with gusto while respecting the informative nature of the material. He claimed that he could confirm the presence of "maguey beer" in two-thousand-year-old feces just from the odor of the rehydrated samples in his laboratory—which is either a testament to his sensitive nose or to the powerful bouquet of very old pulque. Imbibe! The complex sugar molecules in agave nectar don't break down readily during fermentation, and heat from distillation causes unpleasant chemical reactions that create nasty flavors like sulfur and burning rubber. Many of the earliest stills in Mexico are a derivation of the Filipino still, a wonderfully simple bit of equipment made entirely from local materials—mostly plants themselves. For centuries, the term mezcal applied generally to all Mexican spirits made from the roasted heart of the agave. What makes Stewart's book different is her infectious enthusiasm for the plants, their uses, their history, and the botanists who roamed the earth finding them. Pulque is low in alcohol—only 4–6 percent alcohol by volume (ABV)—and has a slightly sour flavor, like pears or bananas past their prime. a companionable reference and whimsical recitation of historical-botanical trivia, with a little tart debunking." Current price is $20.95, Original price is $22.95. The Drunken Botanist NPR coverage of The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks by Amy Stewart. Jerry Thomas Bartenders Guide 1862 Reprint: How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon Vivant’s Companion, by Jerry Thomas with an introduction by Ross Bolton  —The Washington Post, "Sipping an evening cocktail while flipping through this fine volume, I discovered that Ms. Stewart knew how to change a run-of-the-mill cocktail into an intriguing one." ), A single agave can produce a gallon a day for months at a stretch, yielding over 250 gallons in all, far more than the plant would contain at any given time. In some villages, the distillation takes place in a traditional clay and bamboo still. Pottery fragments, early tools, paintings, and actual remnants of digested agave all confirm this beyond a doubt. Now some archeologists point to remnants of crude stills to suggest that people might not have simply roasted the agave for food—they might have already been working on distillation methods prior to European contact. Like her previous books, it is so rich in details, little-known facts, and actual science, that readers won't even notice they are reading an encyclopedia. Tequila is even worse, and is said to incite murder, riot and revolution.". Her enthusiasm is evident throughout, as she brings readers into "the dazzlingly rich, complex, and delicious lives of the plants that go into all those bottles behind the bar." You Save 9%. Already plagues of disease have devastated the domesticated agave crop, not unlike the catastrophic Irish potato famine or the wave of phylloxera that destroyed European vineyards. While beer has been the beverage of choice in Mexico for decades, pulque is making a comeback not only in Mexico but in border cities like San Diego as well. . Even the population of wild bats that pollinate agaves are diminished because the agaves are not allowed to bloom naturally. | $19.99. The … "Hardened criminals are no match for pistol-packing spinster Constance Kopp and her redoubtable sisters in this hilarious and exciting period drama by bestseller Stewart (The Drunken Botanist). She includes archaeological finds such as the presence of barley beer on clay pot fragments dated to 3400 B.C.E. . For 250 years, from 1565 to 1815, the ships brought spices, silk, and other luxuries from Asia to the New World, and they carried back Mexican silver for use as currency. The book features a rousing timeline of colonial imbibing and a cultural overview of a dizzying number of drinks: beer, rum and ... Back when people spent their whole lives in one place, life was all about family ... Back when people spent their whole lives in one place, life was all about family We know from remnants found at archeological digs that agave—called maguey in Mexico—was cultivated, roasted, and eaten eight thousand years ago; the sweet sap surely would have been drunk as well. —USA Today, "The Drunken Botanist is a sipping book, not a quaffing book, best enjoyed in moderation...Part Ripley’s Believe It or Not, part compendium on the order of 'Schott’s Original Miscellany' and part botanical garden tour, albeit with a curated cocktail party at the end.... a companionable reference and whimsical recitation of historical-botanical trivia, with a little tart debunking." Still, it is the perfect catalyst for turning agave sap to pulque. This rotten interior is scooped out and the inside of the cavity is repeatedly scraped, which irritates the plant so much that sap begins to flow profusely. These five books dip back in time to the history of drinks, both how they are made and when they were mixed. book drink geeks would be crazy not to buy." "The Drunken Botanist is a sipping book, not a quaffing book, best enjoyed in moderation...Part Ripley’s Believe It or Not, part compendium on the order of 'Schott’s Original Miscellany' and … By not allowing the plants to flower, reproduce, and set seed, the genetic diversity is seriously impacted. This fascinating concoction of biology, chemistry, history, etymology, and mixology—with more than fifty drink recipes and growing tips for gardeners—will make you the most popular guest at any cocktail party. Submit your email address to receive Barnes & Noble offers & updates. . Moonshine: A Cultural History of America’s Infamous Liquor, by Jaime Joyce Genetically, it is exhausted and very vulnerable to disease. Enabling JavaScript in your browser will allow you to experience all the features of our site. Extracting agave sugars for distillation requires a different technique—one that had already been perfected before the Spanish arrived. Stewart rounds out her in-depth coverage with