But distilled liquors were a product of the Industrial Revolution. Of course it is perfectly possible to go about in an alcoholic haze on fermented drinks--Samu

But distilled liquors were a product of the Industrial Revolution. Of course it is perfectly possible to go about in an alcoholic haze on fermented drinks--Samuel Johnson said that the people in his hometown were soberer on wine than they had been on beer. But the scientific explosion preceded the gin.