The Book of Gin: A Spirited History from Alchemists' Stills and Colonial Outposts to Gin Palaces, Bathtub Gin, and Artisanal Cocktails“An absorbing popular history of one of history’s most popular drinks.” —Booklist Gin has been a drink of kings infused with crushed pearls and rose petals, and a drink of the poor flavored with turpentine and sulfuric acid. Born in alchemists’ stills and monastery kitchens, its earliest incarnations were juniper flavored medicines used to prevent plague, ease the pains of childbirth, and even to treat a lack of courage. In The Book of Gin, Richard Barnett traces the life of this beguiling spirit, once believed to cause a “new kind of drunkenness.” In the eighteenth century, gin-crazed debauchery (and class conflict) inspired Hogarth’s satirical masterpieces “Beer Street” and “Gin Lane.” In the nineteenth century, gin was drunk by Napoleonic War naval heroes, at lavish gin palaces, and by homesick colonials, who mixed it with their bitter anti-malarial tonics. In the early twentieth century, the illicit cocktail culture of Prohibition made gin—often dangerous bathtub gin—fashionable again. And today, with the growth of small-batch distilling, gin has once-again made a comeback. Wide-ranging, impeccably researched, and packed with illuminating stories, The Book of Gin is lively and fascinating, an indispensable history of a complex and notorious drink. “The Book of Gin is full of history that will make you grin . . . An enchanting read.” —Cooking by the Book |
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The Book of Gin: A Spirited World History from Alchemists' Stills and ... Richard Barnett Limited preview - 2012 |
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alchemical alchemists alcohol alembic American apothecaries aqua vita beer Beer Street began bitters brandy British cinchona cinchona bark classic consumed consumption cordials coriander culture death decades Dickens disease distillation distillery drink drinkers drunk drunkenness Dutch Dutch Republic early eighteenth century English Europe European film fire flavored French gallons Gateley genever Gin Act gin cocktails gin craze Gin Lane gin palaces gin-drinking gin-shops glass gout hand House industrial intoxication John juice juniper berries lemon liquid liquor London dry gin Madam Geneva Martinez martini Martini Straight medicine mixed moral mother nineteenth century orange orris root peel physician pleasure Plymouth gin political produced Prohibition proto-gins published quinine quintessence quoted in Edmunds quoted in Gateley recipe revolution Royal seems Society sold speakeasies Street sugar sweet Tanqueray taverns temperance Thomas tonic trade turn vermouth Victorian Volstead Act whisky William wine women Y-Worth