a full section on fruit, including apricots and yuzus, and nuts and seeds like almonds and walnuts. for whiskey beginners and connoisseurs, alike.An Irish whiskey guru, two bartender behemoths, and an adept writer combine forces to create this comprehensive guide to Irish ... A treasure trove of delightful stories, filled with wit, wisdom, and know-how for all gardens—a ... A treasure trove of delightful stories, filled with wit, wisdom, and know-how for all gardens—a She is delightfully entertaining. Thirsty yet? Stewart, Amy (2013). The strangest bit of evidence for pulque's ancient origins comes from a botanist named Eric Callen who, in the 1950s, pioneered coprolite analysis, or the study of human feces found at archeological sites. In The Drunken Botanist, Amy Stewart explores the dizzying array of herbs, flowers, trees, fruits, and fungi that humans have, through ingenuity, inspiration, and sheer desperation, contrived to … It is the cause of "cider sickness," a secondary fermentation that can ruin a batch of hard cider. . When I first got this book I opened it up and looked at … But a high-proof spirit can also be made from the roasted hearts. and family rituals. Canned, pasteurized versions are available, but the microbes die off and the flavor suffers. I'm very concerned." Sake began with a grain of rice. —USA Today"The Drunken Botanist is a sipping book, not a quaffing book, best enjoyed in moderation...Part Ripley’s Believe It or Not, part compendium on the order of 'Schott’s Original Miscellany' and part botanical garden tour, albeit with a curated cocktail party at the end . Highly recommended.—Ann Wilberton, Pace Univ. Of all the extraordinary and obscure plants that have been fermented and distilled, a few are dangerous, some are downright bizarre, and one is as ancient as dinosaurs—but each represents a unique cultural contribution to our global drinking traditions and our history. It is something of an acquired taste. Amy Stewart. VERDICT With more than 50 drink recipes, and growing tips, this highly entertaining book will please both cocktail enthusiasts and backyard gardeners. In the nineteenth century, tequila simply applied to mezcal made in or around the city of Tequila, in the state of Jalisco. Once it begins flowing, the sap is extracted every day by means of a rubber tube or, in the old days, a pipette made from a gourd called acocote. is the award-winning author of six books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world, including four New York Times bestsellers, The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Bugs, Wicked Plants and Flower Confidential. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. | $25.00. The result is intoxicating but in a fresh, happy, healthy way." Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. In 1897, a Scientific American reporter wrote that "mezcal is described as tasting like a mixture of gasoline, gin and electricity. The result is intoxicating but in a fresh, happy, healthy way." For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. They are then crushed by a stone wheel called a tahona. In “A Lover’s Discourse,” by Xiaolu Guo, and “Just Like You,” by Nick … Hardcover. Some people think it is a kind of cactus; in fact, it is a member of the botanical order Asparagales, making it more similar to asparagus and a few other unlikely relatives: the shade-loving garden ornamental hosta, the blue hyacinth bulb, and the spiky desert yucca. When the Spaniards arrived, they observed the locals tending to agave fields, monitoring the plants closely, and harvesting them at a precise point in their development, right before the bud emerged from the base to form a flowering stalk. Its fascinating tidbits make perfect happy-hour conversation fodder." . Horticulturalist, author, bookstore owner, and blogger for Garden Rant, Amy Stewart dives deep into the plants behind alcohol. Many mezcals are double- or triple-distilled to perfect the flavor. The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks. . News, author interviews, critics' picks and more. Stewart includes sidebars with recipes, field guides, planting instructions, a description of the role of bugs in getting from seed to plant to table, and in-depth historical details. When you do, they are well worth sampling. ... Barnes & Noble … Highly recommended." In front of a fire, perhaps with a Manhattan with a real, not chemically shined, maraschino cherry. 2.0 out of 5 stars The Drunken Botanist: Purchased at Amazon.com. Gardeners, nature lovers and mixologists will find themselves reaching frequently for this volume; the hard part will be deciding what to try next as they discover that a liquor store is really "a fantastical greenhouse, the world's most exotic botanical garden, the sort of strange and overgrown conservatory we only encounter in our dreams." The piñas are still chopped and roasted slowly in belowground ovens, where they are infused with the smoke from local oak, mesquite, or other wood for several days. The agave is better known for what it is not than for what it is. In Colonial Spirits, Steven Grasse presents a historical manifesto on drinking, including 50 colonial era– 1 on hand, as of Jan 4 10:30pm (COOKING-BEVERAGE) Description. The reason the Spaniards get credit for this is that they are the ones who brought the Filipinos to Mexico, courtesy of the Manila-Acapulco galleons. It is written by bartender/professor, Jerry Thomas, whom David Wondrich pays homage to in the title of his book, Imbibe! The crosspollination of cultures between Mexico and the Philippines survives even today, with the Filipino still being just one example of the connection between the two regions. rare horticultural treat. The chicken is supposed to balance the sweetness of the fruit. Hedh, Jan and Klas Andersson (2002). . . Native people had clearly worked out a method for cultivating and roasting the agave. 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