It's been a century since the prohibition sent Americans scurrying to speakeasies. And decades since the movie industry turned mobsters into celebrities. Now the two worlds collide in this highly original pocket-sized collection that creates signature cocktails for gangsters of every stripe. There's the "Al Capone," a mixture of rye and Campari that's as charming and dangerous as its namesake. The "Bonnie Parker" adds Chicory Pecan Bitters to the whiskey Bonnie enjoyed when she wasn't lobbing bottles out the window of her getaway car. There's even the Stephanie St Clair, a cocktail with Caribbean rum that's as smooth as she was. Famous characters from much-loved recent tv series including The Sopranos, Peaky Blinders, and Boardwalk Empire are seen alongside iconic roles from classic films such as The Godfather, Goodfellas, Scarface, and Miller's Crossing. These fictional fiends are accompanied by the infamous real- life mobsters they're based on. Each is illustrated by acclaimed comic book artist Shawn McManus. Whether you're a budding mixologist or gearing up to watch The Godfather, this handy book provides the perfect blend of slick recipes and popular culture.

The beer of today--brewed from malted grain and hops, manufactured by large and often multinational corporations, frequently associated with young adults, sports, and drunkenness--is largely the result of scientific and industrial developments of the nineteenth century. Modern beer, however, has little in common with the drink that carried that name through the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Looking at a time when beer was often a nutritional necessity, was sometimes used as medicine, could be flavored with everything from the bark of fir trees to thyme and fresh eggs, and was consumed by men, women, and children alike, "Beer in the Middle Ages" and the Renaissance presents an extraordinarily detailed history of the business, art, and governance of brewing.During the medieval and early modern periods beer was as much a daily necessity as a source of inebriation and amusement. It was the beverage of choice of urban populations that lacked access to secure sources of potable water; a commodity of economic as well as social importance; a safe drink for daily consumption that was less expensive than wine; and a major source of tax revenue for the state. In "Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance," Richard W. Unger has written an encompassing study of beer as both a product and an economic force in Europe.Drawing from archives in the Low Countries and England to assemble an impressively complete history, Unger describes the transformation of the industry from small-scale production that was a basic part of housewifery to a highly regulated commercial enterprise dominated by the wealthy and overseen by government authorities. Looking at the intersecting technological, economic, cultural, and political changes that influenced the transformation of brewing over centuries, he traces how improvements in technology and in the distribution of information combined to standardize quality, showing how the process of urbanization created the concentrated markets essential for commercial production.Weaving together the stories of prosperous businessmen, skilled brewmasters, and small producers, this impressively researched overview of the social and cultural practices that surrounded the beer industry is rich in implication for the history of the period as a whole.

There are hundreds and hundreds of different cocktails, but there are classics such as the Martini, Corpse Reviver, Tom Collins, Negroni and French 75 that have one luscious ingredient in common: gin. Here in The Little Black Book of Gin Cocktails you'll find a collection of all your favourite classic and contemporary gin cocktails.

When Leslie asks her audiences what types of information they want in a new book, the overwhelming response is a portable compilation of top picks. Leslie Sbrocco's Simple and Savy Wine Guide is packed with all kinds of glance-and-go lists for everything from what wine to drink with Thai take-out, to wines perfect for drinking in a bubble bath. Leslie also offers up an entire section based on her popular concept of wine makeovers, in which she takes an expensive wine and offers a similar tasting, less expensive version.

The complete guide for beginner and intermediate distillers. Make your own brew at home! "If you're going to invest the $100 or so to get a basic equipment and recipe kit, then you'll want to take care in ensuring that your first batch is brewed correctly." -Rick Morris, HowBrewBeer The Joy of Home Distilling covers nearly every facet of distilling: Step-by-step instructions for the different processes, from bucket to bottle The difference between spirit types and how to produce each What yeast is, what it does, and how to ensure that you get a strong, complete fermentation What distillation is and common misconceptions about the process Legalities surrounding distilling alcohol at home Carbon filtering-when it's necessary, when to filter, and why you filter Flavoring and aging your spirits Keeping safety first when working with flammable materials, such as ethanol Yeast styles and nutritional requirements Different methods of distillation and equipment Post-distillation process And of course, fun drink recipes! (Try the Mudslide or the Cherry Bomb!) Author Rick Morris, who has been selling distillation equipment for over 25 years, even includes his own recipes for different types of spirits and drink recipes. By learning not just how to distill, but also what is happening at each step and why it is needed, readers will be armed with the information they need to experiment with their own spirits and concoct their own recipes. Easy to understand even for a first-time distiller, The Joy of Home Distilling is sure to become your number one distilling resource.

