10 boozy books celebrating alcohol around the world
Calling all oenophiles, beer sommeliers, distillery fans, mixologists and anyone who likes a tipple, Stanfords recommends some boozy books that celebrate the history, craft and stories of these drinks
Japanese Whisky
Japanese Whisky by Brian Ashcroft with Idzuhiko Ueda & Yuji Kawasaki
The worldwide fanfare might be recent, but Japan has been making whisky for nearly a century and drinking it for much longer. This is the ultimate guide with tasting notes from Japan’s leading whisky blogger Yuji Kawasaki. Looking at the history and culture of Japanese whisky, Japan’s leading distilleries and over 100 independently scored reviews which shed light on Japan’s most famous single malts as well as its grain whiskies and blends.
Around the world in 80 cocktails
Around the World in 80 Cocktails by Chad Parkhill
This book traces the cocktail’s journey around the world, from the early 19th century through to the 21st, and details the colourful tales behind 80 excellent libations. Each cocktail in this book is linked to a place and the story of each cocktail comes with an easy-to-follow recipe, including many classics and some new recipes. The beautiful illustrations by Alice Oehr give this book the aesthetic of vintage travel posters.
DK Eyewitness Top 10 California Wine Country
DK Eyewitness Top 10 California Wine Country
Plan your own winery tours and swat up on grape varieties. This guide to California Wine Country divides the region into four areas: Napa Valley; Sonoma Valley and Santa Rosa; Russian River and Alexander Valley and Mendocino and the Lake Counties. Each area is colour coded and has a coloured band at the top of the page that corresponds to a map at the front. Almost every place mentioned in this book has a map reference that takes you to the fold -out maps included.
Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other
Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish
As stars of the hit television series Outlander, unlikely friends Sam and Graham begin their journey in the heart of Scotland at Glencoe and travel from there all the way to Inverness and Culloden battlefield, where along the way they experience adventure and a cast of highland characters. In this story of friendship, finding themselves, and whisky, they discover the complexity, rich history and culture of their native country.
Mr Atkinson’s Rum Contract: The Story of a Tangled Inheritance
Mr Atkinson’s Rum Contract: The Story of a Tangled Inheritance by Richard Atkinson
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Taking us from Cumbria to Jamaica, this extraordinarily original work of detective biography is also a uniquely personal account of one of the most disturbing chapters in Britain’s colonial past.
Like many well-to-do Georgian families, the Atkinsons’ wealth was acquired at a terrible cost, through the labour and lives of enslaved Africans. Drawing on his ancestors’ private correspondence, Richard Atkinson pieces together their unsettling story, from the weather-beaten house in Cumbria where they once lived to the ruins of their sugar estates in Jamaica.
The Widow Clicquot
The Widow Clicquot by Tilar J. Mazzeo
Veuve Clicquot champagne epitomizes glamour and style, with tribute paid everywhere from Lord Byron to Casablanca. But who was this young widow – the ‘Veuve’ – Clicquot, whose champagne sparkled at the courts of France, Britain, and Russia, and how did she rise to celebrity and fortune? Cultural historian Tilar J. Mazzeo brings to life the fascinating woman behind the yellow label: Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin. Newly widowed, she assumed the reins of the fledgling wine business she and her husband started, steering it through huge political and financial reversals to succeed as a single woman in a man’s world. Visitors flocked to see this cultural icon and taste the vintages she imbued with magic. This is a captivating true story of a legend and a visionary.
The Wandering Vine: Wine, the Romans and Me
The Wandering Vine: Wine, the Romans and Me by Nina Caplan
Nina Caplan follows the vine into the past, wandering from Champagne’s ancient chalk to the mountains of Campania, via the crumbling Roman ruins that flank the river Rhone and the remote slopes of Priorat in Catalonia. She meets people whose character, stubbornness and sometimes, borderline craziness makes their wine great: an intrepid Englishman planting on rabbit-infested Downs, a glamorous eagle-chasing Spaniard and an Italian lawyer obsessed with reviving Falernian, legendary wine of the Romans. In the course of her travels, she drinks a lot and learns a lot: about dead conquerors and living wines, forgotten zealots and about herself.
In this lyrical and charming book, Nina drinks in order to remember and travels in order to understand the meaning of home. This is narrative travel writing at its best.
London Pubcats
London Pubcats by Vicky Lane and Tim White
This is a book about cats that live in pubs in London and if you are planning a pub crawl (to get your paws on a pint, if you will), we highly recommend hitting up these pubs because if they are good enough for a cat to live in, they must be exceptional because we all know how fussy cats can be. Each chapter introduces us to a cat (or cats) and their pub, meet Legz at the Charlotte Despard, Archway, Nelson at Tapping the Admiral in Kentish Town and many more. Wonderful feline photography skills from Tim White and a beautiful illustrated map by Julia Murray make this a great book to nip in and out of whenever you need cheering up.
Sparkling Wine: The Vineyards of England and Wales
Sparkling Wine: The Vineyards of England and Wales by Stuart Wilde
In the space of a few short years, English and Welsh sparkling wines have become recognised as some of the best in the world. Improvements in viniculture, a changing climate and terroir that often mimics the conditions found in the Champagne region of France have combined with the care and attention of predominantly artisanal makers to make fantastic wine. Travelling around more than 50 vineyards, this guide celebrates this revolution. The author, Stuart Wilde, provides expert tasting notes, visiting information, and details on the terroir for each vineyard, along with engaging insight into the makers and their craft. Maps show the location of each vineyard. Provides need-to-know info: grape varieties, wines, tasting notes, opening times and more.
Britain in a Bottle
Britain in a Bottle by Ted Bruning and Rupert Wheeler
In this comprehensive and colourful guide to over 340 breweries, cider mills, vineyards and distilleries across Britain, expert authors Ted Bruning, previously of the Good Beer Guide, and Rupert Wheeler, previously of Whisky Magazine, focus on places that are normally open during the holiday season, have a visitor centre and shop, and welcome families so you don’t have to leave the kids in the car. Arranged by country, with chapters concentrating on individual counties and regions, no matter where you are you’ll find a brewery, cider mill, distillery or vineyard within reach, many in historic, beautiful or quirky locations, from a brewery in a windmill to a distiller in the operating theatre of a former animal hospital.
