Liven up the party with this heady collection of drinking games! Choose from brain-boggling classics such as Fuzzy Duck and Twenty-One or dizzying games of pure chance like TV Drinking and Vodka Roulette - whichever you play, you're guaranteed to be gleeful and giggly by the end!

A Vineyard Odyssey is a fascinating saga of wine-the journey from vine to bottle-that takes the reader on a travelogue of the many hazards that lie along the way. John Kiger tracks the nefarious denizens of the vineyard world: the host of insects, fungi, bacteria, and viruses, along with the feathered and furry critters, that lurk in vineyards. All are capable of sabotaging a promising vintage right under the nose of an unsuspecting grower. Rather than responding with toxic chemicals, Kiger follows an organic approach to cultivation, explaining how natural and biological controls can conquer or at least contain these vineyard saboteurs. Highlighting the many hazards of nature that lie hidden in any vintage, the author tells the story of a winegrower and an organic philosophy that guides the annual struggle to coax great wine from a steep hillside and a few thousand vines. Combining history, science, technology, and personal experience, this book vividly brings to life the hard-fought battles behind the wines we savor.

Find your perfect Gin-gle Bells this Christmas! From the Borders to Barra, as new craft distilleries emerge, they are making some serious waves in the global gin market. Thanks to the relatively simple method of gin production, craft distilleries have been creating imaginative products, reinvigorating the market while innovating in this corner of the world and beyond. With tasting notes and tips from master distillers, entrepreneurs and producers of Scottish gin, this guide is for every type of gin enthusiast, whether you are looking for fascinating distillery tours, or a new botanical for your tastebuds to explore. Accompanied by cocktail recipes to turn any fan into a fully-fledged mixologist, The Scottish Gin Bible is the ultimate guide to a gin lover's favourite tipple. "It's a product of sheer human creativity and endeavour you hold in your hand when you sip a long Gin & Tonic on a balmy summer evening or politely address a gin martini in a cocktail bar" MATTHEW S. V. PAULEY

Raise your glass to the bourbon renaissance with this must-have cocktail collection. Made in America and aged in charred new American oak barrels, bourbon is the quintessential US spirit - but the best part is mixing it up into tasty drinks. Here are the best of the best. Whisky experts Jane Danger and Alla Lapushchik offer timeless classics and forgotten gems, such as the Old Fashioned and the Boulevardier, as well as cutting-edge craft concoctions, including the Brown Derby and Paper Plane. They also serve up a short history of bourbon and tips for making delicious infusions and syrups. Sidebars chronicle bourbon's influence on American culture.

You're about to be introduced to the umami factor: the secret to sensational custom-made beverages, including spirits, wine, beer, soft drinks, and more. Chances are you have never heard of umami, the taste impression created by certain amino acids in a food or beverage. This book reveals the wonders of umami to beginner and expert alike, starting off with a thorough understanding of "full-spectrum" fermentation theory, then dives into the various preparation techniques and shows how umami-producing ingredients create beverages with sensational balance and roundness on the palate, tongue, nose, and even throat. More than 75 recipes, sharp insight, and handy tips help both amateur and professional fermentation chefs conquer the next frontier in beverage science.

Italy has grappa, Russia has vodka, Jamaica has rum. Around the world, certain drinks--especially those of the intoxicating kind--are synonymous with their peoples and cultures. For Mexico, this drink is tequila. For many, tequila can conjure up scenes of body shots on Cancun bars and coolly garnished margaritas on sandy beaches. Its power is equally strong within Mexico, though there the drink is more often sipped rather than shot, enjoyed casually among friends, and used to commemorate occasions from the everyday to the sacred. Despite these competing images, tequila is universally regarded as an enduring symbol of "lo mexicano."
"Tequila Distilling the Spirit of Mexico" traces how and why tequila became and remains Mexico's national drink and symbol. Starting in Mexico's colonial era and tracing the drink's rise through the present day, Marie Sarita Gaytan reveals the formative roles played by some unlikely characters. Although the notorious Pancho Villa was a teetotaler, his image is now plastered across the labels of all manner of tequila producers--he's even the namesake of a popular brand. Mexican films from the 1940s and 50s, especially Western comedies, buoyed tequila's popularity at home while World War II caused a spike in sales within the whisky-starved United States. Today, cultural attractions such as Jose Cuervo's "Mundo Cuervo" and the Tequila Express let visitors insert themselves into the Jaliscan countryside--now a UNESCO-protected World Heritage Site--and relish in the nostalgia of pre-industrial Mexico.
Our understanding of tequila as Mexico's spirit is not the result of some natural affinity but rather the cumulative effect of U.S.-Mexican relations, technology, regulation, the heritage and tourism industries, shifting gender roles, film, music, and literature. Like all stories about national symbols, the rise of tequila forms a complicated, unexpected, and poignant tale. By unraveling its inner workings, Gaytan encourages us to think critically about national symbols more generally, and the ways in which they both reveal and conceal to tell a story about a place, a culture, and a people. In many ways, the story of tequila is the story of Mexico.