If you love wine, this book will give you all the knowledge and self-confidence you need to become a world-class wine taster. It reveals in methodical steps exactly how to acquire essential wine-tasting skills. Cees (it's pronounced 'Case') van Casteren is a brilliant scientist, author, and international wine competition judge, as well as one of the global super-elite (less than 500 top experts worldwide) who have been able to earn the supreme title, Master of Wine. Anyone Can Taste Wine first appeared in Dutch and instantly established itself in the Netherlands as far and away the most authoritative and popular book on the subject. From the book's introductory chapter: "Many people typically believe that the ability to taste comes from some kind of inborn, innate aptitude-as though 'taste' were a genetic hand-me-down-something that you either have, or you don't have. But that's not true. "Wine tasting is a skill. Anyone can taste wine, as long as they have normally functioning senses of smell and taste. Anyone (that is) who is motivated to learn and practice-a lot-can become a good wine taster. Genes or no genes. "Much of this skill will involve awareness of how to train your senses. While there are genetic differences between humans in terms of smelling and tasting, these innate differences do not make one taster better than another. Research by taste professor Linda Bartoshuk, previously at the University of Yale, has shown that a wine taster's ability to taste is mainly due to the amount of training that the taster has experienced. Specifically, exercises dedicated to recognizing wine scents and developing an attendant wine language are the main contributing factors in developing wine tasting abilities. The difficulty that most besets inexperienced tasters is a lack of suitable vocabulary that would enable them to name and describe the flavors and scents that they taste and smell. This vital skill, being able to describe flavors and aromas in words, remains a common problem, even for the most experienced of wine tasters. According to Professor Tim Jacob of Cardiff University, a method that will enable you to associate smells and flavors with a suitable repertoire of words will contribute greatly to the enhancement of tasting skills . . . that is . . . you just need a method. The more user-friendly, the easier it will be to learn and remember. And that's exactly what I realized at the start of my Master of Wine studies. The method had to be user-friendly in order to help me to remember all relevant aspects for tasting, describing, and analyzing the wine. In search of these aspects, I started with . . . the wine itself. With this fascinating blend of water (colorless, odorless, tasteless), alcohol (colorless, odorless, slightly sweet), acids, sugars, pigments, aromas, and tannins which together give wine its color, smell, and taste. "And I was quite quick to learn that this very curious and complex combination of color, aromas, alcohol, acids, sugars and tannins actually were the 'relevant aspects' I was looking for, and therefore the targets of my attention while developing a method. The answer to my quest was indeed in the wine itself!"

"A great primer. . . . If you're new to the natural/organic/biodynamic wine debates, Authentic Wine is the place to start."--Huffington Post
"This is one of the most engaging, thoughtful and enlightening books on contemporary wine. . . . A manifesto for an industry looking to shape its future."--Wine And Spirits

Naturalness is a hot topic in the wine world. But what exactly is a "natural wine"? For this pioneering book, best-selling wine writer Jamie Goode teams up with winemaker and Master of Wine Sam Harrop to explore the wide range of issues surrounding authenticity in wine. They begin by emphasizing that wine's diversity, one of its strengths, is currently under threat from increasingly homogenized commercial wines that lack a sense of place. Drawing on a global array of examples and anecdotes, Goode and Harrop examine complex concepts--terroir, biodynamics, and sustainability--in clear language. They also discuss topics including cultured and wild yeasts, wine "faults," the carbon footprint of the wine industry, "natural" as a marketing concept, and more. "Authentic Wine" illuminates a subject of great interest to wine producers, consumers, and anyone wondering where the wine industry is headed.

Continuing our series of successful drinks-related titles, this book from an experienced bartender contains the best and weirdest bar shots and shooters. The names may be strange, but the drinks range from classic and familiar to the downright 'toxic'!!

Prohibition in the US was instituted during the 1920s, making the sale of alcohol illegal, in an effort to `clean up' the sins of those `evil' imbibers. However, far from shutting down the country's debauchery (and, let's face it, fun), it gave rise to a proliferation of speakeasies - underground drinking dens that became particularly popular in New York. Here, the golden era of the cocktail was born. The iconic Sidecar, White Lady, Clover Club and French 75 cocktails, among many others, were born in the dark, smokey, drinking dens: the speakeasies. Speakeasy is a cocktail book that celebrates this exciting gin-soaked, gangster-frollicking era, with 200 cocktails for every taste. With cool 1920s-style illustrations throughout, and a perfect gift format, this is the one cocktail book to relive the heady golden days.

