The Drunken Botanist- The Plants That Create The World's Great Drinks
- Downloads：9035
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-18 09:53:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Amy Stewart
- ISBN：1604694769
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
The Drunken Botanist Sake began with a grain of rice。 Scotch emerged from barley， tequila from agave， rum from sugarcane， bourbon from corn。 Thirsty yet？ 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 transform into alcohol over the centuries。 Of all the extraordinary and 。。。 Full description
Reviews
Biminator
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ประวัติศาสตร์+สารานุกรม พืชที่เอาไปทำสุรา
Kimik
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Definitely a fun read that provides an easy trip around the world in the history and development of alcoholic beverages。 I perhaps do not recommend for individuals who are recovering alcoholics for fairly obvious reasons。 My only minor issue is the overwhelming reliance on imperial measurements （i。e。 ounces， pints， etc。） rather than metric。 The author definitely has a more US-centric or North American centric viewpoint， but nonetheless， this did not detract at all from my overall experience of t Definitely a fun read that provides an easy trip around the world in the history and development of alcoholic beverages。 I perhaps do not recommend for individuals who are recovering alcoholics for fairly obvious reasons。 My only minor issue is the overwhelming reliance on imperial measurements （i。e。 ounces， pints， etc。） rather than metric。 The author definitely has a more US-centric or North American centric viewpoint， but nonetheless， this did not detract at all from my overall experience of the book。 Enjoy！ 。。。more
Monica Willyard Moen
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This book is a lot of fun！ It is a rollicking adventure through flavors， smells， and textures of various plants used in the making of wine， cider liquor， and beer/ale。 Along the way， I also learned why there is a large difference in maraschino cherries that come from France and those made in the United States。 I had no idea。 If you pick this book up， you might find yourself going on some amazing explorations with the plants that God created for our pleasure。
Claudia
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This was a fun read as well as being quite informative。 Yes， it's about the plants that are utilitized in quite the variety of alcohol beverages as well as additions to tasty cocktails。 But I would consider it more a book about the plants themselves。 Yes， Stewart starts with fermentation and distillation from agave to wheat - including apples， grapes and potatoes as well as a myriad of grains。 Then off to the 'strange brews' starting with banana （a beer） to tamarind wine。 Spices and herbs and fl This was a fun read as well as being quite informative。 Yes， it's about the plants that are utilitized in quite the variety of alcohol beverages as well as additions to tasty cocktails。 But I would consider it more a book about the plants themselves。 Yes， Stewart starts with fermentation and distillation from agave to wheat - including apples， grapes and potatoes as well as a myriad of grains。 Then off to the 'strange brews' starting with banana （a beer） to tamarind wine。 Spices and herbs and flowers and trees， fruit and nuts and seeds。 Stewart is ready to provide some information on how and what subspecies to use - especially if you plan on growing some of your own - but focuses on what has been created over the past few millennia along with breweries and distillers that make some of the more unusual or uncommon combinations being listed along with their products。But it is the stories she includes that make this more than a botany textbook。 Stories like why real vanilla is so costly - right up there with saffron - and it's due to the one flower opening per day for pollination by a very specific bee （or a very patient human） as well as the pod of thousands of seeds won't germinate unless in the presence of a specific fungus。Then there are the Norwegian distillers that make Linie Aquavite （potato vodka with caraway flavoring） who discovered that their national drink wasn't so much of a hit in Indonesia in 1805 so back it came - greatly improved。 It was the used sherry casks and the sea voyage of several months under varying temperature conditions that allowed the oak to expand and contract， releasing more flavor。Archaeologists have found date palm seeds at the Masada excavations in Israel and actually managed to sprout those seeds。 Apparently date palms are dioecious - there are male and femal plants - and scientists are hoping for a 'girl' palm。 Especially since the variety is called a Judean date palm and it went extinct about 500 B。C。 How to make true Maraschino cherries - cause the stuff in the jars is disgusting。 Large sweet cherries that are bleached with sulfur dioxide which also turns them to mush so calcium carbonate needs to be added to harden their shape back。 Dyed red and flavored with a chemical extract and stuffed in a jar with sweet syrup。 Bleech！And many more stories and tales in a similar vein。 It's fun to read about and you don't have to be a 'drinker' to enjoy it。 Just someone who is interested in how plants have been used over the centuries to help humanity find a drink - or five - that was likely safer to imbibe than the water flowing down the local stream。2021-134 。。。more
Lauren Sustaita
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This reading can be enjoyed as a reference and audiobook while cooking or enjoying a buzzy cocktail。
Daytona Fotney
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The information was really interesting and there are some fun stories！ But I did feel like I was forcing myself to read it at the end。
Erika Byrd
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I love that Amy Stewart presents each plant with precision， beauty， and respect。 You can tell she loves what she is writing about with each word。 This is a collection of classic and exciting recipes， science， history， and taste。 Definitely a must have on your shelf！ The knowledge and reference this book will give you is worth every second spent reading these pages。
