"Those that pick up But First, Champagne . . . will be richly rewarded . . . White never loses sight of what makes the region a truly unique place, perhaps the only place that could give birth to the world's most magical wine." -Tasting Panel Knowledgeable wine enthusiasts have always revered Champagne. The region and its wines are associated with prestige and luxury, of course, but historically, most consumers kept champagne way back on the high shelf, reserving it for post-bowl game blowouts, send-offs, and wedding toasts. Over the past decade, however, an increasing number of wine enthusiasts have discovered the joys of grower champagne-wines made by the farmers who grow the grapes. Today, Champagne is in the midst of a renaissance. And thanks to a few key wine importers and the farm-to-table movement, consumers everywhere are finally paying attention. In But First, Champagne, David White details Champagne's history along with that of its wines, explains how and why the market is changing, and profiles the region's leading producers. These profiles will bring a new perspective to the Champagne that is home to dozens of engaging, inspiring, authentic winegrowers who today produce fantastic and affordable products. This book is essential reading for wine enthusiasts, adventurous drinkers, and foodies. With a comprehensive yet accessible overview of the region, its history, and its leading producers, But First, Champagne will demystify Champagne for all. From the foreword: "Smart, entertaining, and valuable . . . one of those rare wine books that should appeal to people just getting into Champagne and longtime Champagne obsessives." -Ray Isle, Executive Wine Editor, Food & Wine

'Amazing! Everything about this book is awesome from the recipes to the presentation. A must for any home or professional bartender' - Buzzfeed Enjoy two of life's greatest pleasures - coffee and alcohol - with this comprehensive guide to mixing perfect coffee cocktails. World-class mixologist Jason Clark will inspire, excite and educate you by taking you behind the bar for a masterclass in creating coffee-based cocktails. First take a journey into the history and craft of coffee, the world's most popular beverage, from crop to cup. Next follow his expert mixing tips aimed at everyone from keen beginners to bartenders working in the world's best bars. More than 80 recipes follow, covering all styles of cocktails from stirred and shaken through to blended and blazed. Learn how to perfect simple classics such as Espresso Martini and Irish coffee or try your hand at technical modern marvels Golden Velvet and Death By Caffeine. With The Art and Craft of Coffee Cocktails in hand your daily grind will never be the same!

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.

Here's a whole new insight on that part of the day so common we usually take it for granted. In 1511 the first of many decrees had been issued banning coffee consumption, but nothing could halt the spread of the drink. The replacement for morning soup originated in Abyssinia, and rapidly made its way via Mecca and Istanbul to nearly every country-a worldwide epidemic of coffeemania. Coffee plantations spread over four continents, and coffee became the subject of political and social conflict on an international scale. It also created a new institution: the coffee-house-a meeting place of the various social strata, creating a cultural forum. Coffee-houses from around the world and down the ages are introduced and described here in terms of their cultural and historical significance-the coffee stall, the taverne a la mode, the coffee salon, the Cafe-Konditorei, the luxury cafe, the political coffee-house, the artists' cafe, the proletarian coffee-house, the -migr- cafe, coffee bar, jazz cafe, the cafe theater and many others. Pour your own steaming mug and take the time to enjoy this fascinating exploration.

Never before has there been a book focusing on the theme of tea as it relates to both the fine and decorative arts. With over 330 beautiful color images, this book explores the history of tea with special attention to the impact its popularity has had on the development of porcelain, furniture, silver, and the other decorative objects employed in serving tea. Here are teapots, cups and saucers, kettle stands, tea caddies, silverware, and more, inspired both by the expense of the tea itself and the various social significances surrounding its consumption. The valued place of tea in society at all levels has also created a subject for the fine arts. From maritime paintings, to portraiture and still lifes, artists have captured the romance of tea through the works shown in this book. Images from top dealers, galleries, and collectors, representing some of the highest quality tea ware created, illustrate the fascinating and well researched text to please readers around the world.

This important and extremely interesting book is a serious scientific and authoritative overview of the implications of drinking beer as part of the human diet. Coverage of this book includes a history of beer in the diet, an overview of beer production and beer compositional analysis, the impact of raw materials, the desirable and undesirable components in beer and the contribution of beer to health, and social issues. Written by Professor Charlie Bamforth, well known for a lifetime's work in the brewing world, "Beer: Health and Nutrition" should find a place on the shelves of all those involved in providing dietary advice.