Take a tour of wine and spirit production around the world and how climate change is affecting it at every stage - from cultivation to consumption. Climate change is altering the very nature of wine and spirit production around the world. From the unimaginably destructive fires that rip through California's wine country with terrifying frequency to the floods and hail storms that threaten grape and grain harvests from Bordeaux to Kentucky and beyond, no one involved in the world of beverage production is immune. Thankfully, it's not all doom and gloom: The rising temperatures brought on by climate change have allowed southern English wine producers to gain a foothold in the world of sparkling wine: Their best bubblies are finally gaining the kind of respect that producers have dreamed about for decades. CRUSHED takes readers on a tour of the world of wines and spirits, and tells the stories of the visionary growers and producers in eight key regions that are being affected by a climate whose shifts have been far more sudden and dramatic than they ever could have predicted. CRUSHED is written for everyone who enjoys a nice glass of wine or a great dram of whiskey, and who has ever wondered how it got from its literal roots to the glass they're holding in their hand. It's for anyone who is interested in the ways in which our dramatically shifting natural environment is affecting the beverages we've all taken for granted. Over the course of eight gripping chapters, each one focusing on a different part of the wine and spirits world, readers are taken into the lives of the people responsible for some of the most delicious drinks in the world in fascinating, revealing, and riveting ways. Plenty of books have been written about the effects of climate change on our food system, yet none has so vividly given readers the opportunity to understand how their beloved wines and spirits are being affected. Until now.

Throughout history, waves of invaders have coveted the northeast corner of France: Attila the Hun in the fifth century, the English in the Hundred Years War, the Prussians in the nineteenth century. Yet this region - which historians say has suffered more battles and wars than any other place on earth - is also the birthplace of one thing the entire world equates with good times, friendship and celebration: champagne.

Champagne is the story of the world's favourite wine. It tells how a sparkling beverage that became the toast of society during the Belle Epoque emerged after World War I as a global icon of fine taste and good living. The book celebrates the gutsy, larger-than-life characters whose proud determination nurtured and preserved the land and its grapes throughout centuries of conflict.

Wine isn't the only drink that can accompany a good meal. In this cookbook, whiskey takes center stage with signature pairings and top-notch recipes. From rye with smoked salmon to bourbon with apple pie, experiment with diverse flavour profiles that pair with and improve the taste of these spirits. With hundreds of different expressions to choose from, a good bottle of whiskey is an ingenious way to bring your meals to the next level. Inside you'll find: - Menus that pair well with bourbon, rye, scotch, and single malts - Detailed tasting notes for a variety of expressions - A guide to the full spectrum of whiskey flavors and aromas Balance out delectable dishes or give them a perfect punch, and bring depth and complexity to each meal with this spirited collection. This is a new way to think, drink, and appreciate the world of whiskey. Raise your glass, it's time to eat with The Whiskey Cookbook.

Raise a glass to Taylor Swift with 60 cocktail recipes inspired by every era, including riffs off greatest hits, twists on her favorite drinks, callouts to iconic moments in Swiftie history, and an abundance of fan-service Easter eggs, plus 20 alcohol-free options.

Every Swiftie will find something to love in this boozy celebration of the legendary music icon. Call it what you want, in The Eras Pour you can drink your way through every distinctive era with delicious, creative cocktails that capture the spirit of Taylor Swift’s greatest hits and fan favorites.
 
Whether you’re looking for a refreshing sipper like Fever Dream, a blackberry-and-bitters twist on a Pimm’s cup in the middle of a cruel summer, or a cozy, cardigan-worthy cinnamon- and smoke-laced Peter Losing Wendy to drink under a streetlight in a forever winter, ’tis the damn season. Get ready to shake it up with a James Dean Daydream cherry-spiked martini, or indulge in a Tim McGraw–worthy Old Hickory Lake, a peach and bourbon duo perfect for slow dancing all night in your faded blue jeans. Feel aglow with Lights Are So Bright, the Tay-Tini riff you’ve been waiting for, or toast with a Crestfallen Cure, a contemplative sparkler for late-night train rides and champagne problems (Dom Perignon optional). From the fearless flavors of Taylor’s early days to the reputation-shaking mixes of her later albums—plus alcohol-free options so everyone at the party has fun—The Eras Pour has got you covered.
 
