The Gaelic word for whisky is Uisge beatha, translated literally as 'water of life'. That is as a good a starting place as any to enjoy whisky, as a connoisseur, taster or just an occasional tippler. This beautifully produced volume, Scotch Whisky: The Essential Guide for Single Malt Lovers goes on an incredible journey around Scotland and back in time too. Written by a Scotsman who considers it a blessing to grow up with Scotch whisky, you will learn about the history of whisky distillation, the famous men whose passion can be found in their special malts, and take tours of the main whisky regions, including the Western Isles, Speyside, Highlands, Lowlands, and Campbeltown, visiting some of the greatest names in the production of Scotch, The Glenlivet, Ardbeg, Glenmorangie, Balvenie, Talisker - other brands (more than 100 of them) are available. Written with a passion and love for the subject Scotch Whisky: The Essential Guide for Single Malt Lovers is complemented by stunning photographs, maps and artworks. It make this superb book a unique insight into Scotch whisky, one of the world's most loved drinks.

China is one of the world's leading producers and consumers of liquor. In turn, alcohol infuses all aspects of China's culture, from religion and literature to business and warfare. Yet to the outside world, China's most famous spirit remains a mystery. That's about to change: baijiu, the most popular alcoholic drink in China, is now being served in cocktail bars overseas. The baijiu invasion is beginning. Drunk in China follows Derek Sandhaus' journey of discovery into the world's oldest drinking culture. He travels throughout the country and around the globe to meet with distillers, brewers, snake-oil salesmen, archeologists and ordinary drinkers. He visits production floors, karaoke parlors, hotpot joints and speakeasies. Along the way he uncovers a tradition that spans more than nine thousand years, and explores how recent economic and political developments have conspired to push Chinese alcohol beyond the nation's borders for the first time. As Chinese society becomes increasingly international, its drinking culture must also adapt to the times. But is the West ready to clink glasses with China, or will deeply rooted stereotypes prove too difficult to overcome? Far from engaging in a juvenile celebration of inebriation for its own sake, Sandhaus has aimed to examine the many ways in which alcohol has shaped Chinese society and its rituals, sometimes with disastrous consequences.

Explore the most popular hotspots, tube stops, and drinks that London has to offer. From classy rooftop bars to eccentric, hidden watering holes, take a tour through London's diverse cocktail scene with this guide. Discover the unique character of each location and the signature recipes from these venues. You will feel like you're really there long before you order your first drink. Inside you'll find: - 50 bar profiles and bartender highlights - Beautifully illustrated pages that showcase the heart of each location - Background on the bustling history of the London bar scene Never be without a drink with recipes from timeless locations and profiles on some of the best bartenders you've never heard of. Bring London's charm to your home bar anywhere in the world. You'll find yourself right at home with Drink Like a Local London.

Everything you need to know about gin in 128 pages, by the Gin Foundry. The perfect accompaniment to a gin & tonic, Gin Foundry have poured their expertise into one succinct expert read. Includes: The modern history of gin; How gin is made; What to look for when choosing gin; Deciphering gin labels; How to taste gin; Gin Foundry's botanical flavour wheel; Gin styles; Best cocktails for different gin styles; Fruit gins and infusions; The perfect gin & tonic; Gin Foundry's garnish/gin pairing guide. Plus much more...

Celebrate the mojito! This book spotlights a favorite Caribbean cocktail that has won a place in bars and eateries across the globe. Food writer Heather McPherson details everything you need to know to make mojito masterpieces, plus flavor-packed variations for every occasion. The basic ingredients are simple--rum, lime, mint, sugar, and club soda. McPherson gives readers the rundown on these five key elements and explains how to make the classic Bacardi mojito, ""the drink that started it all."" But she doesn't stop there. She adds and swaps ingredients like seasonal fruits, herbs, and different rums to show that this versatile beverage knows no bounds. Recipes include a spicy mango mojito with jalapenos, an exotic basil lychee mojito, a sweet and savory peach and rosemary mojito, a moonshine lemonade mojito, and even a hot mojito tea. And it's more than just a drink. The cocktail's refreshing flavors make for sensational dinners and desserts, too. Readers will enjoy recipes for mojito grilled shrimp salad; mojito marinated pork tenderloin with roasted pineapple chutney; duck breast mojito empanadas; and mojito strip steak with pico de gallo. The book features mojito-inspired sweet treats such as ice pops, frozen custard, cheesecake, cookies, ice box pie, and sugar-kissed meringues. Transforming an irresistible drink in delightful ways, McPherson combines step-by-step instructions with quick tips and pro techniques. She invites readers to juice a lime, muddle some mint, and have fun with these creative recipes at home.

Warm up this winter with the toastiest of tipples 'Tis the season to be jolly, and what better way to celebrate than to welcome your guests in from the cold with a tasty tipple? With easy-to-follow recipes for Pumpkin Spiced Russians, Buttered Bonfire Rum, Sleighbell Slings, Happy New Years, the trusty classics, and plenty of non-alcoholic options too, you'll be feeling festive AF all winter. Carve the pumpkins, stack the bonfire, deck the halls, and let's get merry!

CHALLENGE YOUR PALATE Move over sweet. Cocktail aficionados are mixing up creative concoctions that are herbaceous, smoky and strong. These rims are anything but sugarcoated. Savory Cocktails shakes, stirs and strains nearly 100 hard-hitting distilled delights for a cornucopia of today's coolest drinks. Using everything from classic liqueurs to innovative new bitters, the recipes in this book offer a stylish, sophisticated approach to complex-flavored cocktails like: *Yuzu Sour *Green Tea Gimlet *Off-White Negroni *Pink Peppercorn Hot Gin Sling *Greens Fee Fizz *The Spice Trail Packed with carefully crafted cocktails as well as information on tools, ingredients and imbibing history, Savory Cocktails goes way beyond just recipes. The devilish twists in this barman's companion are taste tested and mixologist approved.