Get hoppin' with this guide to microbrewing your own beer Thinking of brewing your own beer or want to know how it's done? Homebrewing For Dummies is for you. If you're ready to take a crack at making your own brew, you'll need this guide to the supplies, ingredients, and process of crafting the perfect beer. Follow our recipes for lager, porter, stout, and other brew types--or invent your own. When you've tasted your perfect creation (and after the hangover wears off), we've got you covered with ideas for entering your beer into homebrewing competitions and selling your beer. This new edition keeps pace with the exciting world of small-batch beer, introducing you to new flavors and varieties that are popular on the microbrew circuit. We've also got the details on the latest at-home brewing equipment, software and apps, and resources you can tap (get it?) to make a better beer. Not an IPA person? Not to worry! You can also make your own hard seltzers, flavored malt beverages, and juice drinks with this handy how-to. Get recipes and instructions for brewing lagers, porters, and other beers at home Enhance the quality of your small-batch brews and make your operations more eco friendly Enter homebrewing competitions with your beer, hard seltzer, and malt beverages Discover new gadgets, apps, and resources that can make home brewing even easier Homebrewing For Dummies is for anyone looking for a fun and easy-to-use guide to the exciting, rewarding, and refreshing hobby of beer brewing.

Make your own soft drinks that are tastier, healthier, and cheaper than anything you'll find in stores!

From soda water to sarsaparilla, in Homemade Root Beer, Soda & Pop, you'll find easy-to-follow instructions for more than 60 traditional and modern soft drink recipes. Your whole family can make delicious batches of old favorites and experiment with new combinations of natural ingredients to create your own refreshing recipes.

You'll make fabulous, fizzy creations like:

-- Old-Fashioned Root Beer

-- Sarsaparilla Soda

-- Birch Beer

-- Virgin Islands Ginger Beer

-- Lemon-Lime Soda

-- Cherry Vanilla Soda

-- Cream Soda

-- Raspberry Shrub

-- Molasses Switchel

-- Coffee Whizzer

-- Fruit Smoothie

-- and much more!

Make drinks like a master mixologist with 1,000 recipes Bartenders are the life of the party--and it's never been easier to prepare and serve drinks that keep partygoers coming back for more! Whether you want to break into professional bartending or up your ante as a home mixologist, this clear, easy-to-follow guide has you covered. With tips on stocking your bar and working with the right tools and garnishes, as well as information on the latest liquor trends and popular new cocktails, it won't be long before you hear, "Bartender, may I have another?" Concoct the perfect timeless and modern drinks Learn how to create perfect low and no-alcohol options Replicate everyone's favorite ready-to-drink cocktails Stock your bar with the best glasses and tools If you're looking for fresh ideas to keep your friends or customers happy, Bartending For Dummies is the perfect how-to resource for making a splash with great drinks.

It's every beer drinker's worst nightmare--a cold brew in hand with no means to open it. Here to the rescue is an indispensable guide featuring 99 ways* to get the job done fast using anything and everything in sight as a bottle opener in a time of need. Photographs and step-by-step instructions for each method walk thirsty readers through the art of opening bottles, revealing the practical use of such handy available implements as a belt buckle, TV remote, baby carriage, dog collar, ski binding, golf club, park bench, BBQ grill, lawn mower, automatic teller machine, police car, and many more. Cheers
*Plus one: the spine of this hardcover opens bottles, too.

Steven Jenkins is our foremost cheese authority--in the words of The New York Times, "a Broadway impresario whose hit is food." Now, after years of importing cheeses, scouring the cheese-producing areas of the world, and setting up cheese counters at gourmet food shops, he's decided to write it all down. Full of passion, knowledge, and an expert's considered opinions the cheese primer tells you everything you need to know about the hundreds of cheeses that have, in the last few years, become available in this country. Region-by-region, he covers all the major cheeses from France, Italy, Switzerland--the top tier of cheese-producing countries--plus the best of Britain, Ireland, Spain, the United States, Austria, Germany, and other countries. Along the way he tells how to pick out a healthy Pont l'Eveque; why to reconsider the noble Fontina for more than just cooking; how to avoid those factory-made chevres; why to seek out the sublime Vacherin Mont d'Or; and how to start exploring--Bleu de Bresse, Cabrales, Crottin de Chavignol, and so on. A complete primer, it includes information on the best ways to store and serve cheese, including which wines to serve alongside them; how to orchestrate a proper cheese course; and the unimportable cheeses to look up when abroad.

The first definitive guide to contemporary French wines and producers in a deluxe two-book package, from a two-time James Beard Award winner.

This comprehensive and authoritative resource takes readers on a tour through every wine region of France, featuring some 800 producers and more than 7,000 wines, plus evocative photography and maps, as well as the incisive narrative and compelling storytelling that has earned Jon Bonné accolades and legions of fans in the wine world.

