To obtain by distillation; to subject to a process of evaporation and subsequent condensation; to extract by distillation, as spirits, essential oil, etc.; to rectify; as, to distill brandy from wine; to distill alcoholic spirits from grain; to distill essential oils from flowers, etc.; to distill fresh water from sea water.

to extract out and present the essence of; to shorten and refine; to present the essential elements of; -- of ideas or texts.

Distilling is a process of heating an alcoholic beverage and condensing the high-alcohol vapors, producing a much stronger solution by leaving behind much of the water in the original drink. Due to the tendency to produce toxic forms of alcohol in unknown proportions, distilling beverages in the United States requires a commercial license.

(1) Heating a mixture to separate the more volatile from the less volatile parts, then cooling an condensing the resulting vapor, to produce a more nearly pure or refined substance. (2) To draw out or obtain the part that is essential, pure, etc.

extract by the process of distillation; "distill the essence of this compound"