The Essential Bartending Crash Course
Do you know how to set up a full bar for that party you're having? How much vermouth to use when your first guest requests a "dry martini on the rocks?" How to measure out a shot of alcohol using the three-count method?
You'll find the answers to all of these questions and much more in this indispensable guide. Rather than teaching you recipes for drinks you've never heard of and will never have to make, the authors focus on the fundamentals of bartending--using the tools, learning the terminology and drink mnemonics, and setting up for a cocktail party. This book will transform the most ignorant imbiber into a sauce-slinger extraordinaire, ready to go out and bartend recreationally or professionally.
This guide includes:
-Basic bar setups, tools, and helpful techniques
-Hundreds of recipes for the most popular drinks and punches, from chocolate martinis to salty dogs
-New chapters featuring everything a bartender needs to know about beer and wine
-A new and improved guide to throwing a fabulous cocktail party
-Hints on finding a bartending job
-Diagrams, illustrations, and many useful tips throughout.

Mother's Milk or Blue Ruin, Dutch Courage or Cuckold's Comfort - the fanciful nicknames that gin has acquired only hint at its colourful story. The story begins with the aromatic juniper berry originally used by the Dutch to flavour the whisky-like genever. The drink then made its way to Britain, where cheap imitations laced with turpentine and other caustic fillers made it the drink of choice for poor eighteenth-century Londoners. Eventually replaced by the sweetened Old Tom style and then by London Dry, gin was introduced to the wider world by means of the British Empire, and during the Jazz Age became a mainstay of a new drinking culture: the cocktail. Today classic cocktails like the Gimlet and the Negroni are embraced by drinkers who enjoy a new breed of modern gins, and gin has reclaimed pride of place in the world of mixology. Gin: A Global History will attract both cocktail aficionados and lovers of food history as it chronicles gin's evolution from cheap liquor to modern alcoholic marvel.

Bourbon whiskey has made a surprising contribution to American legal history. Tracking the history of bourbon and bourbon law illuminates the development of the United States as a nation, from conquering the wild frontier to rugged individualism to fostering the entrepreneurial spirit to solidifying itself as a nation of laws. Bourbon is responsible for the growth and maturation of many substantive areas of the law, such as trademark, breach of contract, fraud, governmental regulation and taxation, and consumer protection. In Bourbon Justice Brian Haara delves into the legal history behind one of America's most treasured spirits to uncover a past fraught with lawsuits whose outcome, surprisingly perhaps, helped define a nation. Approaching the history of bourbon from a legal standpoint, Haara tells the history of America through the development of commercial laws that guided our nation from an often reckless laissez-faire mentality, through the growing pains of industrialization, and past the overcorrection of Prohibition. More than just true bourbon history, this is part of the American story.

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.

Brooklyn is one of the top trendsetting places today anywhere. Its neighborhoods, artists, writers, restaurants, and, yes, drinking establishments set the pace for the rest of the nation. The Brooklyn Bartender collects 300 of the best of these drink recipes in one place, from twists on the classics to new libations made from local ingredients. Organized by spirit, the recipes will allow readers to replicate bartender's signature drinks, including Pork Slope's Brooklyn Sling, Hotel's Delmano's San Francisco Handshake, and The Richardson's Sun Kiss'd. Sidebars will include "5 Takes on the Margarita" and other classic drinks, as well as bartender's recommendations for events, such "3 Simple Make-Ahead Party Drinks." Profiles of 25-30 bars, including the Clover Club, Tooker Alley, Bushwick Country Club, and Maison Premiere, are spotlighted with sage advice from their quotable bartenders. Carey also details essentials readers need to tackle the recipes, including equipment, techniques, staples, as well as advice on 10 Steps to Instantly Make Better Cocktails. Designed to be the perfect bar-side companion, the sophisticated compilation will be enhanced by more than 200 illustrations and 75 photos.

It's like the difference between "Pravda" and Prada. Vodka -- once the liquor favored by beet-faced Soviet bureaucrats -- has undergone a complete makeover, becoming the spirit of choice for fashion-forward cocktail aficionados worldwide. With more than 200 different vodkas now on the market -- including a burgeoning, international array of top-shelf and flavored varieties -- it's high time for a book devoted solely to vodka's distinctive, sometimes sublime pleasures.
Susan Waggoner and Robert Markel -- the authors of two of STC's most popular mixology guides, "Vintage Cocktails" and "Cocktail Hour" -- have teamed up again to create a book especially for the contemporary vodka drinker. In "Make Mine Vodka," the authors evaluate a wide range of today's vodkas, comparing them by origin, key ingredients, and available flavors. Designed in a beautiful retro style and illustrated with vintage art, the book offers 250 vodka-based recipes, from irresistible classics to today's cutting-edge cocktails, and advises readers on making their own flavored vodkas, including coffee, honey, peach, and key lime infusions. Tips on expert drink-making -- when to shake and when to stir, how to create stunning garnishes -- abound, as do suggestions for vodka-friendly dips, canapis, and other cocktail party fare.

Tequila Mockingbird captured the attention of audiences everywhere with its clever commentary, hilarious puns, and delicious drink recipes. Now you can send Tequila Mockingbird postcards to your friends and family with this deluxe postcard book, which includes twenty individual postcards bound into a three-piece case, Lauren Mortimer's brilliant duo-toned illustrations, and twelve drink recipes.