Behind Every Great Rum Is a Powerful Woman"An essential book, which shows that women are taking an increasingly important place in the world of rum, that they can be very talented producers, but that there is still a lot to do in terms of gender equality." -Rum Porter Once known as a sailor's drink, rum has matured into a refined spirit. In some Caribbean countries, rum is offered as a libation to the gods. In others, it is aged and savored on the rocks. But in the most magical places, rum is distilled by women. Inside Rum Rebels, you'll find personal anecdotes from master blenders, fabulous recipes for artisan rum cocktails, and the inside scoop on the magic behind Appleton, Zacapa, Cachaca Maria Izabel, Brugal, and more. The art of cocktails, rum, and women. A pirate staple, rum has been the drink of rebels since the Old World. Now, there's a new generation of rebels-the business women curating the taste of today's best rum companies. Part rum cocktail book, part ode to feminism, Rum Rebels is a story of female empowerment in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Looking at more than a dozen rum distilleries, each chapter of Rum Rebels profiles women in leadership, their rum, and the perfect cocktail pairing. Learn how rum is made. Alongside women leaders and pioneers, this worldwide master class explores everything from palates to aging, providing first-hand stories from today's leading rum distilleries. Whether a beginner or a seasoned rum enthusiast, Rum Rebels is the perfect read for anyone curious about the craft of rum distilling, artisan cocktails, or female leaders in history. Grab a copy to learn how: At Appleton, Joy Spence becomes the first female master blender At Zacapa, Lorena Vasquez adorns her bottles with hand crafted palm leaves by Guatemalan women And more If you're looking for rum cocktail books, women leadership books, women entrepreneur books, or women of color gifts-like the Smugglers Cove cocktail book, Women's Libation cocktail book, And a Bottle of Rum book, or Drinking Like Ladies-you'll love Rum Rebels.

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.

Interest in wine and mead making is on the rise as hobbyists discover that you don't need expensive equipment or elaborate calculations to make your own "bottled sunshine."

This revised and updated edition of Storey's 1992 title Country Wines offers concise instructions, a glossary of terms, and 125 recipes -- forty of which are brand-new! Even beginners can create delicious wines using common kitchen equipment and ingredients, and experienced winemakers will love the unique recipes!

"Making Wild Wines & Meads" includes offbeat but absolutely delectable recipes for fruit, flower, and herb wines; wine coolers and punches; and meads, a fermented beverage made from honey.

What's the best companion to a round of drinks with friends? A round of bad-ass drinking game fun, of course. Kit includes an 8-page book, a shot glass, a set of standard dice, "dirty" dice, and a deck of 48 cards, each containing one drinking game from the most innocent to the rousing and risque, such as "Tip the Bartender," "Chug-A-Lug," and "Beer-amid." This is sure to add excitement to an otherwise run-of-the-mill bar night.

In quick-study format, this book profiles 45 common herbs with extraordinary healing potential. Each profile outlines the herb's major constituents, physiological effects, traditional applications, contraindications, and flavor, as well as its growth habits both in the wild and in the garden.

From the wildly creative team behind Philadelphia's Art in the Age comes The Cocktail Workshop, a deep-dive into 20 classic drinks that make up the foundation of cocktail creation, and the delicious variations that will make them all your own. Learn to craft a perfect, classic drink, or workshop that creation into a unique, flavor-forward spin with The Cocktail Workshop, an indispensable guide to foundational cocktails and the tools to elevate them into master-level creations. In this richly illustrated book, the team behind Philadelphia's beloved Art in the Age guides aspiring mixologists through the fundamentals of 20 essential cocktails. Then, each foundational drink is spun off into creative and customizable riffs on flavors, techniques, and ingredients, called Apprentice, Journeyman, and Master versions. Each classic drink is concluded by a Workshop: how to take your at-home bar efforts to the next level with aging, infusing, garnishing, and more. Drawing on the building blocks of iconic cocktails like the daiquiri and the old-fashioned, readers will grow their knowledge base as they move through each drink, taking away real skills for their home bar -- like the proper way to dry-shake an egg white cocktail or carve a manicured lime twist -- and an understanding of the fundamentals of cocktailing: how drinks are created, related, and integrated.

Gin: The Essential Guide for Gin Aficionados celebrates the clear spirit in all its guises; as a straight drink, the increasingly popular flavoured brands, as a base for cocktails and a cooking ingredient. It describes the history of the spirit; how it is made and how the method of distillation has changed across the centuries; the variations of gin; classic cocktail recipes; where to buy the premier brands; and tasting notes. Lavishly illustrated and written in an easy-to-read style, this book will go down as well as the most lovingly created Gin & Tonic. Few drinks can trace its history back more than half a millennium, but the Dutch genever (or jenever) is a clear predecessor of the modern gin distilled today. Gin's history makes for fascinating reading, from how it grew and faded in popularity through the ages to the types of people who drank it and the story of the G&T (surely the world's best known cocktail). According to Henry McNulty, Vogue's legendary wine and spirits columnist, 'Gin is the bad boy of the spirits world.' He may be correct, but the fact remains that gin is one of the world's most popular spirits.

A collection of lively liquid masterpieces from around the world. Unusual alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages discovered by the author on every continent. From Mint Juleps to Shanghai Cossack Punch.

