Alcademics

Below are a batch of new booze books out in spring 2020. The descriptions below come from the publishers rather than from me. 

The links go to Amazon, but now is a great time to support your local indie bookstore and have them order one for you. 

Disco Cube Cocktails: 100+ innovative recipes for artful ice and drinks by Leslie Kirchhoff

Disco Cube Cocktails is a '70s-inspired cocktail book based on the magical properties of ice.

With 100+ recipes for artful ice and the drinks that go with them, home bartenders can learn new icy creations to elevate any classic drink, infuse new flavor into a sipper as the ice melts, or impress friends at a party with a frosty punch bowl.

While traveling as a DJ, Leslie Kirchhoff fell in love with the art of craft cocktails, but noticed one thing was missing: inventive ice. Taking it upon herself to create something truly unique, she started Disco Cubes as a passion project to explore the art of ice. Now you can do the same at home with recipes that offer more than just a classic cube.

In this not-so-classic cocktail book, there are one-ingredient cubes to elevate any drink, infused ice to add flavor to simple cocktails, and perfect pairings where ice and drink come together to make a concoction that you (and your guests) won't forget. Plus, you'll find playlists at the beginning of each chapter, to set the mood for any occasion.

Recipes include innovative sips such as:
Rose Cubes in a White Negroni
Jalapeño ice for an evolving margarita
A Golden Bloody Mary that shifts from sweet to savory as the ice melts
The Walter Gibbons with a Red Onion Raft
White peach spheres for a cool take on a classic Bellini
A great gift for cocktail and bartending enthusiasts, home cocktail makers and entertainers, drink-nerds who love cocktail history, and anyone who enjoys experimentation.

Drinking with Chickens: Free-Range Cocktails for the Happiest Hour by Kate E. Richards

It's drinks, it's chickens: It's the cocktail book you didn't know you needed!

To add some extra happy to your happy hour , invite a chicken and pour yourself a drink. Author Kate Richards serves up cocktails made for Instagram with the spoils of her Southern California garden, chicken friends by her side. Enjoy any (or all) of the 60+ deliciously drinkable garden-to-glass beverages, such as:
Lilac Apricot Rum Sour
Meyer Lemon + Rosemary Old Fashioned
Rhubarb Rose Cobbler
Blackberry Sage Spritz
Cantaloupe Mint Rum Punch
Cocktails are arranged seasonally, and are 100% accessible for those of us without perpetually sunny backyard gardens at our disposal. Drinking with Chickens will quickly become a boozy favorite, perfect for gifting or for hoarding all for yourself. You don't need chickens to enjoy these drinks or the colorful photos, but be careful, because you may even find yourself aspiring to be, as Kate is, a home chixologist overrun by gorgeous, loud, early-rising egg-laying ladies, and in need of a very strong drink.

FIZZ: A Beginners Guide to Making Natural, Non-Alcoholic Fermented Drinks
by Elise van Iterson and Barbara Serulus

Fermentation produces fantastic non-alcoholic drinks. Fermented drinks, with their natural sparkle and slightly yeasty taste, are a great alternative to wine or beer. They are perfect for those who want to consume less alcohol and those who want to give a pro biotic boost to their body.

This book tells you everything you need to know to brew these healthy and alcohol-free drinks yourself. You will find accessible recipes with step-by-step illustrations, scientific background information on the fermentation process, and ‘juicy’ anecdotes about the origin of these extraordinary drinks.

The Definitive Guide to Canadian Distilleries: The Portable Expert to Over 200 Distilleries and the Spirits they Make (From Absinthe to Whisky, and Everything in Between) by Davin de Kergommeaux and Blair Phillips

From award-winning author of Canadian Whisky, Davin de Kergommeaux, comes an up-to-the minute and definitive guide to over 200 distilleries across Canada and the array of spirits they make.

The Definitive Guide to Canadian Distilleries is an indispensable guide to the past, present and future of Canada's distilleries. Written by bona fide Canadian spirits expert Davin de Kergommeaux, this book covers more than 200 of the most exciting and cutting-edge distilleries, large and small, who are shaping the industry today.

Just a decade ago, fewer than a dozen distilleries, concentrated in two provinces, produced almost all the spirits (mainly whisky) made in Canada. Today, there is a movement afoot in Canada's spirits world. There has never been a better selection of rich specialty spirits--from gin to moonshine, from flavoured vodka to liqueurs--to tempt the palate and supplement your long-time favourites. Despite flourishing public enthusiasm for Canada's distillers, other than incomplete and inaccurate web-based information, no one has offered consumers an all-inclusive guide... until now.

