The Social History of Bourbon - Gerald Carson, 1963

by **pmullin** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:46 am

The full title of this book is "The Social History of Bourbon - An Unhurried Account of Our Star-Spangled American Drink".

I recently picked up a used copy of the book at Commonwealth Books' Milk Street shop, while stranded in Boston for a bit after a flight cancellation.

This book is an excellent read - the author has a nice easygoing and very readable style. He does a great job of mixing exhaustive research with a dry wit. If you can grab a copy for a few bucks, it is well worth the read, despite being relatively dated.

My favourite chapters are "Whiskey Fun and Folklore" and "The Swinging Door", which relates some interesting stories about the last of the pre-prohibition saloons.

by **Deactivated Member** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:04 am

Stranded in Boston! I hope you had a chance to meet Joe Howell.

by **pmullin** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:18 am

MrTattieHeid wrote:I hope you had a chance to meet Joe Howell.

Didn't speak to Joe directly, but I did drop into the store.

Unfortunately, I had already purchased my Canada Customs allowance (and bit more) and couldn't purchase anything more without forking over for some pretty nasty duty, taxes and provincial liquor commision markups. If I had known in advance of my unplanned stay, I would certainly have chosen some of Joe's stock over what the Virginia ABC offered.