Why is Alcohol called Spirits? Spiritual Meanings?

Why is alcohol called spirits? The spiritual meaning behind the name

Introduction

As one of the most popular ‘vices’ in the world today, drinking alcohol is a major part of society.

Especially in Western culture, drinking alcohol is a common solution to let the hair down and relax after a hard week at work.

For many, their choice of tipple will be beers or ciders. Some, though, prefer stronger alcohol.

This comes in the form of whiskeys, rums, gins, vodkas, and more. However, if you go to buy alcohol from a store, you might wonder why some of the drinks are labeled as ‘spirits’ – why is alcohol called spirits?

You might have simply been too busy enjoying your choice of drink to realize the difference in the naming conventions.

Beers and ciders?

They are not spirits.

Nor are wines.

So, why is some alcohol referred to as a spirit?

And does it actually have any kind of spiritual connection or meaning?

Why is alcohol called spirits? The answer is unclear

So, before you read any further, let us make one thing clear: there is no certain answer as to why some alcohols are called spirits.

Ask five different people, and you will likely get five different explanations.

It is a varied topic, with no real proof as to why some drinks are called spirits.

The term spirit itself can mean many things outside of the alcohol debate, too.

For example, your spirit can be the ethereal ‘being’ within – to many, our spirit is what drives us.

It is the ‘light’ in the mind, the thing that gives our body and its organs the ability to act as we do.

To others, it refers to a more religious-minded phenomenon, the ‘Holy Spirit’ and the presence of an evangelical deity that watches over us all.

How, then, did this get mixed up in the world of alcohol?

How did alcohol become known as spirits?

If you look up the term in a dictionary, the alcohol-specific definition will be something along the lines of a liquid that contains ethanol and water distilled from alcoholic liquids and/or mash.

Like almost every major convention surrounding alcohol as an experience, there is no set agreement as to why the term spirits is used – it simply is.

The term”spirit” is steeped in history

One thing that we do know for sure is that the alcoholic reference to spirit has been a centuries-long thing.

Indeed, there have been some discoveries that tell us the use of the word spirit in relation to alcohol goes back as far as the 4^th C.E. B.C. – that is a long time ago.

One interesting theory as to the word’s etymology in relation to booze comes from, ironically, the Arabic world.

The phrase “al-ghawl” has often been associated with alcohol, because the term “al-ghawl” means “spirit” in Arabic.

This has been mentioned in the Qur’an in the past, too, and is clearly mentioned in Verse 37:47, which mentions al-ghawl. Al-ghawl is, of course, a demon that relies on intoxication.

Another more varied explanation comes from the use of the term alcohol itself.

You see, alcohol was commonly used in the past to mean ethanol.

The “spirit” of ethanol being released into the liquor via the distillation process was another reason why some believe that the term actually is more of a simplistic reference as opposed to some kind of translation or evolution from Arabic text.

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Spirits and Aristotle

Another intriguing theory behind the reason alcohol is called spirits comes from a trio of alcohol experts.

Dale DeGrodd and David Wondrich, alongside fellow connoisseur Paul Pacult, wrote the ‘handbook of booze’ in the form of BarSmarts Advanced.

This book actually claims that the term spirits is related to Aristotle himself!

Let us explain.

They believe that Aristotle himself worked out how to distill spirits as early as 327 B.C. – however, there are precious little factual suggestions that Ancient Greek culture enjoyed such distillation techniques or knowledge.

It is claimed in the book, though, that when one would consume alcohol, they were left with an “invigorated spirit” – hence the name.

Most studies followers of Ancient Greek history, though, believe this to be nonsense.

We will likely never know for sure, but this is the most out-there explanation about the use of the term spirits to describe alcohol.

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The spiritual meaning of the term “spirit” in relation to alcohol

So, there is no clear agreement among anyone as to how the term spirits came related to alcohol.

However, one thing that we can find out there is a kind of intriguing discussion about how alcohol combines with our very beings.

Every liquor starts out the same – a large pile of fermented ingredients, typically fruits, that are then distilled.

The fermentation process turns the sugars into alcohol, and distillation creates a higher alcoholic content within the product itself.

The majority of alcohols that would be classed as a spirit would need to have an ABV rating of around 40% to be considered a true spirit; anything less than this is going to be either a liqueur or a beer.

By the same token, beers and wines are not the same as a spirit as they do not go through the distillation process.

Some suggest that the name itself comes down to the fact that when we combine alcohol with mixers, we are giving what would be a traditional soft drink some “spirit” – raising the spirit of the drinker as much as anything.

So, there is no real consensus as to whether or not the term spirit is actually related to a process, the way it makes us feel, or an actual spiritual reverence.

For most, though, the term comes down to the fact that, after distillation, what is left is the “spirit” of all that was used to create the drink in the first place.

Will we ever know why spirits are known as spirits?

It is unlikely. In terms of greater meaning or understanding, though, there is not really much that can be said – spirits are spirits, for whatever reason people choose to believe.

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