.

Rum is first commercially produced in Massachusetts from West Indian molasses.

Yeast is first viewed under a microscope by the Dutch scientist Van leeuwenhoek.

William Penn makes beer commercially in Philadelphia.

Dom Perignon creates champagne in Epernay, France.

Williarp and Mary enact heavy duties to discourage French wine trade, and light duties to encourage Portuguese wine trade.

1733

1745

1761

1769

1781

1789

1791

1808

1818

1833

1837 to 1897

1843

1850

1852

1856

1860

1862

1874

1876

1880

1909

1916

1920

1929

1933

1935

1972

1978

1980

Parliament passes the Molasses Act, raising tariffs on non-British molasses to the colonies.

Rum becomes a staple on British navy ships as it is used to prevent scurvy.

George Washington orders a copper still from England and sells spirits commercially the following year.

The art of wine cultivation is brought to California from Mexico by Franciscan priest, Padre Junipero Serra - California’s oldest industry is wine making.

The cork is first used as a common stopper, a procedure which allows wine bottle aging.

The Reverend Elijah Craig creates Bourbon from grain whiskey and limestone waters in Kentucky.

The United States government first generates revenue by taxing whiskey and stills.

The first formal Temperance Society in the United States is formed at the First Congregational Church in Saratoga, New York.

Peter Smirnoff opens a vodka distillery in Moscow.

The Supreme Court-rules that states can regulate their liquor trade.

The blending of malt Scotch whiskey with the light spirits from the continuous still creates a vast new trade for product.

Captain Sutter produces grape brandy for. California gold miners.

A new type of gin is developed in London without sweetener and aptly called London dry gin. Also, Dr. Johann Siegert begins exporting bitters from Angostura, Venezuela.

Madeira wines celebrate their golden age in the United States.

Under a commission of the wine industry, Louis Pasteur isolates yeast as the fermenting agent.

Irish distillers begin to blend whiskey with neutral spirits in the manner of the Scotch blenders.

The Bartender’s Guide officially labels mixed drinks as cocktails.

The Women’s Christian Temperance Union is founded. Also, Prime Minister Gladstone loses his Parliament seat when he attempts to restrict gin consumption.

Beer is first pasteurized for stability.

An estimated eight percent of all Italian workers are involved in the wine industry.

The Cognac areas become defined.

Four hundred different individual brands of Irish whiskey are sold in the United States.

On January 16, the 18th Amendment becomes the law of the land.

The Police Commission of New York City estimates that there are 32,000 speak-easies and twice as many taverns as in pre-prohibition times. They estimate up to a total of 200,000 in the United States.

On December 5, at 5:32 p.m. the 21st Amendment is passed, ending 13 years 10 months, and 18 days of legal prohibition.

The first beer cans are sold in the United States, and over 700 brewers are involved in the business.

American distillers are permitted to produce light whiskeys reminiscent of the Canadian types.

Over four million cases of Tequila are sold, compared to a total of thirty thousand in 1960.

‘Sales of Vodka by case/is predicted to exceed forty million.