The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks

Every great drink starts with a plant.

Sake began with a grain of rice.

Scotch emerged from barley.

Gin was born from a conifer shrub when medieval physicians boiled juniper berries with wine to treat stomach pain.

The Drunken Botanist uncovers the surprising botanical history and fascinating science and chemistry of over 150 plants, flowers, trees, and fruits (and even a few fungi).

Some of the most extraordinary and obscure plants have been fermented and distilled, and they each represent a unique cultural contribution to global drinking traditions and our history.

Molasses was an essential ingredient of American independence when outrage over a mandate to buy British rather than French molasses for New World rum-making helped kindle the American Revolution.