The word spirits has three meanings relevant to the early modern period: (1) a chemical substance or class of substances, which this article will discuss; (2) the Latin word spiritus, meaning “breath,” “spirit,” or “energy”; and (3) the Greek word pneúma (breath, spirit, rational soul), which in alchemy and Gnosticism meant approximately “spirit” or “inner being.” In modern chemistry, spirits refers to ethyl alcohol or ethanol (C₂H₅OH0]…