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Books > Food & Drink > Beverages > Alcoholic beverages
THE PERFECT GIFT FOR ANYONE WHO ENJOYS A TIPPLE . . . OR TWO . . .
OR TEN! Almost every culture on earth has drink, and where there's
drink there's drunkenness. But in every age and in every place
drunkenness is a little bit different. Tracing humankind's love
affair with booze from our primate ancestors through to
Prohibition, it answers every possible question: What did people
drink? How much? Who did the drinking? Of the many possible
reasons, why? On the way, learn about the Neolithic Shamans, who
drank to communicate with the spirit world (no pun intended),
marvel at how Greeks got giddy and Romans got rat-arsed, and find
out how bars in the Wild West were never like the movies. This is a
history of the world at its inebriated best. 'This book is a laugh
riot. I mean the way the author has presented it is hilarious and
to the point' Goodreads Reviewer 'Highly entertaining. Cheers!
Bottoms up! Good health!' Goodreads Reviewer 'It can make a good
gift for someone with a sense of humour and appreciation for the
magical powers of alcohol' Goodreads Reviewer
Vodka: The Essential Guide for Vodka Purists describes the history
of the spirit (its name comes from the Russian for water, voda),
how it is distilled - with detailed explanations of how flavoured
vodka is created, classic Vodka-based cocktails, where to buy the
premier brands, even recipes, all in a handy pocket-sized book.
Lavishly illustrated and written in an easy-to-read style, Vodka:
The Essential Guide for Vodka Purists will go down as well as the
most lovingly created Martini.
A lively, historically informed, and definitive guide to classic
American cocktails.
Cocktail writer and historian David Wondrich presents the
colorful, little-known history of classic American drinks-and the
ultimate mixologist's guide-in this engaging homage to Jerry
Thomas, father of the American bar.
Wondrich reveals never-before-published details and stories about
this larger- than-life nineteenth-century figure, along with
definitive recipes for 100 punches, cocktails, sours, fizzes,
toddies, slings, and other essential drinks, plus twenty new
recipes from today's top mixologists, created exclusively for this
book.
This colorful and good-humored volume is a mustread for anyone who
appreciates the timeless appeal of a well-made drink-and the
uniquely American history behind it.
Brought together in one delightful and informative guide are the
top 101 cocktails to try before you die, from the classics
(Old-Fashioned, Manhattan, Vesper) to the less well-known
(Scofflaw, Irish Mermaid, Bramble). With fascinating insight, this
book takes the reader on a captivating tour through history's most
famous (and infamous) cocktails. Each entry comes with a detailed
history, entertaining anecdotes and of course a list of
ingredients, as well as retellings of cocktail myths and legends.
Whether you are a spirits aficionado or simply enjoy a good drink,
this is the must-have cocktail handbook.
How to select wine for its taste, not its packaging or its price.
Knowing the difference between all those bottles on the supermarket
shelves will double the pleasure you get from a glass of wine and,
with Fred Sirieix as your guide, you'll discover how to get the
flavour you want. In Wine Uncorked, Fred decants a career's worth
of expertise, revealing how everything from percentage to vintage
impacts what ends up in your glass, how to decipher a label and the
optimum temperatures for serving. He then takes you on a tour of
the regions, showing you how the landscape and climate work their
magic on the wine produced around the world, highlighting key
producers to suit all budgets along the way. If you have ever said,
'I wish I knew more about wine,' this is the book for you.
This is a comprehensive guide to the must-know wines and producers
of California's 'new generation, ' and the story of the
iconoclastic young winemakers who have changed the face of
California viniculture in recent years
Like good wine, certain beers can be aged under the right
conditions, a process that enhances and changes their flavors in
interesting and delicious ways. Good candidates for aging are
high-alcohol brews, bottle-conditioned beers with yeast in the
bottle, barleywines, lambics, and winter ales. Patrick Dawson
explains how to identify a cellar-worthy beer, how to plan and set
up a beer cellar, what to look for when tasting vintage beers, and
the fascinating science behind the aging process. He also includes
a comprehensive buying guide to help you select already-aged beers
(from the readily available to the tantalizingly rare) to enjoy as
your own collection is aging.
Don't wait for the stars to align-find the perfect drink for your
astrological sign with the Mixology of Astrology, by Allure
magazine's go-to astrologer, Aliza Kelly Faragher. True love is
just one martini away...if you're a Leo, that is. Meet your perfect
(cocktail) match with Mixology of Astrology. No matter your sign,
here you'll find the best drinks for every occasion. Demystify both
the stars and the drink menu with these simple guidelines. Try a
French 75 for balanced Libra, suggest something adventurous for
carefree Sagittarius, or stick to a classic with an Old Fashioned
for Capricorn. When your friends wonder how you always know their
perfect drink, you can just tell them it was written in the
stars...