Packaged in a deluxe slip case and Built upon eight years of research, The New French Wine is a one-of-a-kind book set exploring the world’s most popular wine region. First, examine the land through a thoroughly reported narrative overview of each region—the soil and geography, the distinctive traditions and contemporary changes. Then turn to the second book, which is a comprehensive reference guide to the producers and their wines, similarly detailed by region.

From Burgundy to Bordeaux and everywhere in between, this is sure to be the resource on modern French wine for decades to come.

From tasting the greatest grapes to creating the perfect cheeseboard, this two volume collection is a definitive guide to the ever-changing character of cheese and wine. It offers a fascinating world tour of wines, from Bordeaux to the Barossa Valley and a guide to the greatest grapes: tasting the top 12 varieties. From the vine to the glass: production techniques are explained and the best ways of storing and serving your wine. The definitive illustrated guide to fabulous cheese of the world, each entry in the visual catalogue details colour, texture, taste and provenance, from the creamy Brie de Meaux to the aromatic Stilton. It includes over 70 internationally renowned classic and contemporary cheese recipes.

This classic book is for any really enthusiastic and ambitious home brewer - the person who wants to brew high quality 'true' beers that were long thought beyond the ability of the amateur. It brings to beginners and experts alike a simple method of 'mashing' for producing the finest flavoured beers, real ales, stouts and lagers from all-grain ingredients. It is the most advanced and comprehensive guide to mashing and brewing.

At one time, Italian wines conjured images of cheap Chianti in straw-wrapped bottles. More recently, expensive "Super Tuscans" have been the rage. But between these extremes lay a bounty of delicious, moderately priced wines that belong in every wine drinker's repertoire.
Vino Italiano is the only comprehensive and authoritative American guide to the wines of Italy. It surveys the country's wine-producing regions; identifies key wine styles, producers, and vintages; and offers delicious regional recipes. Extensive reference materials--on Italy's 300 growing zones, 361 authorized grape varieties, and 200 of the top producers-- provide essential information for restaurateurs and wine merchants, as well as for wine enthusiasts.
Beautifully illustrated as well as informative, Vino Italiano is the perfect invitation to the Italian wine experience.

"From the Hardcover edition.

In Wine & Philosophy, philosophers, wine critics, and winemakers share their passion for wine through well-crafted essays that explore wine's deeper meaning, nature, and significance* Joins Food & Philosophy and Beer & Philosophy in in the "Epicurean Trilogy* Essays are organized thematically and written by philosophers, wine writers, and winemakers* Chapters include, "The Art & Culture of Wine"; "Tasting & Talking about Wine"; "Wine & Its Critics"; "The Beauty of Wine"; "The Metaphysics of Wine"; and "The Politics & Economics of Wine"* Accessible to a general audience while at the same time covering some serious philosophical ground* Incorporates traditional areas of philosophical study, including philosophy of language, philosophy of perception, aesthetics, metaphysics, ethics and political philosophy* A great complimentary text to any guided-tour visit to the Napa Valley or other wineries

For generations, Argentine wine was famously bad oxidized, unpalatable, and often mixed with a low-class French grape called Malbec. But then in 2001, a Cabernet Sauvignon / Malbec blend beat all contenders in a blind taste test featuring Napa and Bordeaux s finest. Today, Argentina and its signature wine are on the tip of every smart traveler s tongue. How did this happen?

The Vineyard at the End of the World tells the fascinating, four-hundred-year history of how a wine mecca arose in the high Andean desert. Profiling the outlandish figures who fueled the Malbec revolution including celebrity enologist Michel Rolland, acclaimed American winemaker Paul Hobbs, and the Mondavi-esque Catena family Ian Mount describes in colorful detail the nefarious scams, brilliant business innovations, and backroom politics that put Malbec on the map."

Award-winning sommelier Chris Morrison believes that your wine decisions should be driven by your own sense of taste - and by the way you like to eat, drink and live. In This Is Not A Wine Guide he helps readers develop the confidence to choose, purchase, serve, share and ultimately even collect wine without feeling the need to rely on the 'old rules' involving notes, scores, jargon and reviews. Morrison answers the question all of us ponder when faced with choosing wine from a wine list or from the bottleshop shelf: 'Where do I start?' This Is Not A Wine Guide tackles the fundamentals and then moves from the bottle forwards: into the reasons you choose it, open it and drink it; with what company, under what circumstances, in what glasses - and with what food. Because this is a wine book for people who also love food. For Morrison, food and its taste and textures represent the narrative that can unlock wine - 'wine doesn't make sense without food'. This Is Not A Wine Guide is packed with information and advice to help you get the most out of your wine experience, whether it's cracking a bottle for a barbecue, navigating a wine list in a restaurant, wondering what to serve with kimchi, or what to do when the cork crumbles.