Find Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History Chronicled By Mark Spivak File
has always found a way to ferment and/or distill for liquid consumption, and many of those beverages have a fascinating history, In his book Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History, Mark Spivak tells the story of how many of the spirits that are popular today came into being, From the origins of Jagermeister and Grey Goose to the myths and legends surrounding absinthe, the author chronicles the ingredients that make up the cocktails of popular culture, With cocktail recipes ending each chapter, this book will be of use to those who wish
to connect with their inner bartender,
As a good Southern girl, I already knew the basic story of how moonshine and rumrunning influenced the origins of NASCAR, but Mr, Spivak told the tale nicely and with more detail than I had heard before, The connection between cognac and hiphop was interesting, as well,
Recommended for adults who want to know a little more about what they have been drinking, or for history nerds like me,
stars
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Pump Up Your Book book review bloggers program, I was not required to write a positive review, The opinions I have expressed are my own, I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade CommissionsCFR, Part: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, ”
ICONIC SPIRITS is not my usual type of book, but the history of spirits and their creators intrigued me, My husband has been having fun creating cocktails and trying out different drinks and I thought this book would appeal to both of us, The cocktail culture has exploded over the last several years with restaurants selling high dollar cocktails and drink menus pages long, Men and women are putting bars in their homes and making their own wines and beer, The cocktail culture is strong and growing,
I have to admit that some of the spirits mentioned in the book were ones I had never heard of, But the evolution of how drinks were made was quite interesting, Having toured wineries in California, I am familiar with the distilling process and was surprised at the levels of flavors and length of time some of the spirits need to evolve before being bottled.
Patience is definitely a virtue with a lot of these businessmen,
Nearly each one of the creators came from meager beginnings and just had an idea, Each of them had a strong determination to make their dream a reality and fought through prohibition, wars, bad economies, and clearly came out ahead, . . most living as millionaires.
I think my favorite story came from Jean Paul DeJoria, In, he wasth on the list of Forbesth wealthiest Americans, DeJoria is the cofounder of John Paul Mitchell Systems hair care products and surprisingly, also of Patron Tequila, He grew up in a foster home, joined the Navy, became homeless and was a single dad, He sold Coke bottles to buy food and eventually got a job at Redken Laboratories, That led him and a friend to create John Paul Mitchell Systems, Then one day, drinking with another friend, he was given tequila in beautiful hand blown bottles from Mexico, That sparked an idea that has since rocketed to the highend tequila we know today, But, the best part of this story is DeJoria's philanthropy, His motto is "Success unshared is failure", He is extremely committed to helping others including Boys and Girls Club of America, Mine Seekers, those suffering from MS, cancer, diabetes, leukemia, and autism, and providing food for children with AIDS in Africa to name a few.
His most impressive charity is one he started incalled Grow Applachia, an organization that teaches families how to grow their own food by distributing seeds and equipment and then teaches them how to use their crop to feed their families as well as their communities.
DeJoria is living the American dream and helping others to live it as well,
Each chapter features one spirit and then ends with recipes using the featured spirit, I know my husband and I will enjoy going through the recipes and trying them out, I think first on my list will be a Tequila Sunrise made with Patron Tequila,
If you are a history buff or like true stories of selfmade businessmen, this is the book for you, If you are curious about how some of your favorite spirits are made, the distilling processes of some of the spirits were quite surprising, With each chapter being a stand alone, this is a book that can be read quickly or at your leisure, Or, you can just go straight to the recipes! As Spivak states, "These are the best kinds of stories, They are the kind a writer could never make up, " Over the past decade, the cocktail culture has exploded across America, Bars and lounges have become the Broadway theater of mixology, with bartenders resurrecting classic preProhibition cocktails and dazzling customers with their creations, Consumers, in turn, are recreating these cocktails at home, and spending unprecedented amounts on upscale bar gear, With more and more emphasis on quality ingredients, the number of smallbatch spirits is increasing all the time, and craft distilling has become popular as an offshoot of the locavore movement.
In Iconic Spirits, Mark Spivak, wine and spirits guru and host of the NPR show Uncorked!, explores the history and cultural significance of twelve iconic spirits and reveals how moonshine invented NASCAR how gin almost toppled the British Empire how a drink that tastes like castor oil flavored with tree bark became one of the sexiest things on earth how cognac became the "it" drink of hiphop culture, and much more.
To top it all off, Spivak then offers the most tantalizing cocktail recipes from the era in which each spirit was invented, This book does for liquor what The Botany of Desire did for plantsit's a fascinating study of twelve spirits that changed the world and created the cocktail culture, I found this book most intriguing, . . having been a bartender, I've served quite a few of these drinks, Learning the history of where they actually started from just gave a new prospective of the whole big picture,
Mr. Spivak stories take us back in time with details of how each spirit came about, It was interesting to learn just how really hard things really were, . just so we know can have our simple little drinks when we're out with our friends or at home,
From moonshine and bootlegging to racing cars on NASCAR, to marrying rich and buying Jager, to making Grey Goose, even to the energy drink Crunk!!!!
The struggle the Bacardi family had to over come to make the rum as we know it today.
Even Hiram Walker and Jim Beam have their stories told,
A wonderful book for anyone wanting a inside look on the history of your drinks and a great conversation starter for any party goer! This is a very well written book.
I am a "cocktail geek" and I loved it lots of interesting information about specific spirit brands, Even if I didn't have such an interest in spirits and branding items I still would have enjoyed the book, Great narrative throughout the entire book, Also it's a quick read, Cheers! What a refreshingly different offering to the world of nonfiction, While I only drink the occasional cocktail, I was drawn to Spivak's book for the history behind these spirits that had such an impact on our world, Who knew moonshine could be so thrilling Full of interesting details on the societies and eras into which these spirits were born, this is how history should be shared.
If all history books were this engaging, no one would ever complain of it being boring, And I have to admit Spivak's credentials indicated to me that he could bring this subject to life for the reader,
Spivak's wealth of knowledge combined with his conversational style make this book a winner, I couldn't tear myself away, I learned more about spirits and the world in theplus pages of Iconic Spirits than I have in a long time,
Highly recommended.
I originally picked up this book for research, but I found myself drawn in by the narrative, It is obvious Mr. Spivak has done an incredible amount of research in the compilation of this "intoxicating history, " His writing style is fluid with a bit of a bite in places, and the information he has gathered is comprehensive and intriguing, There are many "I didn't know that!" moments, For example, London's Gin Craze, circa the eighteenth century, was a dark period whenpercent of the city's population was addicted to the spirit to such a degree that prostitution, disease, rape, and murder had become everyday occurrences.
And I loved his wry comparison of absinthe to the apple in the Garden of Eden, Very, very well done. I recommend it to anyone interested in history and culturewhether they are drinkers or not, .