Cassandra
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I had to return this but honestly I want to own this book and I don't say that about many books。 For as much as I read， I'd be bankrupt if I owned everything I read。 This is a great book to have on your coffee table or to reference making drinks。 I think I'm going to buy it。 Liquid Intelligence was technically esoteric: will I actually make recipes from it？ Maybe。 Ditto that with the Aviary （holiday cocktails）。 The Cocktail Codex is amazing at mapping similarities and backbones of different drin I had to return this but honestly I want to own this book and I don't say that about many books。 For as much as I read， I'd be bankrupt if I owned everything I read。 This is a great book to have on your coffee table or to reference making drinks。 I think I'm going to buy it。 Liquid Intelligence was technically esoteric: will I actually make recipes from it？ Maybe。 Ditto that with the Aviary （holiday cocktails）。 The Cocktail Codex is amazing at mapping similarities and backbones of different drink。 Drunken Botanist is 1 part history， 2 part biology and 3 part mixology strained over papyrus （har har） and I love it。 。。。more
Kevin Ober
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The author smashes a lot of commonly held beliefs。 Agave is a cactus？ Wrong。 It’s more like an asparagus。 Gin is just flavored Vodka。 Sarono Amaretto？ Made with almonds， of course。 Wrong， it’s made with Apricot pit。 So entertaining I will re read this for a long time。
Dixie Normous
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Great way to be a more discerning libation consumer！ Also fantastic on throwing in botany history。 A few too many mentions of jalapeño for me， but overall， completely worth the money for the book。 Just go ahead and not want to try and make your own grenadine after reading this。 The audiobook version was so-so。
Jeffrey Hammerhead
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Excellent book。 Loved the insights and history。
Heidi
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fascinating， but would have been been as a hard copy book - lost a bit in audio version
Caroline Leverett
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Very useful reference if you're interested in drinking or gardening。 Not a book to sit and read cover to cover。 Looking forward to finding the book on poisonous plants。 Very useful reference if you're interested in drinking or gardening。 Not a book to sit and read cover to cover。 Looking forward to finding the book on poisonous plants。 。。。more
Jessica
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Maybe not the book to read when you are pregnant， but packed with interesting info on so many plants and their uses in drinks。 Looking forward to trying out some new flavors in the future！
Linda Allan
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the plants that create the world's best drink， recipes and history the plants that create the world's best drink， recipes and history 。。。more
Wendi
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I loved this book， and I don't even drink！ But I am interested in culinary history and historic beverage recipes， and this fits those interests well。 It covers the topic beautifully。 I loved this book， and I don't even drink！ But I am interested in culinary history and historic beverage recipes， and this fits those interests well。 It covers the topic beautifully。 。。。more
Katie Bokan
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Fun！ Not a gripping page-turner， but really interesting & full of tidbits that I'll definitely bust out anytime there are cocktails around。 Fun！ Not a gripping page-turner， but really interesting & full of tidbits that I'll definitely bust out anytime there are cocktails around。 。。。more
Jill
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Fun to find out some of the background about plants used in drinks。 I rarely drink spirits， but this book gave me some ideas for flavours that would work in foods without alcohold。
Andrew
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I guess I was hoping for more of a narrative or more detail about how or why certain plants/fruits/herbs are used in various drinks。 The writing is good and does a nice job straddling the line between overexplaining commonly known information and skipping details assuming the reader knows more than they should be expected to。 At times this becomes a rapid fire peppering of short historical anecdotes which doesn't provide scientific detail or historical context。 But there are other times when an I guess I was hoping for more of a narrative or more detail about how or why certain plants/fruits/herbs are used in various drinks。 The writing is good and does a nice job straddling the line between overexplaining commonly known information and skipping details assuming the reader knows more than they should be expected to。 At times this becomes a rapid fire peppering of short historical anecdotes which doesn't provide scientific detail or historical context。 But there are other times when an obscure herb is mentioned briefly and not drawn out unnecessarily， and that lets the book keep moving along instead of getting bogged down。One other thing I didn't really appreciate was the distracted way the book was formatted。 In the middle of a section on a plant， there's an interruption for a cocktail recipe and then on the next page before resuming mid-sentence the previous section， another aside for a table about varieties of the plant。 By the time I pick up the original section I have to go back and refresh my memory of where I left off。 This makes the book read like a social media page instead of a book， and at times is very disjointed。 。。。more
Kirk Dobihal
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Excellent， encyclopedic source of information regarding ingredients to imbibe。 Took me a while to read this as it was written not as a story per se， but an indepth revelation to the World's best cocktails and especially the plants that make them possible。 So kept this on a table for a paragraph today and a paragraph tomorrow， with an occasional look forward or backward it I were in the mood for say a Mint Julep on Derby Day。 Excellent， encyclopedic source of information regarding ingredients to imbibe。 Took me a while to read this as it was written not as a story per se， but an indepth revelation to the World's best cocktails and especially the plants that make them possible。 So kept this on a table for a paragraph today and a paragraph tomorrow， with an occasional look forward or backward it I were in the mood for say a Mint Julep on Derby Day。 。。。more
Abby Jones
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This book was soooo much fun。 All I want to do is grow strange plants and make fun cocktails！ This book was easy to read， not overwhelming， while also being a good starting reference for different types of alcohol and plants。 I plan to utalize it for many years。Also， who knew the world of botany was so cutthroat？ And， it is no surprise that every culture the world over has figured out how to create alcohol from something that grows nearby。
Cbx
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I am not much of a drinker， so I knew going into this that it would not really be for me。 I was hoping though that there would be interesting botany viewed through the lens of alcohol， something like Henry Hobhouse's "Seeds of Change" book。 Instead， the book is a series of brief anecdotes and vignettes about different plant species， many seemingly inaccurate （especially when it comes to beer） and all lacking detail。 There are a lot of statements along the lines of "this liquor may contain this p I am not much of a drinker， so I knew going into this that it would not really be for me。 I was hoping though that there would be interesting botany viewed through the lens of alcohol， something like Henry Hobhouse's "Seeds of Change" book。 Instead， the book is a series of brief anecdotes and vignettes about different plant species， many seemingly inaccurate （especially when it comes to beer） and all lacking detail。 There are a lot of statements along the lines of "this liquor may contain this plant as an ingredient， but who knows， the makers of the liquor are very secretive"， which might be intriguing for someone who really likes that liquor， but does not really offer the reader much。 In addition to the actual "botany" parts， there are cocktail recipes and gardening instructions for some of the plants， which are equally brief。 If I wanted cocktail recipes or gardening information， I would seek out more informative sources。 While the book does contain some bits of interesting trivia， that is about as far as it goes。 I think that cocktail enthusiasts， botanists， and gardeners would be equally unsatisfied by the limited information provided。The second star is for the Kindle formatting， which is some of the nicest I've seen。 Actual decorative images， inset boxes， and tables keep the book visually interesting。 。。。more
E。
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Interesting， but not the best option for an audiobook。 I feel like I remember nothing from it。 Or maybe I'm just not that good at plants and alcohol。 Interesting， but not the best option for an audiobook。 I feel like I remember nothing from it。 Or maybe I'm just not that good at plants and alcohol。 。。。more
Jenny Lamy
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Entertaining， informative and fun to read！
Abby G。
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Very interesting book。 Absolutely loved the first 1/3 when it talks about different types of alcohol。 The remaining 2/3 is interesting but does get tedious with a breakdown of various plants/herbs/spices used in alcoholic beverages。 （But that is the point of the book， to speak in-depth about the ingredients of our favorite fermented/distilled beverages。）Though I do not recommend this book for reading front to back， I would， honestly and wholeheartedly， recommend "The Drunken Botanist" as a coffe Very interesting book。 Absolutely loved the first 1/3 when it talks about different types of alcohol。 The remaining 2/3 is interesting but does get tedious with a breakdown of various plants/herbs/spices used in alcoholic beverages。 （But that is the point of the book， to speak in-depth about the ingredients of our favorite fermented/distilled beverages。）Though I do not recommend this book for reading front to back， I would， honestly and wholeheartedly， recommend "The Drunken Botanist" as a coffee table book。 An excellent conversation piece to reference for parties or look up specific things related to the night's beverages。 。。。more
Kate
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This is a delightful book that introduces various plants that have been turned into alcohol or used as additives for brewing alcohol or added to cocktails。 It's fascinating， and I learned quite a lot about various types of alcohol （although I have since forgotten quite a bit of it）。I even tried one of the cocktail recipes！ Sadly I did not like the cocktail at all， but that is probably because I don't know what I like in a cocktail， and is not the fault of the book。 This is a delightful book that introduces various plants that have been turned into alcohol or used as additives for brewing alcohol or added to cocktails。 It's fascinating， and I learned quite a lot about various types of alcohol （although I have since forgotten quite a bit of it）。I even tried one of the cocktail recipes！ Sadly I did not like the cocktail at all， but that is probably because I don't know what I like in a cocktail， and is not the fault of the book。 。。。more
Cole Swafford
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Wow， this book has a lot of information！
Katie
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Really enjoyed reading this from the perspectives of both booze and plant。 A lovely survey with fascinating facts and fun recipes。
Beth
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I perused this book。 I was looking for a different kind of read so did not finish。
Amy
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