A History Of Alcoholic Spirits: How Our Favourite Tipples Changed The World
About
Did you know rum was once the spirit of America? How about tequila being the fuel of a revolution that changed Mexico forever? What about modern drink advertising starting with scotch whisky?
These are the kind of timeless cultural links that appear across the history of alcoholic spirits all over the world. To understand these connections is to understand the evolution of society, with spirits like gin, rum, whisky and vodka all shaping politics, marketing and pop culture.
A History Of Alcoholic Spirits: How Our Favourite Tipples Changed The World is an exploration of how all these themes come together. Discover the hidden histories of Western spirits like mezcal and vodka and the deep roots of Eastern spirits like Chinese baijiu and Korean soju. Meet the eclectic cast of characters responsible for creating the world’s most popular spirit categories and the crusaders who tried to tear them down in the name of decency and political gain.
A History Of Alcoholic Spirits is an ideal introduction to the world of spirits for bartenders looking to improve their knowledge and people looking for new bottles to add to their home bars.
Praise for this book
"A History of Alcoholic Spirits is an engaging and well-organised exploration of how spirits have shaped societies across history. The book is designed so readers don’t need to read it cover to cover—each chapter focuses on a single spirit and can be picked up independently. The author, Jamie Ryder, traces drinks like gin, rum, bourbon whiskey, vodka, tequila, baijiu, shōchū, and soju, highlighting their connections to political, economic, and cultural shifts while moving from ancient origins to modern revivals.
As a reader, I appreciated how the author balanced familiar Western spirits with lesser-known East Asian drinks, providing insight into traditions often overlooked. I found the most interesting sections show how these spirits exist today, with modern microdistilleries, alcohol tourism, and emerging trends."
"I love it when a cookbook - or a cocktails book - bends stories and history with its recipes. This one though is particularly lovely. Instead of your typical short stories, this book gives you some mini-histories on the various hard alcoholic spirits we have also come to know and love. I particularly enjoyed the one about Rum. This is a great book for the spirit or history lover, and a great gift idea!"