Saturday, June 21, 2014

Five notable books about cocktails

One title on the Barnes & Noble Review's list of five top books on cocktails:
Gin: A Global History
by Lesley Jacobs Solmonson

A new booze-oriented entry in Harvard's delectable Edible Series (past favorites include Vodka, Rum, Whiskey, and Champagne), this bracing work of history traces the evolution of gin from a juniper-infused elixir administered by apothecaries, to Dutch genever, Prohibition bathtub "gin," and its apotheosis in the Martini. Along the way, the tipple that's been dubbed "blue ruin" and "mother's milk" sparked one of the earliest known drug crazes and became a hallmark of British imperial culture around the world. Solmonson washes it all down with recipes for fizzes, slings, smashes, and tonics.
Read about another title on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue