Héctor Abad, in an overview of Colombian street food, touches on the history of hard alcohol:
Great distilled drinks had their origin in sailing and interoceanic trade. First, Dutch sailors came up with the idea of ‘reducing’ wine by heating it up (taking out its spirit in a still) and from there brandy was born. This distillation of wine was rough stuff, but it combined three advantages: it weighed less than wine, took up less space and lasted longer. The idea was to add water to it again on the other side of the sea, but the drink ended up being enjoyed as it was, strong and pure.
The Dish 