This season offers up a wealth of drink-focused books covering a broad swath of categories, from history to recipes to psychology to technical guides.
This kind of diversity in the drink category is not exactly new. But what sets the season apart is the number of new books that already feel iconic—from Robert Simonson’s expertly reported narrative history of the cocktail renaissance, A Proper Drink, to the late Sasha Petraske’s posthumous Regarding Cocktails, which is as much about the man as it is about his contributions to the cocktail world.
There are others, too, like Brad Thomas Parsons’ stunningly photographed Amaro and Jancis Robinson’s The 24-Hour Wine Expert that help demystify two worlds that are famously opaque, giving us two works that are sure to be bookshelf staples in the process. And this is to say nothing of a handful of other books that, taken together, make for one of the most substantial seasons for drink publishing in years.
Here, without further ado, our picks for the best books of the coming seasons:
Colonial Spirits: A Toast to Our Drunken History
by Steven Grasse
In the opening chapter of his almanac of American drinking, Steven Grasse likens the U.S. to a bar: “open to everyone, available to whoever can afford it, and apparently quite difficult to get kicked out of.” It’s a hyperbolic comparison, perhaps, but throughout the pages of Colonial Spirits, Grasse convincingly situates the tavern and the instincts to ferment, brew and distill as central to colonial America—and fundamental to the nation that later developed. With humor, he presents an endearing portrait of our drunken history, even offering dozens of updated recipes for colonial drinks, from George Washington’s 1757 beer to Philadelphia’s 1873 Fish House Punch. September 13, $24.95 | Abrams Image [Buy]
Read the whole list here: http://punchdrink.com/articles/the-best-drink-books-of-fall-winter-2016-wine-cocktail-recipes-beer/