Empire of Booze by Henry Jeffreys
Without Britain, none of the world's favourite wines would exist. Neither would champagne, port, rum or whisky. Not even beer. How did one small nation come to exert such a lasting influence on the world of booze?Empire of Booze is a loose history of Britain, cleverly and humorously told through its contributions to alcohol, charting the rise of British power from its small corner of Europe to global pre-eminence. Each chapter features a historical period and a drink - tracing its origins and examining its impact on British culture, literature, science, philosophy and religion. Learn about how.
.the champagne we drink today is owed to British technology for making sparkling wine.
.rum and India Pale Ale were developed so they could withstand the long, hot journeys to Britain's burgeoning overseas empire.
.whisky became the drink of choice for weary empire builders far from home.
.without alcohol, the pre-twentieth century global economy could not function.
With drink recommendations offered throughout, you can booze while you read along. So raise a glass to Britain, the Empire of Booze, whose alcoholic innovations are some of its greatest, lasting gifts to the world.
"Charming . . . Never mind books about drink – a book you can drink, now that’s a Christmas gift." * Spectator *
"Well argued and full of fascinating booze-related facts . . . it's an ambitious undertaking, but [Jeffreys] achieves it with a sharp eye and an understated humorous touch I rather liked." * Daily Mail *
"Fascinating pub trivia . . . Henry Jeffreys is a wine columnist and drinks writer who clearly knows his stuff" * Mail on Sunday *
"Henry Jeffreys is everything you want a wine writer to be: funny, knowing, unpretentious but also un-blokeish, funny, clever, refreshing, original, funny and inquisitive. And did I say funny?" -- Craig Brown, author and parodist
Henry Jeffreys was born in London in 1977. After graduating from the University of Leeds, where he studied English and Classical Literature, he spent so much time in Oddbins that they offered him a job. He worked in the wine trade for two years and then moved into publishing. At the same time, he worked as a freelance journalist, book reviewer, founder member of the London Review of Breakfasts website and contributor to the Breakfast Bible (Bloomsbury 2013).
In 2010, he started a blog about wine called 'Henry's World of Booze' which became one of the most popular wine blogs in Britain. Following its success, he was made wine columnist for The Lady by Rachel Johnson and in 2014 was shortlisted for Drinks Writer of the Year at the Fortnum & Mason awards for his work in the Spectator. In 2015, he wrote a weekly column for the Guardian called 'Empire of Drinks' looking at history and alcohol. He is now a regular contributor to the Spectator, the Guardian, the Economist, the Financial Times, the Oldie and Food & Wine magazine on drink and other matters. He lives in Blackheath, south London with his wife and daughter. Empire of Booze is his first book and won him the Fortnum & Mason Best First Drink Book Award 2017.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781783522248 |
| ISBN 10 | 1783522240 |
| Title | Empire of Booze |
| Author | Henry Jeffreys |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Unbound |
| Year published | 2016-11-03 |
| Number of pages | 304 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |