Rose Cap from Constance @museum.de

M: In this display case, we're showing a special still cap. It comes from Constance and has been dated to the year 1280. The cap is in the shape of a woman with a wide skirt. Unfortunately, the spout and the head have been lost. But you can still see how it worked: the alcoholic vapours condensed in the cap and accumulated in a groove running around the inside. The distillate flowed via the spout into a container.

F: The shape of the cap demonstrates the important role played by women when it came to distilling. In the Middle Ages, women practising the craft of distillation were called "Wasserbrennerin", literally water distillers. These women were knowledgeable about herbs and natural remedies. They used stills like this one to produce valuable medicines. For the "distilled waters", various parts of plants were distilled and mixed with brandy as required. This rose cap is the oldest evidence for the production of high-proof alcohol in Germany.

M: During the modern age, apothecaries gained in influence, and the female distillers were denigrated as witches, or at least as quacks, and driven out of the craft of distilling.