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There are many theories on the birth of distillation, most cannot be disproved. However, enough common ground now exists to put forward a chain of events with reasonable confidence.

As far as we know, the process of distilling wine was outlined for the first time by Geber in the 8th century in what we now know as Iraq; thus some form of spirit was used by the Arabs well before the 10th century. Indeed, many of the words associated with the distilling process come from the Arabic, including alchemy, alcohol and alembic. These terms were assimilated into European languages when Christian scholars translated Islamic texts in the 12th and 13th centuries. In his excellent Scotch Whisky – A Liquid History Charles MacLean writes that detailed accounts of distilling are found in the work of several important Islamic scholars: The Book of Secrets [Secretum Secretorum] and The Book of Chemistry and Distillation by Al-Kindi (c 850); The Books of Secrets by Rhazes (al-Razi c 925) provides a detailed list of distilling apparatus.

In addition, the Tartars of Mongolia had found the secret of strengthening their liquor by hanging skin bottles in the sun whilst preparing a drink made from milk. It was but a short step from the original alcoholic drinks to their distilled essences which would have been higher in alcohol, safer to drink and, however crude the distillate, probably more pleasing to the palate. It is often suggested that the Irish were the first to discover whisk(e)y but evidence is limited, although the Beatons may provide a link. The Beaton family (MacBeatha or MacVey in Gaelic) had come to Scotland from Ireland around 1300. They had been translating medical texts into Gaelic for generations and were hereditary physicians to the Lords of the Isles. It is possible that they were making a distillate out of grain but it was not whisky; it was alcohol used for medical and military purposes. Indeed, the first record of Irish distillation talks of wine.