he alembic pelican (called a pelican because of its profile) was an early version of an evaporative still. Heat was applied to a substance in the alembic to evaporate its "essence" or "spirit." The top of the alembic was kept cool so that vapor could condense in it, and run down to the sagging "waist" of the vessel. The alembic was then drained out of the neck into a collecting jar. If a substance was known to have several essences that condensed at different temperatures, the neck would empty into another pelican, which was kept at a cooler temperature, where the next essence would condense, and so on.