The marines on the First Fleet refused to sail without it. Convicts risked their necks to get hold of it. Rum built a hospital and sparked a revolution, made fortunes and ruined lives. In a society with few luxuries, liquor was power. It played a crucial role, not just in the lives of individuals like James Squire - the London chicken thief who became Australia's first brewer - but in the transformation of a starving penal outpost into a prosperous trading port. Drawing on a wealth of contemporary sources, Grog offers an intoxicating look at the first decades of European settlement and explores the origins of Australia's fraught love affair with the hard stuff.

For Prosecco drinkers everywhere, this delightful little book is packed full of helpful tips for how to store, chill and serve your bottles of liquid gold, as well as numerous ideas for delicious Prosecco cocktails. Within these pages you can also find handy suggestions for other sparkling wines to look out for and ideas for how to add some pizzazz to your table with some unlikely but brilliant recipes for cooking with Prosecco.