Floral waters have been used for thousands of years, dating back to ancient times and used by kings, queens and royalties across the history. They have been used traditionally in both beauty products and food and drink products. When it comes to food and beverage ingredients, the term botanical typically applies to ingredients derived directly from a plant, usually in the form of a liquid extract or dried leaf or other part of the plant. The liquid extracts often called herbal distillates, also known as floral waters, hydrosols, hydrolats, herbal waters, and essential waters, are aqueous products of hydro-distillation. It also comes with plenty of potential health benefits, including the following. Hydro-distillation means that herbs will sit directly in water. That chamber of herbs and water is heated from below. The herbs are boiled this way, and the oils in the plant material are captured by the steam in the chamber.