The Drunken Botanist Kindle Edition

Really loved this book on my second reading.So much great information, I wills refer back to this book for years to come. Very comprehensive.

This is not a book that you would appreciate if you are looking for a cocktail recipe book, but if you want to learn some history about liquor/wine/beer then it's a perfect book. If you want to have some history highlights of how cocktail raw materials were discovered and formulated then definitely must buy! I am really enjoying this book.

I originally chcekd this book out from my local library but I had to own this one!! Such a great staple to reference & learn!!

This book is about how plants are used in the making of alcoholic beverages from vegetative matter that serves as the primary ingredient in fermentation to obscure herbs and berries used to lend subtle flavoring. The book covers a lot of ground, being at once a guide to the chemistry of fermentation and distillation, a mixologist’s recipe book, and a guide to growing the plants used to make booze.I will admit, if I weren’t such a neophyte to both subjects at hand – botany and alcoholic beverages – I probably wouldn’t have rated this book so highly. For me, almost every page offered new fun facts about alcoholic beverages, some of which I’ve consumed and many of which I never have. So if you have a high degree of understanding about one or both of these subjects, you may not find the book as intensely satisfying. Also, at times the book comes off a bit pretentiously – hardcore drunks probably don’t want to be shackled with so many rules for optimal alcoholic consumption (e.g. what type of glass they should drink a given drink from, etc.), but hardcore drunks are probably not a huge readership demographic. (It should also be noted that the reader gets some knowledge to fight pretentiousness as well, such as against gin drinkers who say they would never drink vodka when, in fact, they are drinking juniper berry-flavored vodka.)The book consists of three parts. The first part describes fermentation and distillation and then offers two sub-parts dealing with the most everyday bases for alcoholic drinks (e.g. corn, grapes, potato, and wheat) as well as some of the more obscure and unusual objects of fermentation, respectively.The second part delves into the plants that are added for flavoring or the like, and these are organized by: 1.) herbs and spices, 2.) flowers, 3.) trees, 4.) fruit, and 5.) nuts and seeds.The final part gives some guidance on how some of these plants can be grown. It should be noted that this section is a bit thinner because a lot of information on growing the plants is covered in side-bars in the earlier sections and also this isn’t the book’s main thrust. The third part is similarly divided up between herbs, flowers, trees, berries & vines, and fruits & vegetables.There are quite a few graphics, mostly in the form of line drawings, throughout the book – some are purely aesthetic and others are informative (e.g. drawings of plants.) There is also a recommended reading section that proposes further books to expand one’s understanding at the nexus of booze and plants. The book presents a lot of material in text boxes that set the information aside. These boxes include recipes, but also insights into how to best grow these plants with particularly emphasis given to how the process is optimized for those growing for beverage production (e.g. sometimes the optimal variety isn’t the most common variety.)I enjoyed this book. It was readable, full of fun bits of information, and written in a light-hearted style. If you’re looking for a book on plants and alcoholic beverages, this is a good starting point. It doesn’t get too deep in the weeds but yet offers some obscure but amusing factoids.

