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Poli Grappa Museum Poli Distillerie The alembic still over the ages 

The story of the alembic still began with an advanced and highly  organised ancient civilisation: that of Mesopotamia. In Tepe Gawra, in the upper valley of the Tigris and 20 km east of Mosul (Iraq), fragments of a rudimentary alembic dating from about the 2nd century BC were found, while another one, also dating from about the 2nd century BC, was found in an area corresponding to the present-day Pakistan.

The first alembic made must have been very simple: a pot for distilling, also called a cucurbit, was placed over the fire, surmounted by a dome called a capital or helmet. Connected to this was a spout used to condense the vapours generated by the heat.

The Mesopotamian civilisation knew the art of distilling, but the first historically recorded alembic is mentioned in a manuscript in the St. Mark’s Library, Venice. This alembic takes the name of Egypt’s Cleopatra, who described it in the 2nd century BC, and is known by the name of Cleopatra’s Chrysopoeia. It was most probably used to make balsams and essences. Grappa Museum Grappa Distillation Grappa Recipes Grappa Collection Flavored Grappas Library of the Spirit