When you think of Australian wine, you think of James Halliday. For
almost 40 years, the legendary winemaker and critic has been the
most trusted name in the industry, and his celebrated Halliday Wine
Companion is the final word in what to drink now. This bestselling
annual sets the benchmark for winemakers, collectors and wine
lovers alike. The 2023 edition has been revised and updated with
over 760 pages. Featuring all new scores, notes, wineries and the
latest information on 'exceptional', 'outstanding' and 'highly
recommended' wines. Inside, a team of Halliday expert share their
extensive knowledge of wine with over 5000 tasting notes offering
advice on great value wines, as well as key wine regions, wineries
and winemakers, vineyard sizes, opening times and contact details.
The Halliday Wine Companion 2023 is quite simply the essential
guide for drinkers of Australian wine, or a perfect gift for the
wine lover in your life.
Sother Teague, one of New York's most knowledgeable and experienced
bartenders, presenters a brief history of both classic and
lesser-known spirits with modern-day wit and old-school bar wisdom,
accompanied by easy-to-mix drink recipes you'll soon commit to
memory, made from gin, whiskey, brandy, tequila, amari, rum, vodka
and mixed spirits. This stunning hardcover collection of timeless
tips, insights from industry pros and more than 100 delicious
recipes is more than just a cocktail book: It's a manifesto for
living a more spirited life. Consumers who purchase the book will
gain access to five exclusive videos in which Sother teaches them
how to create his five favourite drinks for entertaining. These
videos will be posted on a private web page and only made available
to readers of the book.
Craft Gin Making is a detailed guide to entering the world of gin
production. For beginners and experienced producers alike, it
offers key insights and practical advice on what you need to get
started and how to progress in this fascinating and growing craft.
It covers both distilling and cold compounding, providing advice on
equipment and detailing step-by-step processes, whilst discussing a
wide variety of gin production issues. Topics covered include a
brief history of gin and gin making; the tools, equipment and
ingredients needed for the different methods of producing gin; the
most common methods and how to achieve success in them; the
practicalities of filtration, bottling, sealing and labelling;
making flavoured gins; why things might go wrong and how to correct
them and, finally, the legal aspects of gin production.
Do you need to have an advanced science degree to understand brewing chemistry? Certainly not! Any brewer, explains author Lee W. Janson, can understand the basic details of the life of a yeast or the careless steps that produce those annoying off-flavors - and learn how to avoid them. Brew Chem 101 features nontechnical language and a highly readable style, explanations of the chemical reactions at each stage of the brewing process and how to avoid potential problems, and a primer on beer tasting and judging.
A beer-lovers' book which playfully examines a myriad of
philosophical concerns related to beer consumption.
Effectively demonstrates how real philosophical issues exist just
below the surface of our everyday activities
Divided into four sections: The Art of the Beer; The Ethics of
Beer: Pleasures, Freedom, and Character; The Metaphysics and
Epistemology of Beer; and Beer in the History of Philosophy
Uses the context of beer to expose George Berkeley's views on
fermented beverages as a medical cure; to inspect Immanuel Kant's
transcendental idealism through beer goggles, and to sort out
Friedrich Nietzsche's simultaneous praise and condemnation of
intoxication
Written for beer-lovers who want to think while they drink
100 spell-binding, crowd-pleasing cocktails. Work some magic at
home with these original cocktail recipes from everyone's favourite
experimental bar, The Alchemist. Elevate your mixology skills and
bring some creativity to your bar cart with unique and
show-stopping tipple time recipes, from their iconic Caramelised
Rum Punch and Smokey Old Fashioned, to new takes on the cocktail
classics. With chapters from Chemistry & Theatre, Twisted
Classics and New Wave to Classics and Low & No Alcohol, The
Alchemist Cocktail Book truly has something for everyone, from
mixing novices to experienced bartenders. Bring some dramatic flair
to your cocktail hour, with recipes including: Lavender Daiquiri
Paloma Rhubarb and Custard Sour Bananagroni Maple Manhattan Cola
Bottle Libre Grapefruit and Apricot Martini
This important book looks at the entire history of distilling in
the Middle East and Europe from the earliest experiments by the
Pythagorean alchemists of Ptolomaic Egypt in the fourth century BC
to the commerical production of spirits to drink in the British
Isles to the year 2000. It is important because Ms Wilson has
explored byways of early history that have been little noticed by
previous scholars. She links the art of distilling to alchemical
practice; to the Dionysian cults of ancient Greece and Rome; to the
development of the art by the Gnostic mystic Christian sects (who
greatly influenced the Coptic church in lower Egypt and Ethiopia);
to the researches of the Persians and Arabs; to the preservation of
the art by various heretic cults in western Europe such as the
Bogomils and Cathars and, of course, the Templars; then into more
mainstream development by the medieval and Renaissance alchemists;
before comparative relaxation into the domestic history of
distilling in England for the manufacture of strong liquor and the
making of medicinal and perfumed waters by members of the landed
gentry. This is Dan Brown and the "Da Vinci Code" but written by a
scholar and dealing with real-life matters not soft brain-candy.