This book turned out to be an excellent reference on plants and their many uses by humans. The author discussed many plant uses beside fermenting plant starches into sugars by the addition of yeasts. One could tell the author loved discussing plants with the occasional witty remark and her extensive knowledge of each of the various species. If one could find a fault with the book, it might be the inclusion of many species of which all but those engaged in botanical research would be familiar. But that aside the book was a fun and informative read. The author chose to list all the various plants by their common names rather than list them by their Latin nomenclature, as is more typical in many botanical references, and this point was greatly appreciated.Although there were hundreds of interesting facts regarding the various plant species, I would like to list just a few to give the readers an idea that the book was interesting and did not just discuss making booze.1. We learn the Barley is the most prolific grain at converting its starches into sugar to make alcohol because it has a high level of enzymes and that it is an easy plant to grow not being much affected by cold, drought, or poor soil conditions.2. Peat is what gives Scotch its particular taste.3. Kentucky produces 90% of all the bourbon in the world. [p47]4. Cork comes from the Portuguese Oak [Quercus Suber. It is stripped annually with each tree yielding about 4k corks, primarily used in wine bottling, yet the trees regenerate new bark each year and live for about 2 centuries before finally dying.5. The real difference between American and Canadian whiskeys is that each batch of American whiskey reguires a new oak barrel, while Canadians can use barrels previously used for making wine or whiskey before. This gives it more flavor than American bourbon, but each batch may taste slightly different depending on what the barrels had previously held.6. Absinthe doesn't make you drunk [crazy] because of the wormwood being fermented but the fact that it was originally bottles at 70% ABV as opposed to Brandy commonly bottled at 40% ABV. Since it was 75% stronger you got drunk and started acting crazy much sooner than had you been drinking Brandy which was very commonly drunk when people favored absinthe. In this regard think of Henry Miller and Anais Nin.7. Vodka became popular in America only after WWII because distillers couldn't get enough grain to use, so begged potato growers to send them all the small and misshapen potatoes they had, since appearance wouldn't matter. Distillers sold 1M gallons of Vodka in 1946 and 30M by 1965. BTW, Vodka uses rye, wheat, and other grains in its manufacture, but most Americans think of it as only made from Potatoes. There is also a big controversy over where Vodka originated, whether Poland or Russia. [p70]8. We also learn that that the agave plant used to make Tequila is not a cactus but a member of the asparagus family, and that each plant yields enough sap to make about 250 gallons of maguay beer, which was drunk some 2K years ago. How do we know that; well it is because some scientist analyzed some 2k year old coprofites. :-09. Although humans have about 25k different genes, an apple tree has 57k.There was also a nice and lengthy section on herbs made from the green or fleshy part of plants and spices made from the bark, root, stem, or seed of plants.As you can see there was a lot more to the book than the simple making of booze. Highly recommended.

So disappointed, tgis book is reviewed by so many pwople claimingbthat it is for " those who want to make gin or other spirits.." etc etc. This wasnot at all a book about learning 'to distill'! which is what it is sold as. It is, as feared though yet another mis reprepresented conpendium of dribk making ingredients! a glorified coxktail recipe book bkurred by the inclusion of useless factoids about prohibition or ladies smuggling vodka into milk etc etc yawn yawn. This is NOT for anyone, as I am, wanting to actually learn to distill, to learn about botanicals and the correct chemistry without having to do a PhD! If you want a ditty little book about the history of booze, smugglers, strange recipes noone will ever use, why an oak cask flavours rum (if you dont already know you dont deserve to taste it), then this book is for you. Iflike me me you are still looking for a decent book for the beginner distiller..good luck!

I am so thrilled to get my book today. By accident I saw this book mentioned in a video I watched, and I will be taking a much closer look at what I grow in my garden. Occasionally fond of the medicinal cocktail this book arms me with all the relevant inside info as to how and why. Looking forward to a long hot summer now taking things easy. Know doubt with a few friends aroound to savour the results.

What started as a fun present idea turned out to be the most read and referenced book in our house during a big family gathering this Christmas. A sure-fire winning gift, or read it yourself, for anyone interested in the raw materials - from flavouring to bulk ingredients - behind drinks from around the world. Also of practical interest to gardeners, botanists - even economists, with some interesting insights on innovative uses for local crop resources. Some reviewers seem to have marked it down for quirky design and smallish text, but it's all the more charming for it in my opinion. Why not?

I ordered this book but I didn’t expect to discover what I found inside. This book is even better than I expected !The book that evey bartenders should have or new bartenders should get. A lot of knowledges for professionnals.That’s exactly the kind of book I was looking for. Discovering all your liquors and spirits by the basics.

Bought on a whim, but delighted. Stuffed with fascinating titbits, great for dipping into. Has useful classic cocktail recipes and set out in an interesting and engaging way. Presentation is great. Really classy gift.