Vodka: How a Colorless, Odorless, Flavorless Spirit Conquered America
- ISBN-10
- 076278699X
- ISBN-13
- 9780762786992
- Category
- Cooking
- Pages
- 272
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2014-07-01
- Publisher
- Lyons Press
- Author
- Victorino Matus
Description
Vodka began as rotgut medicine in Medieval Russia, but this neutral grain alcohol has become our uncontested king of spirits, with over 1,000 brands fighting for market share. But it wasn’t always thus. For two centuries, America drank the brown stuff: rum and whiskey. So how did Russia’s “little water” unseat our favorite hooch? Vic Matus takes us on an incredible visual journey from vodka’s humble American origins in a Depression-era Connecticut factory—using the family recipe of a poor Russian exile named Vladimir Smirnov—through its glamorous rise to fame at the hands of James Bond and Sex and the City to today’s craft distillery movement. You’ll see in clear, intoxicating detail how hippie culture, women’s lib, and an absolutely ingenious Swedish company all played their part, transforming the booze into a status symbol. By 1975, the war had ended: Vodka officially became our favorite spirit. Today, a third of all cocktails contain it, and last year 140 million gallons of the stuff racked up $20 billion in sales. Here is the crisply distilled, bracing story of how entrepreneurs defied the odds and turned medieval medicine into a multibillion-dollar industry.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2014-07-01
- 272 pages
- Ebook
- Rowman & Littlefield
Similar books
-
What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea -...
By Andrew Dornenburg, Karen PageHe also started an educational wine program for staff and created the restaurant's first wine pairing menus. www.theinnatlittlewashington.com Kathy Casey is the chef-owner of Kathy Casey Food Studios in Seattle.
-
The Mighty Gastropolis: Portland: A Journey Through the Center of America's New Food Revolution
By Karen Brooks, Gideon Bosker, Teri GelberGIBSON. EVOE. A perfectionist conquers the seasons with a grill pan and a make-do playbook. Imagine you've wandered into a cooking show, but the audience is just you. Standing in what looks like a dorm room decorated by Sur La Table, ...
-
Onion Delights Cookbook: A Collection of Onion Recipes
By Karen Jean Matsko HoodGibson. Martini. Martinis are not only excellent, but also sophisticated. Ingredients: 6 parts gin or vodka 1 part dry vermouth 3 cocktail onions Directions: 1. Shake or stir gin (or vodka) and vermouth with ice. 2.
-
Bill Neal's Southern Cooking
By Bill Neal... 153; in calas, 175 Roanoke Island, N.C., 74 Roux, 12, 13, 16, 17, 84, 85 S St. Cecilia Punch, 189 St. Charles Hotel, 183 Salad: wilted, 133; composed, 135; potato, 135; tomato aspic, 140; cucumbers and onions, 141 Salisbury, ...
-
Cured Meat, Smoked Fish & Pickled Eggs: Recipes & Techniques for Preserving Protein-Packed Foods
By Karen SolomonFood preservation teacher and cook Karen Solomon teaches you how to smoke, pickle, salt-cure, oil-cure, and dehydrate a variety of meats, dairy, fish, eggs, and other proteins economically and at home.
-
Culinary Artistry
By Andrew Dornenburg, Karen PageA lot of it was food that would ordinarily be a hard - sell on an à la carte menu . It was sort of funky food that people practically fell over — they were so impressed with it . But if we had put some of these dishes on our menu — like ...
-
The Wine Bible
By Karen MacNeilWineries of all types , sizes , and levels of quality buy and sell wines in bulk . Some sell all of their production that way . Most large producers buy significant amounts of bulk wines from other wineries and then BLEND , bottle , and ...
-
The Gourmet Butcher's Guide to Meat: How to Source it Ethically, Cut it Professionally, and Prepare it Properly (with CD)
By Cole WardA comprehensive guide to whole-animal butchery, covering the rudiments of butchery; how meat animals are raised, slaughtered, and marketed; and the complexities of meat grading, carcass yield, marbling scores, and issues with inspection.
-
Fête Accompli!: The Ultimate Guide to Creative Entertaining
By Karen Robinovitz, Lara Shriftman, Elizabeth HarrisonTwo hip event planners team up to present a guide to throwing a fabulous party, offering insider tricks, fashionable tips, and clever strategies on choosing a creative theme, finding the perfect location, designing memorable invitations and ...
-
Fête Accompli! Workbook: The Ultimate Party Planning Guide
By Karen Robinovitz, Lara Shriftman, Elizabeth HarrisonThere's a complete resource guide in the back, not to mention savvy tips from Puff Daddy, Russell Simmons, Lara Flynn Boyle, David Copperfield, Hugh Jackman, and Donald Trump.