brandy

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.2MB)

License? We don’t need no stinkin’ license!

Right click to download MP3 file

On this day in 1942, the state of Massachusetts began requiring registration tabs on their license plates.  In fact, they were the first state to issue license plates in 1903.  Massachusetts is very serious about their taxes in the form registration and inspection stickers.  I speak from experience after being cited for not having my vehicle inspected in a timely manner.  But what does this have to do with wine?

Yeah, great question.  It has nothing to do with wine.  I digressed already!

Okay, let’s try again.

On this day in 1933, the twenty-first amendment became effective and ended the national prohibition on alcohol.

Alcohol was finally legal from a federal standpoint, but states were now in control of their own liquor laws and were authorized to license and regulate liquor as they saw fit.  (And I bet Massachusetts charged a pretty penny for their liquor licenses.)

But in even more extreme cases, Mississippi did not repeal Prohibition until 1966. And Kansas did not allow the sale of liquor to be consumed in bars or restaurants until 1987. Even now, there are still many “dry” counties and towns in America that prohibit liquor sales. Yup, towns who have no interest in collecting easy taxes but still like to crack down on people who occasionally tip an age-old beverage.

Hey, if you live in one of these pre-historic thinking towns, I highly recommend you immediately relocate to the Central Coast of California.

Well, we are certainly taking the scenic route getting to our Wine Word of the Day: Alcohol

In the case of wine, alcohol is the intoxicating element produced by the yeast fermentation of the sugar in fruit.  If a wine is completely fermented, about 40 to 45 percent of the grapes’ sugar content is converted into carbon dioxide and 55 to 60 percent is converted into ethyl alcohol.  

To learn more about how this works check out our September 20th Wine Word of the Day.

But do you know where the word “Alcohol” comes from?  The word is actually Arabic in origin.  (which may strike you as a little odd since they’re not known to be big drinkers).  The word “al” corresponds to the word “the” in English.  The second part of the word “cohol,” comes from the Arab word “kohl”, which loosely means “fine powder.”  This fine powder was made by heating a substance to its gaseous state, then re-cooling it in a process known as distillation.  The powders were used for making makeup (especially black eye makeup) and perfume essences.

At some point, somebody stumbled upon the idea of trying to make an essence out of wine by distilling it.  And in the process they essentially made brandy.  The earliest recorded use of the word for this purpose dates back to 1672.  And apparently the product was so good that the word “alcohol” became exclusively henceforth known as an intoxicating beverage, not as perfume and makeup.  

My theory is that if everyone was drinking alcohol, especially if they were drinking a lot of alcohol, then makeup and perfume became much less important!

Grape Stomper Todd Book Recommendations:

	Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition		The Prohibition Hangover: Alcohol in America from Demon Rum to Cult Cabernet
	Egan’s Rats: The Untold Story of the Prohibition-era Gang That Ruled St. Louis		Mr. Capone: The Real – and complete – story of Al Capone

Tagged as: alcohol, brandy, distillation, prohibition

{ 0 comments }