Use as documentary evidence that discussion of alcohol distillation existed by the ninth century, not as an unqualified invention claim.
The passage follows an explanation of alcohol distillation and precedes the discussion of Latin translation and aqua ardens.
Estreicher reports that al-Kindi discussed distillation of date-palm wine in the Book of the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations around 866 CE, while cautioning that the quantities produced were probably small.
129
129
Distillation and Distilled Wines
Verified on 2026-09-02 against the complete official Cambridge PDF attached to the Source, page 129. Underlying priority attribution remains dependent on the specialist scholarship cited by Estreicher.
Capture evidence faithfully. Select one Source, record a usable locator, and preserve enough surrounding context to prevent misquotation.
Evidence
The review places al-Kindi’s discussion of date-palm-wine distillation around 866 CE and describes likely production as small-scale.
Locator
Official PDF page: 129
Boundary
Treat this as a documentary milestone. Do not state that al-Kindi invented alcohol distillation without reviewing the underlying priority scholarship.
Verification
Checked against the complete official Cambridge PDF attached to the Source on 2026-09-02.