Read: Shrubs, Hops, Cocktails
Shrubs by Michael Dietsch
We’re not talking about landscaping shrubs; the drinkable variety is a concoction of vinegar, sweetener, and flavoring that dates back to pre-colonial times. Shrubs can be sweet (made with stone fruit, berries, or citrus) or savory (beets, tomatoes, pepper, and other bold spices), and they’re popular on Ohio Valley cocktail menus as fresh mixers for spirits. A shrub mixed with seltzer water makes a refreshing nonalcoholic beverage. While you can buy shrubs from local purveyors like Queen City Shrub (QCShrub.com), they’re fun to make at home with seasonal produce—and this book is an excellent guide. The authors share basic technique plus recipes for a range of interesting shrubs, along with cocktails to make with them.
The Audacity of Hops by Tom Acitelli
Pegged as “the book for the craft beer nerd who thinks he or she already knows the story,” Acitelli’s modern history traces the rise of home brewing and artisanal beer as it evolved from the 1960s, when Fritz Maytag (of the appliance family) bought San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing Co. from the jaws of extinction. The book was first released in 2012, then revised in 2017, a time frame that saw a more than 60% increase in the number of craft breweries in the U.S. Acitelli chronicles how small breweries, working in the shadows of post-Prohibition behemoths like Miller and Anheuser-Busch, upended the beer market, reshaped urban environments, fostered a whole new drinking culture, and helped push along the locavore movement. We’ve seen it all play out in our own Ohio Valley region.
The New Cocktail Hour by André & Tenaya Darlington
This encyclopedic book is a smart adjunct to classic home-bartending guides like Mr. Boston’s, capturing the current cocktail zeitgeist with a collection of both old and new drinks. The authors, sibling journalists who call themselves “drinkers with writing habits,” gathered recipes from 200 years of cocktail history, grouping them by era instead of alphabetically or by spirit. They also recommend foods to pair with the drinks, help you outfit a properly stocked bar, and offer recipes for homemade mixers. A great absinthe-to-Zombie reference for cocktail aficionados and home mixologists.