A rich romp through untold American history featuring fabulous characters, "The Wild Vine" is the tale of a little-known American grape that rocked the fine-wine world of the nineteenth century and is poised to do so again today.

Author Todd Kliman sets out on an epic quest to unravel the mystery behind Norton, a grape used to make a Missouri wine that claimed a prestigious gold medal at an international exhibition in Vienna in 1873. At a time when the vineyards of France were being ravaged by phylloxera, this grape seemed to promise a bright future for a truly American brand of wine-making, earthy and wild. And then Norton all but vanished. What happened?
The narrative begins more than a hundred years before California wines were thought to have put America on the map as a wine-making nation and weaves together the lives of a fascinating cast of renegades. We encounter the suicidal Dr. Daniel Norton, tinkering in his experimental garden in 1820s Richmond, Virginia. Half on purpose and half by chance, he creates a hybrid grape that can withstand the harsh New World climate and produce good, drinkable wine, thus succeeding where so many others had failed so fantastically before, from the Jamestown colonists to Thomas Jefferson himself. Thanks to an influential Long Island, New York, seed catalog, the grape moves west, where it is picked up in Missouri by German immigrants who craft the historic 1873 bottling. Prohibition sees these vineyards burned to the ground by government order, but bootleggers keep the grape alive in hidden backwoods plots. Generations later, retired Air Force pilot Dennis Horton, who grew up playing in the abandoned wine caves of the very winery that produced the 1873 Norton, brings cuttings of the grape back home to Virginia. Here, dot-com-millionaire-turned-vintner Jenni McCloud, on an improbable journey of her own, becomes Norton's ultimate champion, deciding, against all odds, to stake her entire reputation on the outsider grape.
Brilliant and provocative, "The Wild Vine" shares with readers a great American secret, resuscitating the Norton grape and its elusive, inky drink and forever changing the way we look at wine, America, and long-cherished notions of identity and reinvention.

"From the Hardcover edition."

Craft the perfect whiskey cocktail! Enjoy over 100 whiskey cocktail recipes, featuring your favorite spirit! From the Manhattan to the Mint Julep, whiskey is the foundation of some of the most iconic, old-school cocktails, and its renaissance has led to an array of innovative new creations. Whether you prefer your drinks tart and refreshing or complex and spirit-forward, this artfully curated collection features: - More than 100 whiskey cocktail recipes with chapters dedicated to whiskey, bourbon, rye, and whiskey liqueurs and creams - Distillery profiles on Buffalo Trace, Four Roses, Hartfield & Co., Heaven Hill, Jack Daniel's, Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Willett, and Woodford Reserve - Facts about the origins of whiskey found all throughout the book - These libations and more: Gentleman's Manhattan, Perfect Old Fashioned, Rob Roy, Southern Charm, Hot Toddy, Pomegranate Smash, Tennessee Mule, Vieux Carre, Maker's Boulevardier, Jack and Ginger, Black Manhattan, Buffalo Smash, Whiskey Sling, Sazerac, South of NY Sour, Blackberry Sage Julep Whiskey Cocktails is an essential guide for anyone looking to craft an impeccable drink. From the whiskey aficionado to the beginner, there is a whiskey drink for everyone with a wide variety of classic whiskey recipes and modern originals to choose from. This beautifully designed book is perfect for anyone who wants to mix whiskey drinks at home and is a great gift for whiskey lovers.

Warm sun, cool drink, and nowhere to be-that's Margaritaville! It's a celebration of relaxation and an invitation to enjoy good food and good company. Margaritaville: The Cookbook is filled with recipes that bring the flavour of island living and the spirit of Jimmy Buffett's iconic song straight into your home. The first ever cookbook from the beloved world of Margaritaville features laid-back favourites like the explosively good Volcano Nachos and the heaven-on-earth-with-an-onion-slice Cheeseburger in Paradise, alongside more sophisticated options that will wow your guests (Coho Salmon in Lemongrass-Miso Broth, anyone?). With its combination of recipes, stories, and gorgeous full colour food and lifestyle photographs throughout, it is sure to put you in a Margaritaville state of mind! Margaritaville isn't confined to single spot on the map-the recipes draw inspiration from around the world, from Jerk Chicken to Tuna Poke with Plantain Chips and Jimmy's Jammin' Jambalaya. And we've got you all covered, from family-friendly Aloha Hotdogs to drool-worthy Vegetarian Burgers. It's 5 o'clock somewhere and no vacation is complete without a cocktail-preferably a margarita, of course! Margaritaville: The Cookbook is loaded with drink recipes to inspire your blissful island cocktail hour-from Jimmy's Perfect Margarita and Paradise Palomas to Cajun Bloody Mary's and the quintessential Key West Coconut and Lime Frozen Margarita.

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.

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'!!

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.

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.

This is the ultimate handbook for mixologists looking for ingredients that go beyond exotic fruit juices and rare spirits. Driven by a commitment and passion for the freshly harvested ingredient, Semenology pushes the limits of classic bartending. Semen is often freshly available behind most bar counters and adds a personal touch to any cocktail. The connoisseur will appreciate learning how to mix selected spirits to enhance the delicate flavors of semen. The book provides useful tips that cover every detail of Semenology, from mixing and presentation to harvesting and storage advice.

