2. Some content is licensed under a Creative Commons license, and other content is completely copyright-protected. Chartreuse is widely considered the world’s best liqueur because of its extraordinary spectrum of distinct flavors and even medicinal benefits. Nor was ingenuity in alcohol a male-only domain. The wine's distributor reported record sales of £43.2 million as of March 2017. Some of the monks would go on to support themselves in the secular life by starting their own distilleries. The monks brew a wide variety of beer which are heavily sought after all over the world by those who know what good beer is! First, the conditions were right for it. The plans, which date back to A.D. 820, show three breweries – one for guests of the monastery, one for pilgrims and the poor, and one for the monks themselves. Wine in pre-modern time had a much lower alcohol content and was used as a disinfectant and as a tonic. 324 views Monks and priests also found new uses for the grape. As more breweries went out of business, the demand for the monks’ beer grew steadily as other alternatives left the market. Alcohol abuse is no laughing matter, but is it sinful to drink and make merry, moderately and responsibly, during a holy season or at any other time? Monks discovered that egg whites can clarify wine. Read More: Whiskey 101: How to properly taste Irish whiskey. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Recognizing this, the monks, in 1840, adapted the elixir recipe to make a milder beverage which we know today as “Green Chartreuse» – 55% alcohol, 110 proof. In India, an alcoholic beverage called sura, distilled from rice, was in use between 3000 and 2000 B.C. Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email. Because these Celtic monks wrote in Latin, early whiskey became known as 'Aqua Vitae' or water of life. Alcohol occurs naturally in the world, so it wasn't really invented. © Copyright 2020 Irish Studio LLC All rights reserved. Beer made in Medieval Europe had good amount of protein and carbohydrate, which gained them good status in the society. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Walter Dendy Sadler via Wikimedia Commons. The liqueur is distilled by Carthusian monks and was invented in the early 18th century. As a historical theologian, I researched the role that pious Christians played in developing and producing alcohol. Alcohol first discovered by an Iranian/Persian polymath, physician, alchemist, philosopher called “Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi”. This method, which would allow the creation of beverages with higher concentrations of alcohol, may have been discovered by the monk Ramon Llull, according to … Scholars believe whiskey was brought to Ireland by Christian monks sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries. Monk sneaking a drink. Benedictine monks in the Middle Ages made many wonderful, often-fermented food products, including bread, cheese, wine, and beer. In order to celebrate the Eucharist, which requires the use of bread and wine, Catholic missionaries brought their knowledge of vine-growing with them to the New World. Speculations about possible earlier development are just that… speculations. Fritz Wagner (1896-1939) (Dorotheum) , via Wikimedia Commons. Religious orders such as the Benedictines and Jesuits became expert winemakers. One saint, Arnold of Soissons, who lived in the 11th century, has even been credited with inventing the filtration process. However, it was discovered in Persia (nowadays we call it Iran) by a genius named Al-Razi. The most well-known are Grimbergen, formerly brewed at the Abbey of Grimbergen by Norbertine monks, and Leffe, formerly brewed at … They had vast tracts of land for planting grapes or barley, a long institutional memory through which special knowledge could be handed down and perfected, a facility for teamwork and a commitment to excellence in even the smallest of chores as a means of glorifying God. Chartreuse (US: / ʃ ɑːr ˈ t r uː z,-ˈ t r uː s / (), UK: /-ˈ t r ɜː z /, French: [ʃaʁtʁøz]) is a French liqueur available in green and yellow versions that differ in taste and alcohol content. Initially, the monks would have made wine, but while wine worked well for the warm regions of the Mediterranean, in the cold northern regions another method for creating spirits needed to be found, Aleteia reports. More modern-tasting libations would not arrive until the Middle Ages, when Christian monks and other artisans began brewing beers seasoned with hops. ( Public Domain ) One saint, Arnold of Soissons, who lived in the 11th century, has even been credited with inventing the filtration process. "The first use of distilled spirits is likely to have been in religious rituals," Charles MacLean, an expert in Scotch whiskey, writes in the foreword to the essay collection “Whiskey and Philosophy: A Small Batch of Spirited Ideas Opens in New Window.”. Whiskey was invented by medieval Irish monks, who probably shared their knowledge with the Scots during their missions. Carmelite sisters once produced an extract called “Carmelite water” that was used as a herbal tonic. 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Whiskey was invented by medieval Irish monks, who probably shared their knowledge with the Scots during their missions. And the cherry brandy known as Maraska liqueur was invented by Dominican apothecaries in the early 16th century. Llull was based in Spain, but it is very likely that the new process he discovered was shared with monks from other orders across Europe. The herbal liqueur Bénédictine D.O.M. The nuns no longer make this elixir, but another concoction of the convent survived and went on to become one of Mexico’s most popular holiday liqueurs – Rompope. In the Celtic language, it was called “uisge beatha,” from which the word whiskey is derived. Alcohol, a flammable liquid produced by the natural fermentation of sugars, is currently the most widely used human psychoactive agent around the world today, ahead of nicotine, caffeine, and betel nut. 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