Alcoholica Esoterica : A Collection of Useful and Useless Information As It Relates to the History and Consumption of All Manner of Booze

by Lendler, Ian (Author)

• ISBN13: 9780143035978
• ISBN10: 0143035975
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-09-27
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Summary

Finally, there’s a book that’s almost as much fun as having a couple of drinks. Alcoholica Esotericapresents the history and culture of booze as told by a writer with a knack for distilling all the boring bits into the most interesting facts and hilarious tales. It’s almost like pulling up a stool next to the smartest and funniest guy in the bar. Divided into chapters covering the basic booze groups—including beer, wine, Champagne, whiskey, rum, gin, vodka, and tequila—Alcoholica Esotericacharts the origin and rise of each alcohol’s particular charms and influence. Other sections chronicle Great Moments in Hic-story,” Great Country Drinking Songs,” 10 Odd Laws,” and Mt. Lushmore, Parts I–V.” Additionally, famous quotes on the joys and sorrows of liquor offer useful shots of advice and intoxicating whimsy. Did you know... • that the word baris short for barrier? Yes, that’s right—to keep the customers from getting at all the booze. • that Winston Churchill’s mother supposedly invented the Manhattan? • that the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock because the sailors on the Mayflowerwere running low on beer and were tired of sharing? • that you have a higher chance of being killed by a flying Champagne cork than by a poisonous spider? • that the Code of Hammurabi mandated that brewers of low-quality beer be drowned in it? • that beer was so popular with medieval priests and monks that in the thirteenth century they stopped baptizing babies with holy water and started using beer?

Author Biography

Ian Lendler is the author of An Undone Fairy Tale and coauthor of Chelsea Clinton-'s Freshman Notebook. The former humor editor for IndiePlanet.com, in 2000 he co-founded the humor Web site Freedonian.com, which was featured in Time Out New York, Gear Magazine, and on CNN.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xv
Down the Hatch	1	(13)
Beer	14	(22)
Mount Lushmore (Part I)	33	(3)
W.C. Fields
Wine	36	(23)
Mount Lushmore (Part II)	57	(2)
Humphrey Bogart
Champagne	59	(17)
Distilled Spirits	76	(2)
Whiskey	78	(24)
Fifteen Great Country Drinking Songs	100	(2)
Rum	102	(12)
Gin	114	(13)
Mount Lushmore (Part III)	124	(3)
Dorothy Parker
Vodka	127	(7)
Brandy	134	(9)
Tequila	143	(6)
Cocktails	149	(15)
Mount Lushmore (Part IV)	161	(3)
Dean Martin
Fortified Wines	164	(9)
Liqueur	173	(3)
Sake	176	(5)
Absinthe	181	(2)
Miscellaniest	183	(5)
Amateur Food and Drink Matching Guide	185	(3)
God and the Bottle	188	(10)
A Drink a Day	198	(6)
British Royal Navy	204	(12)
Mount Lushmore (Part V)	212	(4)
Winston Churchill
Early America: One Nation Under the Influence	216	(8)
American Prohibition	224	(10)
Ten Odd Laws and Outdated Regulations	232	(2)
Miscellaneous Great Moments in World Hic-story	234	(7)
Words of Advice	239	(2)
One Too Many	241	(8)
The Hangover	249	(10)
I'll Never Drink Again	257	(2)
A Glossary of Inebriated English Words and Phrases	259