ALEMBIC

An 'alembic' (From Arabic,'Al-ambiq الأنبيق' ) is an alchemical still consisting of two retorts connected by a tube. Technically, the alembic is only the upper part (the ''capital'' or ''still-head''), while the lower part is the 'cucurbit', but the word was often used to refer to the entire distillation apparatus. The alembic was developed circa 800 AD by the Arab alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan; its modern descendant (used to produce alcohol) is the pot still.
The word "alembic" has taken on a metaphorical meaning - anything that refines or s, as if by distillation - as in "''the alembic of creative thought.''"
The word, as most alchemical terminology, comes from the Arabic: ''al-ambiq'', "still;" ultimately from the Greek ''ambix'', "cup."
The French spelling ''alambic'' is also commonly used, especially as the apparatus is often associated with Cognac where it is known as ''alambic charentaise''. Charente is the area where the grapes must be grown and the brandy itself produced in order to be rightfully called ''Cognac''.

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See also

See also

★ Pot still

★ retort

★ Distilled beverage

★ Cognac word of the day: alembic