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Subject: Re: is their such a drink?
From: NeoBlazeSJX
Posted: Tue May 9. 2006, 07:20 UTC
Followup to: "is their such a drink?"  by James  (Tue May 9. 2006, 06:19 UTC)
> My friend got a drink from a party and didn't quite know what it was. 
> Someone told him it was called Water of Life, anyone heard of that? 
> It tasted liked Vodka but we re clueless.

What you probably had was an eau de vie, which translates "water of life".

Eau de vie is a general category for spirits distilled from fruits. 
Technically cognac and armagnac could be considered grape eau de vie and all 
eau de vie could be considered "fruit brandies". Note that by "fruit brandy" 
i'm refering to spirits made from the fruit, not liquers which are flavored 
with the fruits after distillation.

Fraise - strawberry
Poire-Williams - pear
Framboise Sauvage - rasberry
Kirsch - cherry
Silovitz - plum

Another interesting note is how a few spirits derive their names from a "Water 
of Life" or "water" itself.

Eau de vie (French) -> aqua vitae (Latin) - "water of life"
Vodka (Russian) - "little water"
Whiskey -> usquebaugh (Gaelic) -> uisge betha (Scottish) --> aqua vitae
Aquavit (Scandinavian) -> aqua vitae

As for the flavors, I can't say as I've never come across any myself, however 
any eau de vie should have at least some notes of whatever fruit it was 
distilled from, rather than just a neutral vodka flavor.

That's my two cents/pence on the topic. Maybe someone else can help more.

-Ganpai!
-- 
“I had never tasted anything so cool and clean. They made me feel civilized.” 
-Ernest Hemingway, of a Martini


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