strong water is an early English term for distilled spirit, first attested to in 1590 and essentially obsolete by the middle of the next century. Originally an umbrella term for any clear, reactive liquid, including acids, “strong water” became a popular alternative to the learned aqua vitae for describing spirits and was in wide use throughout the seventeenth century. Once English speakers began to differentiate the spirits they drank by type and base material, “strong water” generally gave way to “brandy,” “rum,” “geneva,” “rack,” “usquebaugh,” and the like, although it is occasionally found in legal documents through the end of the eighteenth century and after that as a deliberate archaism.
See also aqua vitae and spirits.
Forman, Simon. The Autobiography and Personal Diary of Dr. Simon Forman. Edited by J. O. Halliwell. London: 1849.
Wilson, C. Anne. Water of Life. Totnes, UK: Prospect, 2006.
By: David Wondrich