Using a trademark (and witty) blend of narrative, tasting notes, inventive cocktail recipes and vibrant photos, de Kergommeaux shares the unique genesis of each of these distillers who are pushing the boundaries and flavours of spirits of all kinds. Divided geographically with suggested distillery routes, and filled with key tour information as well as breakout features of the most exciting people and spirits today, The Definitive Guide to Canadian Distilleries is a treasured souvenir and fun companion to the distilleries in every corner of the country, and a must-have guide for curious drinkers and expert connoisseurs alike.

Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails: Prohibition Centennial Edition: From the 1920 Pick-Me-Up to the Zombie and Beyond - 150+ Rediscovered Recipes ... With a New Introduction and 66 New Recipes  by Ted Haigh (Author)

In this new, expanded edition of Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails—issued for the 100th Anniversary of National Prohibition—historian, expert, and drink aficionado Dr. Cocktail vastly widens his examination of 1920–1933, the thirteen-year period when women got the Vote, child labor was abolished and, ironically, saw the cocktail elevated, prolonged, and expanded, spreading this signature American drink form in tasty ripples around the world. All this, plus more drink recipes!

Nothing is so desired as the thing denied. Prohibition made people want cocktails very, very badly. Because "synthetic" liquor was the easiest to make, it was also the easiest to get. Problematically, it tasted awful and wasn't exactly good for you either. Cocktails with their mélange of flavors were a made-to-order method for disguising the bad hooch.

Along with 100+ rare and delicious authentic recipes gathered from old cocktail manuals and scraps of paper never published, this illustrated trip down mixology lane tells the fascinating origins of the cocktail and how it evolved over time, including its rising popularity during Prohibition. Vintage illustrations and advertisements, photos of old bottles and cocktail artifacts, and fascinating Prohibition-era photographs bring the tippling past back to vivid life.

Recipes for rare treasures like The Fogcutter, Knickerbocker à la Monsieur, The Moscow Mule, and Satan’s Whiskers are each presented with:
Historical background on its origin and cultural context
Drink Notes that provide additional information on ingredients and tips for substitutions and variations
Fascinating historical ephemera from Dr. Cocktail's personal collection
This homage to the great bartenders of the past and the beverages they created also profiles some of the most influential cocktail pioneers of today. For anyone who enjoys an icy drink and an unforgettable tale, this is a must-have volume.

Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon?: Setting the Table for Tastings, Food Pairings, Dinners, and Cocktail Parties by Peggy Noe Stevens and Susan Reigler 

A good bottle of bourbon should be enjoyed in good company. During their travels in bourbon country and beyond to conduct tastings and seminars, entertainment experts Peggy Noe Stevens and Susan Reigler often heard the question, "How do I do this in my home?" This book is their definitive answer. Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon? offers a step-by-step guide to hosting a successful bourbon-tasting party―complete with recipes, photos, and tips for beginners and experienced aficionados alike.

From decorations to glassware, this one-stop resource will guide readers from the day they mail invitations to the moment they welcome guests through the door. Alongside their favorite snack, entrée, dessert, and cocktail recipes, Stevens and Reigler offer expert tricks of the trade on how to set up a bar, arrange tables, and pair recipes with specific bourbons. Once readers are ready, Stevens and Reigler move on to advanced pairings for the bourbon foodie and present two innovative examples of tasting parties―a bourbon cocktail soiree and, of course, the traditional Kentucky Derby party. Inspired by the hosting traditions of five Kentucky distilleries, this book will introduce casual fans to bourbon-tasting methods and expand the expertise of longtime bourbon enthusiasts.

Drinking French: The Iconic Cocktails, Apéritifs, and Café Traditions of France, with 160 Recipes by David Lebovitz 

The New York Times bestselling author of My Paris Kitchen serves up more than 160 recipes for trendy cocktails, quintessential apéritifs, café favorites, complementary snacks, and more.

Bestselling cookbook author, memoirist, and popular blogger David Lebovitz delves into the drinking culture of France in Drinking French. This beautifully photographed collection features 160 recipes for everything from coffee, hot chocolate, and tea to Kir and regional apéritifs, classic and modern cocktails from the hottest Paris bars, and creative infusions using fresh fruit and French liqueurs. And because the French can't imagine drinking without having something to eat alongside, David includes crispy, salty snacks to serve with your concoctions. Each recipe is accompanied by David's witty and informative stories about the ins and outs of life in France, as well as photographs taken on location in Paris and beyond.

Whether you have a trip to France booked and want to know what and where to drink, or just want to infuse your next get-together with a little French flair, this rich and revealing guide will make you the toast of the town.