The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskeys
Publication Date: 20 December 2009
PROCLAIMED A MASTERWORK when it was originally published in 1995, The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskeys by Gary Regan and Mardee Haidin Regan runs the gamut of American whiskey. This widely acclaimed work contains details on every aspect of American whiskey up to the mid-1990s. It's a landmark book that contains a concise look at how whiskey in America evolved from the time of the Pilgrims right through to the end of the twentieth century. Every distillery that was around at that time is comprehensively covered, and the vast majority of American whiskeys on the market are described. There are cocktail recipes, plus recipes for appetizers, entrées, and desserts all containing whiskey. There's even a chapter that offers guidance to whiskey aficionados visiting Kentucky and Tennessee.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Gary was raised in British pubs and put to work as a bartender by his parents when he was just 14 years old. He fled to New York City in 1973 and married Ohio-born Mardee Haidin in 1979. Mardee worked as an editor and writer at several food- and drink-related magazines, such as Food and Wine and Chocolatier, while Gary pretended to work by tending bar at a variety of dives in Manhattan. In 1990 Gary started to write about his favorite subjects--drinks and drinking. It wasn't long before he noticed that this work encouraged liquor companies to send him free bottles of booze. He quit the bar business immediately and started to write on a full-time basis.
After hoarding as many bottles of various and sundry spirits as possible, Gary and Mardee started to collaborate. Their first focus was bourbon--their whiskey of choice. After an exhaustive period of research that involved visiting every distillery in Kentucky as many times as possible, picking up free samples on every visit, the Regans wrote The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskeys in 1995. Three years later, when their liquor cabinet started to run a little low, they wrote The Bourbon Companion.
In addition to these two books on bourbon, Gary and Mardee also collaborated on New Classic Cocktails, and The Martini Companion. Individually, Mardee is the author of The Bartenders Best Friend (2002, updated version due in 2010), and Gary wrote The Joy of Mixology in 2003, and the bartenders GIN compendium in 2009.
Gary and Mardee host www.ardentspirits.com, publish a free e-mail newsletter, Ardent Spirits, and maintain the Worldwide Bartender Database, an entity that serves to put spirits companies in touch with their most important ambassadors: The men and women who hold forth from behind slabs of mahogany all over the globe.
Hardcover: 384 pp, 156 x 234 mm, 6.14 x 9.21 inches, black and white, illustrated, index
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-1-907434-09-9
- Item #: 978-1-907434-09-9
