Spring has sprung and so have the new reads! As the weather starts perking up… here are few suggestions of what books you should read the next time you head out to the park!
Rum Rebels: A Celebration of Women Revolutionizing the Spirits Industry, with Cocktail Recipes
A pirate staple, rum has been the drink of rebels since the Old World. Now, there’s a new generation of rebels—the business women curating the taste of today’s best rum companies. Part rum cocktail book, part ode to feminism, this upcoming book by Martyna Halas and René van Hoven, Rum Rebels, is a story of female empowerment in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
Rum Rebels is the perfect read for anyone curious about the craft of rum distilling, artisan cocktails, or female leaders in history. In a feature or interview with Halas and van Hoven, learn how:
- At Appleton, Joy Spence becomes the first female master blender
- At Zacapa, Lorena Vasquez adorns her bottles with hand crafted palm leaves by Guatemalan women
- And so much more
Sip sweet libations worthy of the Gods with these Greek myth–inspired concoctions based on all your favorite Gods and Goddesses.
Care for Hestia’s Old Fashioned? Want to fall in love with Eros on the Beach? How about the Bacchic Muddled Maenad sangria, topped with a blood orange; or maybe a Labooze of Heracles—made with plenty of strong whiskey?
In Nectar of the Gods, you can sip Greek mythology-themed drinks while you enjoy your favorite ancient tales (or mythological retellings) with this collection of delicious and fun cocktails written by Liv Albert, host of the popular podcast Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby!. Now you can discover new creations along with all your favorites and drink like the God or Goddess you know you are.
$17.99
How to Be Italian: Eat, Drink, Dress, Travel, and Love La Dolce Vita
How to Be Italian: Eat, Drink, Dress, Travel, and Love La Dolce Vita by Maria Pasquale. I know some of these “how to live like *insert glamorous city’s residents here*” books can be heavy on name recognition and light on content, but that is not the case with this beautifully written, researched and photographed book. (In fact, some of Pasquale’s images could be great for a photo story.)What does it mean to be Italian?
Is it pausing to enjoy an aperitivo or gelato? A passeggiata down a laneway steeped in history? An August spent tanning at the beach?
This book is a celebration of the Italian lifestyle – an education in drinking to savor the moment, traveling indulgently, and cherishing food and culture. A lesson in the dolce far niente: the sweetness of doing nothing. We may not all live in the bel paese, but anyone can learn from the rich tapestry of life on the boot.
From the innovation of Italian fashion and design, the Golden Age of its cinema to the Roman Empire’s cultural echoes (and some very good espresso), take a dip into the Italian psyche and learn to eat, love, dress, think, and have fun as only the Italians can.
WILD BREWS The craft of home brewing, from sour and fruit beers to farmhouse ales
Produced using a mixture of naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria, wild fermented beers offer the “fine dining” of the beer world. These beers are how beer tasted 200 years ago, before brewing was industrialized, and they are enjoying a worldwide revival.
Jaega Wise, head brewer at East London’s Wild Card Brewery, is one of the UK’s experts in wild fermentation. Here, she explains the science behind the brewing process and shares her recipes so that you can experiment at home. Learn how to brew, bottle, and age your beer in wooden barrels, and produce a range of different sour beer styles, farmhouse ales and fruit beers.
Recipes and styles featured in the book include:
- German Berliner Weisse (tart and refreshing) and Gose (salty and dry)
- Belgian Lambics, gueze, Flanders red ale and fruit beers
- French Farmhouse ales such as saison and biere de garde
- Norwegian Farmhouse Ales including the Kveik IPA
- English Old Ale
Also included is a trouble-shooter section to guide you through what happens when wild yeast and bacteria get out of control and how to remedy it. Whether you are a beer geek or a home brewing novice, Wild Brews contains everything you need to replicate today’s sour and wild beer styles at home.
$24.99
A follow-up to the bestselling listening party guide, Booze & Vinyl, this is an all-new collection of groundbreaking music paired with mood-setting cocktails.
Get set to party with 70 great records—organized by theme, from Rockin’ to Beats, Mellow to Jazzy & Bluesy—spanning the 1950s to today. Each entry features liner notes on the album and two accompanying boozy beverage recipes that complement the music.
Among the featured albums are: Are You Experienced? (The Jimi Hendrix Experience), Toys in the Attic (Aerosmith), Synchronicity (The Police), Jagged Little Pill (Alanis Morisette), The B52s (The B52s ), Gipsy Kings (The Gipsy Kings), Violator (Depeche Mode), Ready to Die (The Notorious B.I.G.), Play (Moby), Lemonade (Beyoncé), Coat of Many Colors (Dolly Parton), Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John), So (Peter Gabriel), Whitney Houston (Whitney Houston), Oops!…I Did it Again (Britney Spears), Getz/Gilberto (Stan Getz and João Gilberto), A Love Supreme (John Coltrane).
Get recommended reads, deals,
$21.99
Mindful Mixology: A Comprehensive Guide to No- and Low-Alcohol Cocktails
From Dry January to Sober October, moderation is having a moment. This book from spirits expert Derek Brown (newly mindful drinker himself) will show the sober and sober-curious how to mix complex, sophisticated low- and no-proof drinks. It will include recipes, techniques, and sources.
Not long after his son was born, Derek Brown decided to cut back on his drinking. But as a bartender, bar owner, and cocktail and spirits expert, he wanted do so using the techniques and expertise of mixology to create a new arsenal of libations that were sophisticated, satisfying, and tasty.
Creating these drinks isn’t as simple as removing the alcohol. No- and low-proof cocktails still have to be balanced and still have to be delicious, but they don’t operate exactly like cocktails with alcohol. The drinks Brown presents in this book are meticulously choreographed around taste, texture, body, and piquancy to result in surprisingly complex “adult beverages” minus the booze. Drawing on historical research, meticulous tweaking of classic cocktails to create lower-proof versions, and entirely new concoctions inspired by an evolved home bar, in this book, Derek shares sixty recipes for no- and low-proof cocktails, as well as a guide to the ingredients and equipment you need to imbibe in Mindful Mixology at home.
$39.95, Amazon
Dress to Swill
Now fashionistas can sip in style with DRESSED TO SWILL by drinks and fashion writer Jennifer Croll (Prestel; May 2022). The gorgeous, little book features sixty original cocktail recipes inspired by style icons from the 20th century to today, including fashion designers, models, photographers, stylists, influencers, and more.
Karl Lagerfeld’s tipple is made for royalty: it’s like a Kir Royale but brings in the velvety flavors of raspberry and vanilla. The Kim Kardashian is sensuous, flavorful, and as unsubtly delicious as its subject. Lizzo’s cocktail is a strawberry-rhubarb sparkler certain to fill you with joy. From Alexa Chung and André Leon Talley to Coco Chanel and RuPaul, there’s a flavor to fit every mood, be it avant-garde, glamorous, rebellious, or little-black-dressy.
$14.95, Amazon
Nectar of the GodsRum Rebels: A Celebration of Women Revolutionizing the Spirits Industry with Cocktail RecipesSpring Reads 2022
what do you think?