With stunning photography of the cocktails and a design that reflects Taylor’s ever-evolving style—from her country roots to pop anthem queen—The Eras Pour is the perfect way to celebrate her career, maybe all too well. Made for London boys, Miss Americanas, and new romantics alike, this book is the perfect companion for your next listening party. Grab your shaker tins—it’s time to make the whole place shimmer.

Batched & Bottled Cocktails features 50 of the best recipes for batched and bottled cocktails - cocktails you can pre-make and bottle, and either pour straight over ice or leave to mature for an hour, a month or even a year. From Negronis and Manhattans, to more complex concoctions you can infuse with botanicals or fermented ingredients, the recipes follow the seasons and range from simple, stir-through mixes to more elaborate drinks that require kitchen prep. Drinking, just like eating, is best if you follow nature, and match what's going on outside. So, in this book you'll find everything from light, spritzy drinks for the summer and rich, comforting drinks for those quiet, cosy nights in. Sick of standing in the corner making cocktails while everyone else is having fun? Fed up with having to buy loads of expensive spirits and bitters? Just want to pour a delicious cocktail any time, any place? Then Batched & Bottled Cocktails is the book for you.

Beer and Society: How We Make Beer and Beer Makes Us takes readers on a lively journey through the social, cultural, and economic dimensions of the modern beer world. The book illustrates that beer is far more than a beverage. It represents a marker of identity, a source of pleasure, an object of connoisseurship, and a livelihood for those who produce and distribute it. Drawing on leading sociological and psychological perspectives, the authors argue that our enduring relationship with beer and its many varieties reflects the very roots of our society, including its collective values and norms, power structures, and inequity in race, gender, sexuality, and social class. Beer and Society explores these aspects of beer as sites of growing struggles for social change.

This title shows you how to make all the fabulous vodka drinks, from the Screwdriver, Harvey Wallbanger and Sea Breeze to more exotic concoctions such as the Chilli Vodkatini, Apres-Ski and French Horn. It includes entertaining anecdotes and short histories about each cocktail, with expert tips on how to prepare and blend the ingredients, and how to serve the finished drink. It offers handy advice on essential cocktail-making equipment, the glasses and hints and tips, including creative ideas for garnishes and decorations. It is a useful guide to the different types of vodka on the market, from Russia, Poland, Sweden and Finland, as well as vodkas that have infusions of blackcurrant, cherry and bison-grass added. Simple, yet sophisticated, vodka is one of the world's most popular and versatile spirits. It is always served very cold, then drunk in a variety of ways: it can be knocked back as a quick shot or sipped slowly; drunk neat or blended with other spirits and mixers; or used to accompany dishes such as Russian caviar. This book contains a selection of 50 vodka mixes that you can make at home, from classics such as the Screwdriver to concoctions including Kew Punch and Soft Fruit and Ginger Cup. Each recipe begins by explaining the history of the cocktail - for example, the Vodkatini was made famous by James Bond and is "shaken, not stirred". There are also guidelines on how to serve vodka, the bartending equipment you will need, the types of glasses that can be used and tricks of the trade, such as crushing ice, frosting glasses, making decorative twists, muddling drinks and steeping vodka with fruit and chillies. The art of cocktail-making is as appealing as ever, and whichever type of vodka mix you prefer, this book will help you to enjoy a delicious tipple even more.

The world's best-selling annual wine guide.

Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book is the essential reference book for everyone who buys wine - in shops, restaurants, or on the internet. Now in its 47th year of publication, it has no rival as the comprehensive, up-to-the-minute annual guide.

Providing clear succinct facts and commentary on the wines, growers and wine regions of the whole world, the book also reveals which vintages to buy, which to drink and which to cellar, which growers to look for and why. Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine 2024 gives clear information on grape varieties, local specialities and how to match food with wines that will bring out the best in both.

This latest edition of Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine includes a colour supplement on Chardonnay, the world's most obliging grape, discussing everything from history and taste to texture, fashion and the role oak plays - and of course who makes the best Chardonnays around the world.

Financial Times Best of Books 2021 In Your Home Izakaya, chef Tim Anderson explores the 'anything goes' concept of izakaya by showcasing over 100 flavour-packed recipes. Izakaya began as sake stores that allowed their customers to drink on the premises, and, over time, they began to serve food as well. The food is simple to prepare but big on flavour, making it conducive to sociable snacking in between gulps of booze. From Radish and Watercress Salad and Sweetcorn with Soy Sauce Butter, to Spicy Sesame Ramen Salad and Udon Carbonara with Bacon Tempura, the recipes are impressive yet simple to achieve and no specialist equipment is needed. Plus, it includes a guide on how to stock a Japanese bar as well as how to knock up a few choice cocktails. Full of delicious dishes, Your Home Izakaya is perfect for anyone wanting to make show-off food fit for a dinner party with minimum fuss and maximum fun.