Written by David Nathan-Maister, the book surveys the history of absinthe from earliest days right up to the present, with a particular focus on its glittering heyday in Belle Epoque France. Hundreds of full colour illustrations document every aspect of the drink - its distillation and production, the grande marques that distributed it, the bars and cafes that served it, the patrons - men and women, rich and poor, soldiers and politicians, poets, artists, lovers and boulevardiers - who drank it. Special sections describe the various drinking rituals in exhaustive detail, others deal with absinthes popularity and spread in the USA, its alleged "secondary effects" and the disputed syndrome of absinthism, the hard fought and ultimately successful campaign to ban it in France, Switzerland and elsewhere, and 80 years later, its modern renaissance at the dawn of the 21st century.

A spirited look at the history of alcohol, from the dawn of civilization to the modern day
Alcohol is a fundamental part of Western culture. We have been drinking as long as we have been human, and for better or worse, alcohol has shaped our civilization. "Drink" investigates the history of this Jekyll and Hyde of fluids, tracing mankind's love/hate relationship with alcohol from ancient Egypt to the present day.
"Drink" further documents the contribution of alcohol to the birth and growth of the United States, taking in the War of Independence, the Pennsylvania Whiskey revolt, the slave trade, and the failed experiment of national Prohibition. Finally, it provides a history of the world's most famous drinks-and the world's most famous drinkers. Packed with trivia and colorful characters, "Drink" amounts to an intoxicating history of the world.

Mixologist: The Journal of the American Cocktail features works by noted cocktail authorities Christine Sismondo, Robert Hess, Gary Regan, LeNell Smothers, Gwydion Stone, Audrey Saunders, Dale DeGroff, Ryan Magarian, Darcy O'Neil, Jared Brown, and Anistatia Miller. The never-before-published articles presented in Volume Two focus on the origins of the word "cocktail" and profession of bartending. Christine Sismondo puts forth the politically-charged early historical record of the word "cocktail." LeNell Smothers explores the origins and evolution of the Colonial American classic, the Mint Julep. Gwydion Stone relates the story of the "Green Fairy"--absinthe. Gary Regan uncovers the true birth of the Cosmopolitan. Robert Hess relates the need for passion in the execution of the mixologist's art, while Dale DeGroff explains how to set up a successful bartending operation. Ryan Magarian shows how he developed a bar program for a cruiseship line. Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown sit down with Henry Besant and Dre Masso of the Worldwide Cocktail Club to discuss the future of cocktails from a British perspective. Audrey Saunders details the cold, hard facts about the second most important ingredient to go into a cocktail--ice. Our resident chemist Darcy O'Neil delves into a definitive and scientific discourse on sweet & sour mix. To close this volume, Robert Hess returns with the history of Bacardi Rums.

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 a certain 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. In this heady cocktail of agile prose and telling anecdotes, Sismondo offers a resounding toast to taprooms, taverns, saloons, speakeasies, and the local hangout where everybody knows your name.

With fantastical narratives, home-brewing instructions, and original craft cocktail recipes, Mead is the ultimate exploration of the resurgent alcoholic beverage that is nearly as old as time itself. Beloved by figures as diverse as Queen Elizabeth and Thor, the Vikings and the Greek gods, mead is one of history's most storied beverages. But this mixture of fermented honey isn't just a relic of bygone eras -- it's experiencing a cultural renaissance, taking pride of place in trendy cocktail bars and craft breweries across the country. Equal parts quirky historical narrative, DIY manual, and cocktail guide, Mead is a spirited look at the drink that's been with us even longer than wine. Mead gives readers a fascinating introduction to the rich story of this beloved beverage -- from its humble beginnings to its newfound popularity, along with its vital importance in seven historic kingdoms: Greece, Rome, the Vikings, Poland, Ethiopia, England, and Russia. Pairing a quirky, historical narrative with real practical advice, beverage expert Fred Minnick guides readers through making 25 different types of mead, as well as more than 50 cocktails, with recipes from some of the country's most sought-after mixologists.

The craft of making moonshine-an unaged white whiskey, often made and consumed outside legal parameters-nearly went extinct in the late twentieth century as law enforcement cracked down on illicit producers, and cheaper, lawful alcohol became readily available. Yet the twenty-first century has witnessed a resurgence of artisanal distilling, as both connoisseurs and those reconnecting with their heritage have created a vibrant new culture of moonshine. While not limited to Appalachia, moonshine is often entwined with the region in popular understandings. The first interdisciplinary examination of the legal moonshine industry, Modern Moonshine probes the causes and impact of the so-called moonshine revival. What does the moonshine revival tell us about our national culture? How does it shape the image of Appalachia and rural America? Focusing mostly on southern Appalachia, the book's eleven essays chronicle such popular figures as Popcorn Sutton and explore how and why distillers promote their product as "traditional" and "authentic." This edited collection draws from scholars across the disciplines of anthropology, history, geography, and sociology to make sense of the legal, social, and historical shifts behind contemporary production and consumption of moonshine, and offers a fresh perspective on an enduring topic of Appalachian myth and reality.

Armed with cutting-edge research and a barfly's thirst for the truth, cocktail instructor Brian D. Hoefling tackles the most burning questions and longest-held myths surrounding that most ancient of human pastimes-with the science to either back them up or knock them down. From the ins and outs of aging to the chemistry of a beer head and the science behind your hangover, Distilled Knowledge provides a complete and comical education that will put an end to any barroom dispute, once and for all.