Will I love Proof?

Proof is a fascinating read about the science of booze. If you think that sounds a little dull and academic, it isn't. I bought it at the recommendation of a writer friend, Reid Mitenbuler (author of Bourbon Empire), and was so glad I did.

It delves into the science of creating alcohol, but in a way that the general reader can enjoy: a fungus called yeast eats up sugar and poops out ethanol, in layman's terms. But it goes way beyond that into what makes us want and enjoy a drink, what's happening in our brains and our bodies,… show more.

Any distiller, even a moonshiner, has to be a respectably good intuitive chemist; and as Adam Rogers shows in this very readable book, distilling is just the tip of the iceberg of the science that goes into producing the spirits we drink. There is science in the selection of ingredients for distilling – which include the yeasts that ferment the sugars in a huge variety of grains to produce the initial alcohol, the grains themselves, and, once the distilling is done, the aging and the addition of botanicals, if any. And then there is the science of understanding the effects… show more.