A Manhattan or a Sazerac; neat, on the rocks, or with a splash of soda - no matter how it's served up, whiskey is synonymous with the poet's inspiration and the devil's spirit. Be it bourbon, rye, corn, Irish, or Scotch, whiskey has an infamous and celebrated history from a sometimes lethal, herb-infused concoction to a high-quality, meticulously crafted liquor. In Whiskey, Kevin R. Kosar delivers an informative, concise narrative of the drink's history, from its obscure medieval origins to the globally traded product that it is today. Focusing on three nations - Scotland, Ireland, and America - Kosar charts how the technique of distillation moved from ancient Egypt to the British Isles. Contrary to popular claims, there were no good old days of whiskey: before the twentieth century, consumers could never be sure just what was being poured in their cup - unscrupulous profiteers could distil anything into booze and pawn it off as whiskey. Eventually, government and industry established legal definitions of what whiskey is and how it could be made, allowing for the distinctive styles of whiskey known today. Whiskey explains what whiskey is, how it is made, and how the types of whiskey differ. With a list of suggested brands and classic cocktail recipes for the thirsty reader, this book is perfect for drink and food enthusiasts and history lovers alike.
Whiskey: A Global History (Edible)
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'These are food memoirs, salacious and exotic, colorful, powdered, sweet, greasy and globe-trotting ... sharp and speedy little reads, spotted with off-kilter illustrations' --Chicago Tribune
'These little morsels of books are part of a delightful and new imprint known as the Edible series ... The history of each foodstuff is set out compactly and with erudition ... in each case, it's when the history moves closer to current day that revelation and delight meet.' --Diplomat magazine
'These little morsels of books are part of a delightful and new imprint known as the Edible series ... The history of each foodstuff is set out compactly and with erudition ... in each case, it's when the history moves closer to current day that revelation and delight meet.' --Diplomat magazine
About the Author
Kevin R. Kosar is the founder of AlcoholReviews.com. His writings on alcoholic beverages have appeared in American.com, the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, the New York Press and the New York Hangover.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By Evaldas
Format:Hardcover
Very good basic knowledge behind this spirit ingredient includes quite a lot of history and some foundations of some brands
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Great gift, I have been told it is both light hearted and fun to read as well as very informative.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars
11 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing About Unicorns
15 April 2013
By Christopher Keeble
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
I've read this cover to cover seventeen times and I've found nothing about Unicorns or any other single-horned land mammal. If it weren't for the well researched and well written bits about whiskey I would write this off as a complete loss and bitter disappointment.
If you're interested in whiskey - get this. Look elsewhere for information on unicorns.
If you're interested in whiskey - get this. Look elsewhere for information on unicorns.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Definitive, Entertaining Book on an Elusive Subject
5 Aug 2011
By Colin Dodds
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Kevin Kosar's Whiskey: A Global History is a definitive guide to the spirit--how it's made, where it comes from, its mysterious history, how it shaped the identity and destiny of nations. It will tell you everything about whiskey except what, exactly, it did to your twenties.
The book is a masterful guide to whiskies of all sorts, scotch, bourbon, Irish, Canadian and American. It is detailed and informative without being pedantic, and entertaining without straying off topic. From the cloudy particulars of biblical time, through Egyptian and Irish prehistory, through the alchemists' laboratories to the Whiskey Rebellion of 1791, prohibition and the present, Whiskey: A Global History tells a vast story without ever seeming to skim.
A slender volume, the book nonetheless packs a wallop. In addition to a detailed and fascinating history, it has enough technical information that I was tempted to start distilling. Somehow, Kosar even found room for an impressive array of historical images about whiskey dating back hundreds of years.
And at the end, once you've learned the space you occupy in whiskey's rich and raucous history, Whiskey: A Global History gives you a series of classic whiskey cocktail recipes so you may raise your glass and take your rightful place in that history.
The book is a masterful guide to whiskies of all sorts, scotch, bourbon, Irish, Canadian and American. It is detailed and informative without being pedantic, and entertaining without straying off topic. From the cloudy particulars of biblical time, through Egyptian and Irish prehistory, through the alchemists' laboratories to the Whiskey Rebellion of 1791, prohibition and the present, Whiskey: A Global History tells a vast story without ever seeming to skim.
A slender volume, the book nonetheless packs a wallop. In addition to a detailed and fascinating history, it has enough technical information that I was tempted to start distilling. Somehow, Kosar even found room for an impressive array of historical images about whiskey dating back hundreds of years.
And at the end, once you've learned the space you occupy in whiskey's rich and raucous history, Whiskey: A Global History gives you a series of classic whiskey cocktail recipes so you may raise your glass and take your rightful place in that history.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Overview of the History of the "Water of Life"
19 Jan 2013
By Jeffrey R. Young
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is by no means a comprehensive or all encompassing book about whiskey, but it was an enjoyable and informative history of the major types (Irish, Scotch, etc.) of whikey available in the world. A good primer on how whiskey has become a force in many econimic and polictical ways. In other words, an interesting and quick read if you are a fan of whiskey or even if you are not.
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4.7 out of 5 stars
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