When George Washington bade farewell to his officers, he did so in New York's Fraunces Tavern. When Andrew Jackson planned his defense of New Orleans against the British in 1815, he met Jean Lafitte in a grog shop. And when John Wilkes Booth plotted with his accomplices to carry out an assassination, they gathered in Surratt Tavern.
In America Walks into a Bar, Christine Sismondo recounts the rich and fascinating history of an institution often reviled, yet always central to American life. She traces the tavern from England to New England, showing how even the Puritans valued "a good Beere." With fast-paced narration and lively characters, she carries the story through the twentieth century and beyond, from repeated struggles over licensing and Sunday liquor sales, from the Whiskey Rebellion to the temperance movement, from attempts to ban "treating" to Prohibition and repeal. As the cockpit of organized crime, politics, and everyday social life, the bar has remained vital--and controversial--down to the present. In 2006, when the Hurricane Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act was passed, a rider excluded bars from applying for aid or tax breaks on the grounds that they contributed nothing to the community. Sismondo proves otherwise: the bar has contributed everything to the American story.
Now in paperback, Sismondo's heady cocktail of agile prose and telling anecdotes offers a resounding toast to taprooms, taverns, saloons, speakeasies, and the local hangout where everybody knows your name.

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.

Uncle Billy's Wine Guide for Novices is not intended for wine experts and others that consider themselves extremely knowledgeable about wine. This book is for the rest of us who want to learn more about the pleasures of enjoying wine and talking intelligent about it. About 8% of wine consumers consider themselves extremely knowledge about wine. Of these, about 3% consider themselves wine experts. This leaves the rest of us, about 92% who want to learn more about wine but don't want to become experts. Humor is scattered throughout the book to make your reading more enjoyable. The goal is to help you become more knowledgeable about wine and have fun doing so. And remember: "Always drink the wine you enjoy, and enjoy the wine you drink." William Allan Kritsonis, PhD, Author

Uncle Billy's Wine Guide for Novices is not intended for wine experts and others that consider themselves extremely knowledgeable about wine. This book is for the rest of us who want to learn more about the pleasures of enjoying wine and talking intelligent about it. About 8% of wine consumers consider themselves extremely knowledge about wine. Of these, about 3% consider themselves wine experts. This leaves the rest of us, about 92% who want to learn more about wine but don't want to become experts. Humor is scattered throughout the book to make your reading more enjoyable. The goal is to help you become more knowledgeable about wine and have fun doing so. And remember: "Always drink the wine you enjoy, and enjoy the wine you drink." William Allan Kritsonis, PhD, Author

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The author of Free the Tipple is back with another collection of delectable cocktails-this time a literary mix inspired by the world's most iconic women writers. The fifty recipes in this volume are as unconventional, imaginative, and refreshing as the authors that inspired them. Each double-page spread includes an illustration of one important woman writer along with fascinating background about her oeuvre, personality, and points of literary distinction. And, of course, each profile is paired with a delicious recipe for a fitting cocktail. Pulling from every category-literary and genre fiction, poetry, graphic novels, essays and nonfiction- this book offers some surprising twists as well as old favorites. While each subject could provide hours of cocktail chatter, the recipes themselves are also a unique conversation starter: the Virginia Woolf-a peach-and-mint creation with a modernist flair; the Octavia Butler-an uncompromising blend featuring bourbon and port; the Jia Tolentino-a purple sparkler that puts a cerebral twist on pop culture; and the Mary Shelley-an unexpected combination of the Manhattan and the Margarita. Perfect for literary-themed parties as well as intimate gatherings, this book itself is an intoxicating, lip-loosening brew made of equal parts sophistication and fun.

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.

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.

From best-selling author Tim Federle of Tequila Mockingbird fame comes Gone with the Gin, the ultimate cocktail book for film buffs. We know your type. You love the smell of napalm in the morning, you see dead people, and you're the king (or queen!) of the world. The perfect gift for silver screen aficionados and a terrific twist on movie nights, Gone With the Gin includes 50 delicious drinks -- paired with winking commentary on history's most quotable films -- plus an all-star lineup of drinking games, movie-themed munchies, and illustrations throughout. Drinks include: - Fight Club Soda - A Sidecar named Desire - Ben-Hurricane - Ti-tonic - The Big Le-Brewski - Monty Python and the Stoli Grail - Bloody Mary Poppins and more! So go ahead, make my drink.

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.

Preparing a first-class cocktail relies upon a deep understanding of its ingredients, the delicate alchemy of how they work together. In The Curious Bartender, Tristan Stephenson explores and experiments with the art of mixing the perfect cocktail, explaining the fascinating modern turns mixology has taken. Showcasing a selection of classic cocktails, he explains their intriguing origins, introducing the colourful historical characters who inspired or created them. Moving on, he reinvents each drink from his laboratory, adding contemporary twists to breathe fresh life into these vintage classics. Stay true to the originals with a Sazerac or a Rob Roy, or experiment with some of his modern variations to create a Green Fairy Sazerac topped with an absinthe 'air' or an Insta-age Rob Roy with the 'age' on the side. Also included is a reference section detailing all the techniques you will need, making this an essential anthology for the cocktail enthusiast.

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).

Over 2100 vibrant photos and lively text present an exciting array of wine memorabilia. Following a look at wine and health, with a toast to readers and a look at Bacchanalia, the book takes a four part journey from the vineyard to the wine cellar. Part one looks at various tools used in growing grapes, harvesting, and the production of wine. Tools used by coopers in barrel making, wine sampling and tasting devices, and bottling tools are covered. The next step is "Drinking Wine," in which many implements for removing corks, retrieving corks, and preserving wine are revealed. Serving devices include an extraordinary batch of cradles and caddies. In part three, promotional items revealed include statues, games, fans, tokens, signs, and office accessories. The last part is a look at a fabulous collection of wine antiques from a museum in Spain. The final step is into an 1810 wine cellar with a list of "The Necessaries always wanted in Wine and Spirit Vaults, and Gentlemens Cellars."

This richly illustrated book introduces readers to "the golden one," as Rebula has been lovingly described. Rebula grapes, an ancient varietal once prized by princes and popes, are indigenous to the region that now straddles the border between Italy and Slovenia. On the Italian side the area is called Collio, in Slovenia Goriska Brda. It has been rated by experts as among the top five wine terroirs on the planet, shoulder to shoulder with Bordeaux and Tuscany. Wine experts agree, calling Rebula "a dream wine of a new age." Rebula was rated the World's Best Wine in 2010 by sommelier Luca Gardini, and a Rebula has received an astounding 100 points on Wine Spectator's 100-point scale. Beautifully designed with full-color photographs, the book recounts the fascinating story of Rebula and the history of wine in what was once Yugoslavia and is now Slovenia. The protagonist is a remarkable vintner, Zvonimir Simcic, one of the founders of what was Yugoslavia's most important winery before the country fragmented. Almost single-handedly responsible for the preservation of Rebula, he resurrected the forgotten varietal and transformed his home region, spectacular Goriska Brda, from a poverty-stricken area into one of the globe's great wine destinations. Pulitzer finalist Noah Charney provides a personal, humorous, deeply engaged travelogue through the little-known world of Slovenian wine that will delight adventurous travelers and wine lovers everywhere.

Add a citrusy twist to your gatherings and parties! Frozen, neat, or on-the-rocks, Margaritas is the ultimate margarita handbook that will help you step up your cocktail game and features: - Over 101 recipes for making perfect margaritas - A guide to all types of tequila - A history of this citrusy cocktail's Mexican origins and its journey to the United States and the rest of the world - Necessary glasses and tools for every home bar - Creative garnishes provide plenty of ways to serve this party favorite - Recipes for delicious mocktails to satisfy the taste of everyone - Full-color photography enhances the experience of this book Margaritas is the perfect addition to any cocktail lover's collection.