THE ART OF WHISKY is a breathtaking and unusual gift book for whisky connoisseurs celebrating the spirit from an unexpectedly beautiful angle. By chance, award-winning photographer Ernie Button noticed the intricate patterns formed in the residue at the bottoms of (almost) empty whisky glasses - each as different as a snowflake - and began photographing them with inventive lighting techniques. The resulting images are exquisitely gorgeous, evoking earthly landscapes and extraterrestrial visions, with each more amazing than the next. This book collects nearly 100 of those images and adds delightful touches such as tasting notes, as well as a text on the science of what we're seeing, and writing about single malt Scotch by Scotland's leading whisky expert Charles MacLean, commissioned exclusively for this book.

Hot Dinners Best Cookbooks of 2022 The Times 'Best Food Books of 2022' The Daily Telegraph 'Best Drink Gifts' "Beautiful... a classy, classic book." - Diana Henry "A really lovely and well thought out piece of work that will be well used." - Dave Broom, author of The Way of Whisky "We don't have the cupboard full of recondite bitters and liqueurs that so many mixologists expect of us. So Alice Lascelles has tackled the problem straight-on and produced a neat edit of more than 100 drinks that rely on just a few core ingredients." - Tony Turnbull, The Times Cocktails should be simple. Acclaimed drinks writer Alice Lascelles knows everything there is to know about making delicious drinks at home with minimal equipment and fuss. The Cocktail Edit is built around a 'capsule collection' of 12 classic cocktails - each of these is followed by six twists, plus tips and inspiration for creating many more. The book also offers essential advice on getting your home bar set up - and shows how easy it is to make amazing cocktails with just a few basic tools, ingredients and techniques. It's a guide brimming with trade secrets on everything from choosing the best-value spirits to making cocktails for a party; written in a conversational style, and illustrated with beautiful photography, The Cocktail Edit is practical, opinionated and fun.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED in 1896, Bariana: Recueil pratique de toutes boissons Americaines et Anglaises by Louis Fouquet is regarded as the second French cocktail book ever published. But there is no question that Bariana is the first heralded French cocktail book: Unveiled in the 1898 edition of the popular Almanach Hachette encyclopaedia, a handful of Fouquet's recipes were published along with the comment that "Thanks to Mr. Louis Fouquet, the skiilful barman from the Criterion (121 r. St-Lazare) American and English beverages can now be prepared by everyone as easily as combining anisette and water." Translated into English and annotated by award-winning mixologist Charles Vexenat, Mixellany's Annotated Bariana displays Fouquet's passionate dedication to the art of bartending to a new audience of cocktail aficionados. Besides providing readers with keen insights into the Golden Age of cocktails in Paris, this book demonstrates how vintage recipes such as Fouquet's Whiskey Snapper and Martinican Cocktail come alive when adapted for modern palates and for execution by the new generation of mixologists. This special edition contains both Vexenat's annotated and translated work as well as the original French text.

World Cocktail Adventures is a virtual cocktail tour in book form by creative duo Loni Carr and Brett Gramse of The Whiskey Ginger. Each chapter focuses on a different spirit - tequila, whiskey, rum, vodka, gin and speciality - with a total of 40 unique cocktail recipes featured. What's the travel twist, you ask? Well, each recipe is inspired by a different destination around the world. You'll get a taste of the place's history and tourist attractions with a vintage-style travel poster to match, followed by a quick explanation of why Loni and Brett think the cocktail is best enjoyed in this location. Then you'll get the real goods with a fun cocktail recipe, tips on glassware and bartending, and an illustration of the final cocktail. This is a book for cocktail lovers and travel dreamers. You could be enjoying a Desert Road tequila cocktail and imagine yourself in Amarillo, Texas in the US, or sipping on a Fire and Ice whiskey cocktail inspired by Reykjavik, Iceland. There are also some bonus ideas for drinking games included. We're asking you to come on an adventure... a cocktail world adventure! World Cocktail Adventures mixes travelling and drinking, muddles fantasy with non-fiction, and retells tales never told. Just remember, this book is meant to be used. It's not your mum's white couch. Write in it. Spill a drink on it. Pass it around. Love was poured into the making of it, and you can honour the creators by truly enjoying it.

