Alambique is the Spanish word for alembic. The alambique or alembic still originated in the Middle East or Central Asia. The word comes from the Arabic “Al-Dinbiq” and means cup or beaker. Alambique stills are typically distinguished by a copper pot that holds liquid that’s heated (typically over fire in the mezcal world), a top that fits over the pot to capture the vapor from the heated liquid, and a downward facing tube that carries the vapors to a receiving bowl/jar to capture the condensed vapors that have been cooled by touching the top lid or by cool water that touches the outside of the tube.
The alambique still arrived in Mexico with the Spanish and was first introduced on the eastern coast and eventually dispersed throughout Mexico. There are variations in its set-up as people have adapted it to making mezcal. The alambique is the most common still used in the production of mezcal and the one you are most likely to see if you visit palenques in Oaxaca.
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