Richard Barnett
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 alchemistsâ€™ stills and monastery kitchens, its earliest incarnations were juniper flavored medicines used to prevent plague, ease the pains of childbirth, 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 ï¿½new kind of drunkenness.â€ In the eighteenth century, gin-craze debauchery (and class conflict) inspired Hogarthâ€™s satirical masterpieces ï¿½Gin Laneâ€ and ï¿½Beer Street.â€ 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 ï¿½ often dangerous bathtub ginâ€”fashionable again. And today, with the growth of smallï¿½batch 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 indispensible history of a complex and notorious drink.
History,Nonfiction,Food and Drink,Food,Food and Drink,Alcohol,Booze,Food and Drink,Alcohol,Food and Drink,Cooking,Food and Drink,Cookbooks,History,Microhistory
The Book of Gin: A Spirited World History from Alchemists' Stills and Colonial Outposts to Gin Palaces, Bathtub Gin, and Artisanal Cocktails