Physicians and the ‘Healing Mystery’ of Whiskey
This idea of doctors and whiskey has been around since for centuries. Let’s learn about a few doctors from the past and their connection to America’s Spirit.
The first written mention of the distillation process in the west was Aristotle, who gives credit to the Greek physician, Hippocrates.
An illustration of Hippocrates. Peter Paul Rubens, 1638
"The Father of Medicine" had written how sailors would use distillation to remove the salt from the seawater to allow them to safely drink it while they were out at sea. Beyond this, Hippocrates wrote extensively about alcohol, particularly wine, being given to patients for its various and significant healing benefits.
An illustration of Arnaldus de Villanova.
Born in Spain (Aragon) in 1240, he was educated in science, alchemy and medicine at the University of Montpellier. Afterwards, he taught at the University of Paris, where he became one of the most prominent physicians of his time (he was the personal doctor to 3 popes and a king).
He was very interested in studying the healing and medicinal benefits of wine and its distilled product, brandy. In his book "Liber de Vinis" ("Book of Wine"), which was greatly influenced by the famous Greek physician Galen, he exclusively examines this subject. In this work, he bestows the distilled alcohol based drink the title aqua vitae, translated as "water of life", as he notes drinking it everyday made him feel younger!
An illustration of Taddeo Alderotti.
Dr. Alderotti (1210-1295), also known as Alderotto, was an Italian physician who taught at the University of Bologna. He strongly believed in the healing benefits of “aqua vitae”, and was the first to understand that repeated runs of distillation would increase the alcohol content, thus its “potency”. He wrote in his most famous book, “Consilia”, that the medicinal waters could “cure fevers of all kinds…cleanse wounds…cure sciatica and toothaches…improve vision and treat deafness, epilepsy, and melancholy.”
Not only did he prescribe drinking the spirit for patients to treat numerous illnesses, but he also suggest drinking it when healthy, to prevent illness and keep the body healthy and to slow down the process of aging. Many people therefore began to drink it regularly, and consumption grew significantly.
He also referred to aqua vitae as aqua ardens, meaning “burning water”.
Sourcing:
https://www.unibo.it/en/university/who-we-are/our-history/famous-people-and-students/taddeo-alderotti-1
http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/treasures/arnaldus-de-villanova-ca-1240-1311-and-the-school-of-salerno/
https://iep.utm.edu/hippocra/