Despite the long tradition of distillation, the word hydrosol has become increasingly ambiguous. In the US, much like essential oils, hydrosols (or hydrolats) are unregulated, and products marketed under that name can be very different from one bottle to another. Distillation of hydrosols is an ancient art in which the distiller undertakes the no-small-task of mimicking the inspiring water cycle we witness here on earth; just on a micro-level, inside of their still. Have you ever made soup, put a lid on the pot, and when you took the lid off, there was clear water on top of the lid? That is a distillate of your soup, and it is the simplest way to understand where hydrosols come from.
