foodbriefs
Topic

Spirits

Distillation, and the tax regimes it produced.

7
in food
8:34
average
60 min
in total
12
across the network
Spirits across the network →
Refine22
Courses
Dishes 428Ingredients 47Baking 22Preserving & fermentation 22Technique 104Equipment 2Drinks 40Restaurants 10Street food 43Traditions 19Food history 135
Verdict
Worth your time 176Worth it in part 403Worth skipping 5
Topics
Food history 510Cooking 130The food industry 100Fermentation 97Street food 81Colonialism 58Spices 57Agriculture 32All 121 topics →
All briefs7
video still
9:00

Rakı

Rakı isn’t about flavour — it’s about a single, guaranteed chemical reaction in your glass.
8:28

Cognac

Cognac isn’t distilled spirit—it’s distilled law.
8:56

Gin

Gin isn’t about taste—it’s about who gets to define what counts as medicine, vice, or national identity.
9:11

Ouzo

Ouzo isn’t just a drink—it’s a legal boundary drawn in aniseed.
8:05

Tequila

Tequila isn’t a drink—it’s a land-use policy with alcohol content.
8:40

Vermouth

Vermouth isn’t ancient—it’s Italian. And its real history starts in Turin, not the Shang dynasty.
7:41

Whisky

Whisky isn’t born of craft—it’s forged by accident, refined by commerce, and sold as heritage.