There are twelve chapters divided into three sections. The first is
'The Ancient and Early Medieval World'; 'The Eastern Mediterranean
Region'; 'The Later Middle Ages'; 'Western Europe'; and 'From Early
Modern Times to AD2000: The British Isles'. While treating
extensively of the mystical, cultish and religious origins of
distilling, as well as its links to early science, Ms Wilson looks
closely at all forms of distilling in the British Isles. This work
includes the manufacture of spiritous liquors such as whisky, gin,
and others and the central part played in country house domestic
life by cordial waters and other distillations manufactured with
great skill by generations of housewives as home medicine and
perfumery. The book does not treat, at any length, the history of
spiritous liquors, including brandy, on mainland Europe.
Nicolas Joly is responsible for producing some of the finest and
most highly esteemed wines of France at his Coulee de Serrant
vineyard. Practising the biodynamic method of agriculture -
sometimes referred to as 'premium organic' - he is at the forefront
of a movement to return to the concept of terroir, as full
expression and embodiment of a particular grape-growing locality,
or appelation. Today even expensive wines, made under strictly
regulated controls and standards, are tainted by the use of
pesticides and fertilizers, and manipulated in the cellar through
the use of osmosis and the additions of aromatic yeasts and
enzymes. To counter such trends, a new 'Charter of Quality', run by
organic and biodynamic viticulturists, guarantees that the
appelation comes to full, authentic expression. To aid this
process, biodynamic winegrowers like Joly use special planting
methods and preparations that enhance and invigorate the soil,
bringing it into harmony with the forces of sun, moon and cosmos to
embed the vine in a rich, living context.
We are familiar with the medical opinion that a daily glass of wine
is good for the health and also the rival opinion that any more
than a glass or two will set us on the road to ruin. Whether or not
good for the body, Scruton argues, wine, drunk in the right frame
of mind, is definitely good for the soul. And there is no better
accompaniment to wine than philosophy. By thinking with wine, you
can learn not only to drink in thoughts but to think in draughts.
This good-humoured book offers an antidote to the pretentious
clap-trap that is written about wine today and a profound apology
for the drink on which civilisation has been founded. In vino
veritas.
The concept of terroir is one of the most celebrated and
controversial subjects in wine today. Most will agree that
well-made wine has the capacity to express "somewhereness," a set
of consistent aromatics, flavors, or textures that amount to a
signature expression of place. But for every advocate there is a
skeptic, and for every writer singing praises related to terroir
there is a study or a detractor seeking to debunk terroir as a
myth. Wine and Place examines terroir using a multitude of voices
and multiple points of view-from science to literature, from
winemakers to wine critics-seeking not to prove its veracity but to
explore its pros, its cons, and its other aspects. This
comprehensive anthology lets the reader come to one's own
conclusion about terroir.
Sought after by European aristocrats and a favorite of Napoleon
Bonaparte, the sweet wines of Constantia in the Cape Colony were
considered to be among the world's best during the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. During the first democratic elections in
1994, South Africa began to re-emerge onto the international wine
scene. Tim James, an expert on South African wines, takes the
reader on an information-packed tour of the region, showing us how
and why the unique combination of terroir and climate, together
with dramatic improvements in winemaking techniques, result in
wines that are once again winning accolades. James describes
important grape varieties and wine styles - from delicate
sparkling, to rich fortified, and everything in between - including
the varietal blends that produce some of the finest Cape wines.
Anchoring his narrative in a rich historical context, James
discusses all the major wine regions, from Cederberg to Walker Bay,
complete with profiles of more than 150 of the country's finest
producers.
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