Brandy in Dr Stone S1E1

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Right after producing his wine, Senku announces the next step to Taiju: “Time to learn wine distillation, how to make brandy.” He assembles a makeshift alembic and heats his wine, demonstrating that science doesn’t need a modern lab to deliver results. It’s the first concrete application of distillation in the nascent “kingdom of science.”

The subject in depth

Brandy belongs to the family of eaux-de-vie , strong spirits obtained by distilling an already-fermented liquid. Brandy’s specific raw material is wine (as opposed to whisky, which starts from malted grain, rum from cane molasses, or vodka from potatoes or grain).

The process is simple on paper. The wine is heated between 78 °C (ethanol’s boiling point) and 100 °C (water’s boiling point). Ethanol, being more volatile, evaporates first. The vapor is channeled into a cooled tube (the coil) where it condenses into a liquid more concentrated in alcohol. Starting from a 12° wine, a single pass typically yields 35 to 50° of alcohol; two successive passes climb toward 70° ^[Wikipedia] .

The primitive alembic Senku assembles is the direct descendant of the 8th-century Arab alchemical alembic, itself inherited from Alexandrian apparatus of the 1st century. The structure has stayed constant for 2,000 years: a cucurbit (the heated vessel), a head (the neck that channels the vapor), and a cooling coil. Metallurgy has advanced; the principles have not changed.

Three refinements separate artisanal brandy from a first-pass raw spirit. First, the heads (the first drops of the distillate) are discarded, since they concentrate toxic compounds such as methanol and acetaldehyde. Next, the heart is kept, rich in ethanol and delicate aromatics. Finally, the tails are discarded, more watery and loaded with fusel oils. Dr Stone’s author never mentions this detail, but it is precisely what separates drinkable brandy from dangerous rotgut.

The fact-checker’s eye

Going further

• Distillation: the general physical principle
• Wine: the source of ethanol that gets distilled
• Discipline: Chemistry: all chemistry entries on the site

Glossary

Eau-de-vie ↗

Strong spirit obtained by distilling an already-fermented liquid (wine, pomace, fruit, grain). Brandy is the eau-de-vie of wine.

Aqua vitae ↗

'Water of life' in medieval Latin. The name European alchemists of the 13th century gave to distilled alcohol, which they believed could prolong youth.

Sources

1. Eau-de-vie, French Wikipedia ^[Wikipedia]
2. Distillation, French Wikipedia ^[Wikipedia]
3. Robert J. Forbes, Short History of the Art of Distillation, E. J. Brill, 1948 ^[Livre]