After reading my book Doctors and Distillers, Harold McGee (On Food and Cooking) pointed out to me that proof of distillation in ancient India (supposedly from the fifth century BCE) is not as well established as previously thought. Many histories on distillation cite work from 1979 that claims that elephant... Read more →
I am very happy to announce that Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails is a Top 4 Finalist for the Tales 2023 Spirited Awards in the category of Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History, or Spirits! All the Top 4 nominees are... Read more →
I'm proud to say that Doctors and Distillers is a Top 10 Nominee for the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards 2023, along with many other great books written by friends! The announcement is here. Read more →
This is a quick post on some books I've read on women distilling in olden times. Distillation of spirits came out of medical alchemy (which is to say medical proto-science), and early alchemy books included lots of recipes for distilled medicines with stuff like gold and silver included in them.... Read more →
If you read my book Doctors and Distillers you know that cure-all theriacs often contained viper flesh. Now one person has recreated a recipe for a branded theriac called L’Orvietan, with everything but the snake. Bernardini had to travel across Europe on the trail of L’Orvietan. He scoured historic archives... Read more →
I was delighted to learn that The Perfect Tonic, the name in the UK for Doctors and Distillers, has made it to the short list for the André Simon Food and Drink Book Awards. The four finalists are: A Sense of Place by Dave Broom Drinking with the Valkyries by... Read more →
I provided some context for a story about carbonated water for Wine Enthusiast. “Naturally carbonated mineral spring water was thought to be extra healthy compared with regular mineral water, and far healthier than surface water from rivers and streams,” English notes. “European and American mineral springs rich in iron or... Read more →
On the website for Bar Convent Berlin, Jan-Peter Wulf reviewed Doctors and Distillers. Read it here. Read more →