| Summary: | Finally, there's a book that's almost as much fun as having a couple of drinks. Alcoholica Esoterica presents the history and culture of booze as told by a writer with a knack for distilling all the boring bits into the most interesting facts and hilarious tales. It's almost like pulling up a stool next to the smartest and funniest guy in the bar. Divided into chapters covering the basic booze groups-including beer, wine, Champagne, whiskey, rum, gin, vodka, and tequila- Alcoholica Esoterica charts the origin and rise of each alcohol's particular charms and influence. Other sections chronicle "Great Moments in Hic-story," "Great Country Drinking Songs," "10 Odd Laws," and "Mt. Lushmore, Parts I-V." Additionally, famous quotes on the joys and sorrows of liquor offer useful shots of advice and intoxicating whimsy. <p>Did you know...</p> <p>that the word bar is short for barrier? Yes, that's right-to keep the customers from getting at all the booze.</p> <p>that Winston Churchill's mother supposedly invented the Manhattan?</p> <p>that the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock because the sailors on the Mayflower were running low on beer and were tired of sharing?</p> <p>that you have a higher chance of being killed by a flying Champagne cork than by a poisonous spider?</p> <p>that the Code of Hammurabi mandated that brewers of low-quality beer be drowned in it?</p> <p>that beer was so popular with medieval priests and monks that in the thirteenth century they stopped baptizing babies with holy water and started using beer?</p>
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