Still Waters

The first time people taste a traditional eau-de-vie with its fiery alcohol, they often wince and say the stuff tastes like medicine.

Truth is, for centuries, distilled concoctions, often steeped with herbs and other plant material, were considered medicinal. English writer Peter Hallgarten, in his book “Spirits and Liqueurs” (Faber & Faber: 1978), wrote:

”. . . those early rough-and-ready mixtures frequently helped save life during the plague- and disease-ridden years of our history. No doubt they were used then as we use them now, as a relaxant and restorative at the end of a meal. That such mixtures would have tonic powers seems obvious from the ingredients.”

Soon these liquids came to be called eaux-de-vie , literally waters of life.

Most of the early brews were hardly tasty potables, but as techniques were developed to make these concoctions taste better--aging them in barrels to smooth them; adding fruits, berries and sugar--their medicinal nature disappeared and enjoyment became their raison d’etre.

Today’s eaux-de-vie offer more variety than ever. There are popular flavors such as orange, coffee, hazelnut, raspberry, chocolate and caraway, as well as artichoke, hyssop, myrrh, musk melon, even quinine.

A few remained popular (some with ethnic groups) because they traditionally represented digestifs , a (usually unpleasant) distillate that was intended to aid digestion. A tradition in Normandy, for example, was the serving of a slug of Calvados halfway through a large meal. The tradition was that the diner would swig it down and thus create more room in the tummy for the remainder of the repast.

The dry, intense eaux-de-vie and their companions, the sweet after-dinner sippers called liqueurs, became popular in Europe. However, because of their alcoholic strength and fiery taste, they never caught on in a big way in the United States.

In fact, few U.S. producers make truly fine distilled products, though their number is growing. Two of the top European producers of liqueurs are Marie Brizard and a personal favorite, Rene Niel.

A number of Italian wine producers make grappa--unaged distillate. Among them is a fine grappa made from Nebbiolo grapes by Ceretto. Jacopo Poli’s wide line of grappas is highly regarded, and I especially love the pear grappa. In France, the term used for clear, unaged spirits is marc (pronounced mahr). Marc de Bourgogne is popular in the Burgundy region of France, but little of it is seen in this country.