This may go back farther than you're interested in - but this article has a
section on medical uses of distilled spirits:
"Water of Life, Water of Death: The Controversy overy Brandy and Gin in Early
Modern Augsburg" , Ann Tlusty (Central European History, 31/1&2, 1-30).

At 12:23 PM 1/19/00 -0600, you wrote: 
>
> One of my students is working on a research project on the history of
alcohol
> as a medicine.  Any suggestions of books, articles or web material would be
> helpful.
>  
> Brad Kadel
> Department of History
> Luther College
>