Showing titles in Wine & Beverages

In this book, we discuss the history of distilling and the history of whiskey in America, how to build your own still, how to create your own batch of home brewed whiskey, and the costs associated with doing so. If you are a novice homebrewer looking to break into the craft brewing hobby, this book is for you!

Writing with wit and verve, Mike Veseth (a.k.a. the Wine Economist) tells the compelling story of the war between the market trends that are redrawing the world wine map and the terroirists who resist them. Wine and the wine business are at a critical crossroad today, transformed by three powerful forces. Veseth begins with the first force, globalization, which is shifting the center of the wine world as global wine markets provide enthusiasts with a rich but overwhelming array of choices.

Long before the advent of conventional farming methods - which have focused on constant growth, human intervention, and genetic homogeneity - the apple had already grown to become the ubiquitous all-American symbol it is today. Known for their hardiness, ability to adapt to new environments, natural diversity, and plentiful bounty, wildly grown apples were once known as “America’s fruit” throughout the trading world.

For most people, giving up the day job and moving to a beautiful area of France and living off the vines is an impossible but delicious dream. In 1990, Patricia Atkinson and her husband decided to sell up in Britain and emigrate to the Dordogne. Their idea was to buy a house with a few vines attached and employ someone to tend to the wine while they earned their living with some financial consultancy work.

How much do you know about your favorite drink? If you’ve wondered why whiskey is so popular or what the real difference is between scotch and bourbon, this book is for you. Packed with interesting facts, this book tells you all you ever wanted to know about whiskey. This book explains what proof is and why it matters so much for your whiskey. You also learn the right way to judge a good whiskey, including how it should look, smell, and most importantly, taste.

The Home Distiller’s Workbook tackles the often misunderstood and misrepresented world of moonshine and distillation and reduces them to such simple concepts that even a first time "Shiner" can understand. The HDW will introduce you to the three basic steps in making your own artisan-crafted spirits: brewing, distilling, and ageing. We will be tackling these steps one by one in a way that will have you saying "I just can’t believe it was that easy." And the truth is that it’s even easier then that. If you can follow a recipe to make a cake then with the help of the HDW you could be making anything from Moonshine to Vodka.

What can beer teach us about biology, history, and the natural world? From ancient Mesopotamian fermentation practices to the resurgent American craft brewery, authors Rob DeSalle and Ian Tattersall peruse the historical record and traverse the globe for engaging and often surprising stories about beer. They explain how we came to drink beer, what ingredients combine to give beers their distinctive flavors, how beer's chemistry works at the molecular level, and how various societies have regulated the production and consumption of beer.

In this book, Rob Arnold reveals how innovative whiskey producers are recapturing a sense of place to create distinctive, nuanced flavors. He takes listeners on a world tour of whiskey and the science of flavor, stopping along the way at distilleries in Kentucky, New York, Texas, Ireland, and Scotland. Arnold puts the spotlight on a new generation of distillers, plant breeders, and local farmers who are bringing back long-forgotten grain flavors and creating new ones in pursuit of terroir.

In Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits, journalist Aaron Goldfarb goes on an adventure in vintage spirits. This is an intoxicating story of obsessives on the hunt for old bottles of whiskey, tequila, rum, chartreuse—you name it—from estate sales, grandpa's liquor cabinet, and out-of-the-way and inner-city liquor stores that may just have a case or a few bottles lying around in the basement.

For years we've been told that coffee was bad for our health. But new research reveals that, consumed properly, coffee can be the healthiest, tastiest part of your day. In this revolutionary handbook, Dr. Bob Arnot explains how coffee became a staple of the human diet and reveals why having a cup is one of the best things to do each day. He also teaches you how to find the best beans from around the world and how to create the best brew and food pairings.

Russia is famous for its vodka, and its culture of extreme intoxication. But just as vodka is central to the lives of many Russians, it is also central to understanding Russian history and politics. In Vodka Politics, Mark Lawrence Schrad argues that debilitating societal alcoholism is not hard-wired into Russians' genetic code, but rather their autocratic political system, which has long wielded vodka as a tool of statecraft. Through a series of historical investigations stretching from Ivan the Terrible through Vladimir Putin, Vodka Politics presents the secret history of the Russian state itself.

How did the Old-Fashioned get its name, and why has the drink endured? What drinks were invented by Sam Ross? What was the Pegu Club, and who bartended there? In The Encyclopedia of Cocktails, Robert Simonson catalogues all the essential people, places, and drinks that make up our cocktail history in a refreshing take on the conventional reference book. New York Times cocktail and spirits writer Robert Simonson's witty and opinionated presentation of the bar world is a refreshing look at all things cocktail-related.

Thanks to a small but growing number of dedicated farmers, importers, roasters, and baristas, coffee quality is at an all-time high. But for nonprofessionals, achieving cafe quality at home can seem out of reach. With dozens of equipment options, conflicting information on how to use that equipment, and an industry language that, at times, doesn't seem made for the rest of us, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Craft Coffee: A Manual, written by a coffee enthusiast for coffee enthusiasts, is a comprehensive guide to improving your brew at home.

Still drinking Cabernet after that one bottle you liked five years ago? It can be overwhelming if not intimidating to branch out from your go-to grape, but everyone wants their next wine to be new and exciting. How to choose the right one? Award-winning wine critic Alice Feiring presents an all-new way to look at the world of wine. While grape variety is important, a lot can be learned about wine by looking at the source: the ground in which it grows.

An excellent bottle of wine can be the spark that inspires a brainstorming session. Such was the case for Ian Tattersall and Rob DeSalle, scientists who frequently collaborate on book and museum exhibition projects. When the conversation turned to wine one evening, it almost inevitably led the two - one a palaeoanthropologist, the other a molecular biologist - to begin exploring the many intersections between science and wine. This audiobook presents their fascinating, freewheeling answers to the question.

Cask Strength is more than a history book. In it, Mike Gerrard, an award-winning travel and drinks writer, investigates the making, buying, and selling of barrels and details how drinks like wine, tequila, rum, cognac, and others are enhanced by specific kinds of barrel production.

Grab a glass and join acclaimed Master of Wine Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan on a fascinating six-lecture tour of the best wines that France has to offer with The Everyday Guide to Wines of France. This journey is packed with interactive wine tastings, food and wine pairing demonstrations, practical tips and suggestions for shopping and gift giving, and more. The Everyday Guide to Wines of France takes you all across the country on a vibrant search for the best of the best when it comes to French wines.

Around the world, certain drinks - especially those of the intoxicating kind - are synonymous with their peoples and cultures. For Mexico, this drink is tequila. For many, tequila can conjure up scenes of body shots on Cancún bars and coolly garnished margaritas on sandy beaches. Its power is equally strong within Mexico, though there the drink is more often sipped rather than shot, enjoyed casually among friends, and used to commemorate occasions from the everyday to the sacred.

The characters in Tasting the Past include a young Swiss scientist who set out to decode the DNA of every single wine grape in the world; Middle Eastern researchers who seek to discover the wines that King David drank; and a University of Pennsylvania academic who has spent decades analyzing wine remains. The science illuminates wine in ways no critic can, and demolishes some of the most sacred dogmas of the industry: well-known French grapes aren't especially noble.

The world of premium quality tea is every bit as complex and fascinating as wine, and 19 Lessons On Tea is the ultimate guide to everything you need to know about this healthy and flavorful daily indulgence.