Boozy Books - World Book Day Special
World Book Day is upon us. In the UK, we celebrate this by either sending our children to school dressed as characters that might have a connection to literature or by pontificating about how tenuous that connection is. Essentially we get to engage in competitive parenting and snobbery, which people seem to enjoy. It hasn’t got much to do with reading.
Anyway, it’s inspired me to recommend some books on drinking.
Best Book about the History of Gin
Gin Glorious Gin by Olivia Williams
There are lots of books about Gin. Most are feeble efforts designed as Christmas presents for the gin drinker in your life, cheerfully received but destined to be taken, unread, to the charity shop, but there are a few that are worth reading. History scholar and gin fan Olivia Williams manages to condense gin’s history into 300 pages but includes enough detail for it to come across as thorough and well researched, and Williams has a writing style that is accessible and witty. It’s anything but (London) dry. Gin perhaps has the most colourful history of any drink, and Gin Glorious Gin is exactly the treatment it deserves.
Best Book about the History of Rum
And a Bottle of Rum by Wayne Curtis
Whereas Gin Glorious Gin is told chronologically, And a Bottle of Rum has ten chapters that each use a different cocktail as a jumping off point. Alcohol history is not an easy topic to write about. Very few origin stories were documented at the time, and being oral based, the more entertaining stories often win out over the (not so) sober reality. Curtis manages to channel the entertainment while being suitably respectful about some of the most shameful events in modern history that are an intrinsic part of this particular drink’s story.
Best Book about Man’s relationship with Alcohol
A Short History of Drunkenness by Mark Forsyth
Forsyth’s book doesn’t attempt to be exhaustive. That would be a difficult, and potential unengaging feat. Instead in just over 200 pages he takes us from the stone age to present day on a whistlestop tour through different civilisations and cultures covering how and why humans have enjoyed getting pissed. Of all the books, this is certainly the most comedic. It’s lighthearted, fascinating and highly readable. He clearly likes a drink, and thinks we’re a silly lot and this informs the mood of the book. It’s full of anecdotes ripe for retelling, and you’ll rip through it in days.
Best Coffee Table Book
Spirited by Adrienne Stillman
I’m not sure I’d want to stick my neck out and suggest any book is the definitive cocktail book but everyone needs at least one in their life. Between 1862’s Jerry Thomas’ Bartender Guide and now, there have been an insane amount published and each one is a wonderful reflection of their time. It would be an impossible task for a cocktail book to be completely comprehensive, but Stillman’s tome (and it is a tome) feels pretty definitive for where we are right now. It’s beautifully designed and is divided into Refreshing, Spirit Forward, Coffee and Dessert and Punches, with sub categories within each chapter.
