The Drunken Botanist- The Plants That Create The World's Great Drinks

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The first plant featured is an agave, a century plant, they grow around here, so I was interested to know how to make pulque because it is ferments in a day. First you have to wait for the flower spike which is about every 8-10 years, not 100. You lop it off. The stem swells. After a while you cut inside, the centre rots. You scoop out the centre and it fills daily with sap. 250 gallons is possible before the agave dies. The pulque which is an 'acquired taste' but can be flavoured with fruits is ready a day or so later. Two things stop me from doing this. Some fun science facts, "The DNA of apples is more complex than ours; a recent sequencing of the Golden Delicious genome uncovered fifty-seven thousand genes, more than twice as many as the twenty thousand to twenty-five thousand that humans possess." Drunken botanists? Given the role they play in creating the world’s great drinks, it’s a wonder there are any sober botanists at all." Vodka became popular in America only after WWII because distillers couldn't get enough grain to use, so begged potato growers to send them all the small and misshapen potatoes they had, since appearance wouldn't matter. Distillers sold 1M gallons of Vodka in 1946 and 30M by 1965. BTW, Vodka uses rye, wheat, and other grains in its manufacture, but most Americans think of it as only made from Potatoes. There is also a big controversy over where Vodka originated, whether Poland or Russia. [p70] We learn the Barley is the most prolific grain at converting its starches into sugar to make alcohol because it has a high level of enzymes and that it is an easy plant to grow not being much affected by cold, drought, or poor soil conditions.

The second part delves into the plants that are added for flavoring or the like, and these are organized by: 1.) herbs and spices, 2.) flowers, 3.) trees, 4.) fruit, and 5.) nuts and seeds.

The Drunken Botanist Book Trailer

A book that makes familiar drinks seem new again . . . Through this horticultural lens, a mixed drink becomes a cornucopia of plants.”—NPR's Morning Edition

An assortment of dried or fresh herbs, such as: Lemon verbena, lemon balm, spearmint, fennel, thyme, angelica stems, sage, scented geranium, lemongrass, chamomile, bay, etc.

The Drunken Botanist Reviews

One of the best attributes about this book is that it covers all the main spirits and you can easily jump to your favorite sections. But they were very unahppy and demanded proof that they were getting all the alcohol they were entitled to so a quantity of gunpowder was mixed with rum, if it was too watery it wouldn't ignite, if it was 57% alcohol it would catch on fire. The ship's purser would mix the rum and gunpowder before the crew and light it on fire, 'proof' of it's strength. So a bottle of UK rum saying 100 proof is 57% alcohol. In the US 100 proof is 50% alcohol. Do yourself a favor and watch it! Even the worms have a happy moment! Believe me, those hangovers are REAL! In summary, this is a great book to add to your book collection. It's not what I consider to be a must read but it will serve you well as a an excellent reference piece. The book is well researched and well arranged for easy access of topics. The one thing clear I got out of this book is never underestimate human's ingenuity in producing great drinks from practically every plant on this one globe we live on. If you are a biologist, gardener or a bartender, this is a must read, for everyone else this is a must have. I recommend it!