Country & Townhouse's Best Book for Christmas, 2018 A delectable anthology celebrating the finest writing on wine. In this richly literary anthology, Jay McInerney - bestselling novelist and acclaimed wine columnist for Town & Country, the Wall Street Journal and House and Garden - selects over twenty pieces of memorable fiction and nonfiction about the making, selling and, of course, drinking of fine wine. Including excerpts from novels, short fiction, memoir and narrative nonfiction, Wine Reads features big names in the trade and literary heavyweights alike. We follow Kermit Lynch to the Northern Rhone, while long-time New Yorker writer A. J. Liebling raises feeding and imbibing on a budget in Paris into something of an art form. Michael Dibdin's fictional Venetian detective Aurelio Zen gets a lesson in Barolo, Barbaresco and Brunello vintages from an eccentric celebrity, and writer and gourmet Joseph Wechsberg visits the medieval Chateau d'Yquem to sample different years of the roi des vins. Also showcasing an iconic scene from Rex Pickett's Sideways and work by Jancis Robinson, Roald Dahl, Auberon Waugh and McInerney himself, this is an essential volume for any disciple of Bacchus.

From the foremost figure on the New Orleans' drinking scene and the owner of renowned bar Cure, a cocktail book that celebrates the vibrant cityNew Orleans is known for its spirit(s)-driven festivities. From the owner of local bar Cure, this cocktail book celebrates New Orleans' vibrant, living cocktail culture. As a bar guy, Neal Bodenheimer tells the city's story through 100 cocktails, each chosen to represent New Orleans' past, present, and future. In the vein of Death & Co by David Kaplan crossed with David Lebowitz's Drinking French, Bodenheimer and coauthor Emily Timberlake have composed a love letter to New Orleans and the cast of characters that have had a hand in making the city so singular, featuring interviews with figures such as the host of NPR's Louisiana Eats and former mayor Mitch Landrieu and a few tips on how to survive your first Mardi Gras. Along the way, the reader is taken on a journey that highlights the rich history and complexity of the city and the drinks it inspired, as well as the techniques and practices that Cure has perfected in their mission to build forward rather than just looking back. Of course, this includes the classics every self-respecting drinker should know, especially if you're a New Orleanian: the Sazerac, Julep, Vieux Carre, Ramos Gin Fizz, Cocktail a la Louisiane, and French 75. Famous local chefs have contributed easy recipes for snacks with local flavor, perfect for pairing with these libations. Cure: A New Orleans Cocktail Book is a beautiful keepsake for anyone who has fallen under New Orleans's spell and a must-have souvenir for the millions of people who visit the city each year. The book includes recipes from beloved New Orleans chefs: *Justin Devillier (La Petite Grocery) *Nina Compton (Compere Lapin) *Mason Hereford (Turkey and the Wolf) *Kelly Fields (Willa Jean) *Kristen Essig (Dauphine's) *Ryan Prewitt (Peche) *Marcus Jacobs (Marjie's Grill) *Michael Stoltzfus (Coquette) *Frank Brigtsen (Brigtsen's) *Alfredo Nogueira (Cure, Cane & Table, Vals)

The New York Times bestselling author of Napa tells the captivating story of how the Napa Valley region transformed into an extraordinary engine of commerce, glamour, and an outsized version of the American dream--and how it could be lost--in "a strong plea for responsible stewardship of the land" (Kirkus Reviews).Not so long ago, wine was an exclusively European product. Now it is thoroughly American; emblematic of Napa Valley, an area idealized as the epicenter of great wines and foods and a cultural tourist destination. But James Conaway's candid book tells the other side of the romanticized story. Napa at Last Light reveals the often shadowy side of the latter days of Napa Valley--marked by complex personal relationships, immense profits, passionate beliefs, and sometimes desperate struggles to prevail. In the balance hang fortunes and personal relationships made through hard work and manipulation of laws, people, and institutions. Napans who grew up trusting in the beneficence of the "vintner" class now confront the multinational corporations who have stealthily subsumed the old family landmarks and abandoned the once glorious conviction that agriculture is the best use of the land. Hailed as the definitive Napa writer, Conaway has spent decades covering the region. Napa at Last Light showcases the greed, enviable profits, legacy, and tradition that still collide in this compelling story. The area is still full of dreamers, but of opposing sorts: those longing for a harmonious society based upon the vine, and self-styled overlords yearning for wealth and the special acclaim only fine wine can bring. Bets are still out on what the future holds. "This is a stunning and sad look at how an idyllic community became a victim of its own success...fascinating and well-researched" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).