Why is it that so many cultures associate booze with life, or water of life, or, more elementally, just plain water, which is essential to life? The Gaelic uisge beatha is one example; the Scandanavian aquavit(from Latin aqua vitae) is another; vodka is another. Then there's the term, spirits, which suggests life.

It seems lots of people have found booze to be among life's essentials for a loooong time!

I believe that Latin aqua vitae (i.e., 'water of life') was an alchemical term (cf. aqua fortis and aqua regia for acids). English, Gaelic, and Scandinavian terms are probably calques (or loan translations). Water is aqua, and aqua vitae is alcohol. Slavic vodka means literally 'little water' (as there is very little water in it, innit?).