This gift-sized guide has delicious recipes for savory and sweet treats, from sandwiches and tart to cakes, scones, macaroons, shortbreads and preserves. Some are classic, some have a twist, such as cucumber sandwiches with minted cream cheese, toasted farmhouse bread with anchovy butter, the classic Victoria sponge, brandysnaps, cream horns or the classic scone. Plus there's everything you need to know to brew to the perfect pot of tea (not to mention the odd cocktail and bowl of punch). Sample menus help you to plan your tea, whether you're looking for a lively party, the last word in elegance or a hearty winter tea by the fire. Food historian Laura Mason also includes some fascinating and amusing historical recipes that reveal how afternoon tea was taken in times gone by and the origins of some beloved dishes. Includes dual measures.

Celebrate the simple pleasures and great magickal power of teas and herbal brews.

A Tea Witch’s Grimoire offers recipes for magickal botanical brews of all sorts: teas, elixirs, potions, and decoctions, accompanied by spells and rituals to put these brews into action. Whether you’re looking for prosperity, protection, mental clarity, love, or beauty, this illustrated grimoire has a carefully crafted tea spell and ritual for you. Author Susana Harlow learned tea witchcraft as a young girl at her grandmother’s side. A Tea Witch’s Grimoire now presents the recipes and magickal tea lore she learned and perfected over the years.

In this cornucopia of recipes, spells, and rituals, you’ll find teas for all sorts of purposes and occasions:

• Celebrating the sabbats of the wheel of the year
• Honoring the phases of the moon
• Aligning with your astrological sign
• Using crystals and sigils as part of your tea magick
• Working with everyday problems and personal aspirations

Also included is an information-packed section listing botanical ingredients and their substitutions, and correspondences for working with specific energetic qualities and personal goals. A must-have for every witch’s kitchen

'Superb regional guide ... Shots of the distilleries combine with wonderful landscape photography' Country Life 'Mr MacLean serves up dram after dram of useful detail... This is armchair travel at its best' Wall Street Journal A new handbook sized editon of Spirit of Place, a wide-ranging and evocative portrait of Scotland's distilleries, with text by renowned whisky expert Charles MacLean and photographs by Lara Platman and Alan MacDonald. Treating Scotland as eight distinct regions, this fascinating book describes the 'cultural terroir' of the country's fifty greatest distilleries; the ingredients, practices and traditions that result in such an exquisite range of whiskies. Specially commissioned photographs capture the texture of the surrounding landscapes and communities through the changing seasons, as well as portraits of those craftsmen who work there, and the fabric of the buildings themselves. Spirit of Place is a unique addition to the literature on Scotch whisky, from the world's greatest expert on the subject. The perfect gift for anyone planning a tour of Scotland's distilleries, a souvenir for anyone who has visited them, and simply the perfect companion to a dram at home.

Liquid PLeasures is an engrossing study of the social history of drinks in Britain from the late Seventeenth Century to the present. From the first cup of tea at breakfast and mid-morning coffee, to an evening beer and a night-cap, Burnett discusses individual drinks and drinking patterns which have varied not least with personal taste, but also with age, gender, religion and class. He views how different ages have viewed the same drink as either demon poison or medicine.
Connecting drinks and related substances such as sugar to empire as well, the book runs to the present with coverage of the startling drinks revolutions in the 1990s.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203019857

Drinking has always meant much more than satisfying the thirst. Drinking can be a necessity, a comfort, an indulgence or a social activity.
Liquid Pleasures is an engrossing study of the social history of drinks in Britain from the late seventeenth century to the present. From the first cup of tea at breakfast to mid-morning coffee, to an eveining beer and a 'night-cap', John Burnett discusses individual drinks and drinking patterns which have varied not least with personal taste but also with age, gender, region and class. He shows how different ages have viewed the same drink as either demon poison or medicine.
John Burnett traces the history of what has been drunk in Britain from the 'hot beverage revolution' of the late seventeenth century - connecting drinks and related substances such as sugar to empire - right up to the 'cold drinks revolution' of the late twentieth century, examining the factors which have determined these major changes in our dietary habits.

Now completely revised and updated, this new edition of the essential consumer guide to wine features all the most current information for today's wine landscape. The authors, longtime wine educators at The Culinary Institute of America, have added all the latest and most relevant information to their award-winning book, including new picks for the best regional producers, off-the-beaten-path finds, and bargain bottles. With a practical, anti-snob attitude, the emphasis is always on enjoying wine to the fullest in real-world scenarios and getting the best value for your dollar, whether splurging on a special-occasion bottle or deciding on your own "house" wine. All the basics are covered, including the major wine grapes, flavor profiles, and decoding labels, plus up-to-date information on established and up-and-coming regions, advice on pairing wine with everything from Korean short ribs to all-American burgers, opinions on wine gadgets (yea or nay?), and more. Cheers