Review: A Good Drink

 A Good Drink

Shanna Farrell

Have you ever wondered what's in your cocktail or drink? Or where the ingredients that go into the alcohol are produced or grown? In A Good Drink, Farrell examines the world of distilling and brewing, questioning why customers aren't more interested in the origins of the drinks they are consuming. With the increasingly popular farm-to-table movement and increasing interest in how and where our food is produced, it has become easier to identify the region, state, or actual farm where something is grown. Not so, where beverages are concerned. Partly because the crops that go into making whiskey, rum, and beer, like corn, barley, and cane sugar, are commodity crops often produced on a large scale basis and shipped around the world. So it isn't easy to pinpoint the origin. Also, alcohol and spirits in the U.S. are regulated by the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and not the Food and Drug Administration, where rules are different, allowing producers to use color additives more regulated in our food supply. But some producers and consumers want to change the status quo, and Farrell introduces us to a number of them in this book. Providing an interesting and insightful look into the challenges and hurdles they face as they try to change the industry.

A Good Drink made me think a lot about the sustainability of mono-crop production and the environmental issues that create changes in our agricultural system. The next time I have a cocktail or glass of whiskey, I will be more likely to wonder where and how it was produced. Hopefully, this book will make others more aware and interested in the future sustainability of spirits and how awareness may make us all more discerning customers in the future.

Thanks to Island Press for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

A Good Drink will be published on September 16, 2021.

Review: Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table

 

Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table

Carole Bumpus

Inspired to learn more about French cooking and traditions, Carole's friend Josiane agrees to be her tour guide as they try to uncover French home cooking secrets and recipes. They are both inspired by the tales told by Josiane's mother, Marcelle, of growing up in Brittany. With a sense of adventure and the hope of uncovering more of Marcelle's family history, they travel through Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Normandy, Brittany, Loire, and Auvergne. Along the way, they stay in farmhouses, hotels, and family-owned Chateaux where Carole, welding her trusty notepad and recorder, is keen to investigate the lifestyle and history of those they encounter as well as indulge in the region's cuisine.

There are some wonderful descriptions throughout about food, markets, and local celebrations. Plus, readers will be happy to know that some of the recipes mentioned and collected along the journey are included at the end of the book. This warm and inviting memoir will appeal to food lovers and history buffs alike. The two women examine how it was to live during a time of war, especially the Second World War, and how families managed to keep traditions alive even during tough times. As this book points out, family traditions help keep French home cooking entwined in everyday life.

This review was written by me and originally published by City Book Review.