I was gifted this book last Christmas by my brother-and-sister-in-law, and it’s one of the better gifts I received last year. Proof is an engaging read start to finish, full of fascinating characters, humorous vignettes, and random facts that are sure to come in handy when you decide to start your own cocktail blog.
With the holiday season upon us in earnest, I’ll be writing more reviews and short posts with gift recommendations and holiday party advice over the next few weeks.
Who Is This For?
Anyone who is generally curious about alcohol. If you’ve gone on a tour of a brewery, winery, or distillery and found yourself wanting to ask a ton of questions, or if you’ve asked those questions and been dissatisfied with the answers, read this book.
Why Should They Read It?
Aside from learning what everything you’ve seen on one of those tours actually does, you’ll learn all about how humans discovered the wonders of booze, how the desire to make more of it moved society forward as a whole, how the Scotch industry works, why certain parts of Canada get covered in black ash each year, how to (maybe) cure a hangover, and so much more.
Yes, this is primarily mostly-useless trivia knowledge. Unless you want to start making your own booze, is it really important to know the minutiae? Of course not, but it’s gratifying for folks like me who collect random facts like stamps. Plus, it will make you appreciate what’s in your glass more, and I think that’s always a good thing.
Pairs Well With…
If you’re like me (who picked up the habit from my mother), you want all of your gifts to fit some kind of theme (even it needs to be abstracted to make any sense). In that case, consider keeping the booze science theme rolling with these ball flasks or these beakers.
If that’s too on-the-nose, consider some classic glassware or a good shaker. Of course, you could always just gift a good bottle of booze, too.
You could also subscribe them to this blog – I promise to make it worth it!
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you writing this
write-up and the rest of the site is extremely good.