“bathtub gin” slowed further progress from 1920 to 1934 In the 1950s, mixologists discovered the value of vodka as a largely flavorless alcohol, and the appeal of sweettart fruit juices and sweet liqueurs Over the next few decades they concocted such broadly popular drinks as the mai tai, piña colada, screwdriver, daiquiri, margarita, and tequila sunrise In the 1970s, vodka dethroned whiskey as America’s best-selling spirit The late 20th century brought a modest revival of interest in the more austere classic cocktails, and in fine distilled spirits of all kinds, mixed with nothing more than water Food Words: Alcohol Our word alcohol comes from medieval Arab alchemy, which strongly influenced Western science and gave it several other important terms, including chemistry, alkali, and algebra To the Arabs, al kohl was the dark powder of the metal antimony, which women used to darken their eyelids By a process of generalization, it came to mean any fine powder, and then for the essence of any material Alcohol was first used to mean the essence of wine itself by the 16thcentury German alchemist Paracelsus Making Distilled Alcohols All distilled alcohols are made in basically the same way Fruits, grains, or other sources of carbohydrates are fermented with yeasts to make a liquid with a moderate alcohol content, from 5 to 12% by volume This liquid is heated in a chamber that collects the alcohol-and aroma-rich vapors as they escape from the boiling liquid, and then passes them across cooler metal surfaces, where the vapors ...antimony, which women used to darken their eyelids By a process of generalization, it came to mean any fine powder, and then for the essence of any material Alcohol was first used to mean the. .. to make a liquid with a moderate alcohol content, from 5 to 12% by volume This liquid is heated in a chamber that collects the alcohol -and aroma-rich vapors as they escape from the boiling liquid, and then passes them across... essence of wine itself by the 16thcentury German alchemist Paracelsus Making Distilled Alcohols All distilled alcohols are made in basically the same way Fruits, grains, or other sources of carbohydrates are fermented with yeasts