Here are 100 books that How the Gringos Stole Tequila fans have personally recommended if you like
How the Gringos Stole Tequila.
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I have been a journalist for over a decade, most frequently writing on the subjects of spirits, cocktails, and drinking culture for such publications as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Esquire, Playboy, and VinePair. I have written 12 booksâ6 of them on boozeâmy latest of which is Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits.
I had always believed that a great booze book didnât need to just be pages of pretty pictures and cocktail recipesâI knew there were booze stories that could make for compelling, novel-like narratives as well. Thad Voglerâs 2017 work was the first to actually prove my theories correct, however.
His journey to both visit the sourcesâCuba! Oaxaca! Cognac!âand meet the producers of such vaunted spirits as rum, mezcal, and cognac, all while philosophizing about what artisan spirits production actually means, resonated with me like no other booze before.
Voglerâs humor and bawdy tone also showed me a drinks-related book need not be a dry readâbooze is fun, after all!
Spirits expert Thad Vogler, owner of the James Beard Awardâwinning Bar Agricole, takes readers around the world, celebrating the vivid characters who produce hand-made spirits like rum, scotch, cognac, and mezcal. From the mountains of Mexico and the forbidden distilleries of Havana, to the wilds of Scotland and the pastoral corners of France and beyond, this adventure will change how you think about your drink.
Thad Vogler is one of the most important people in the beverage industry today. Heâs a man on a mission to bring âgrower spiritsââspirits with provenance, made in the traditional way by individuals rather thanâŚ
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn theâŚ
I have visited all the major wine regions since I developed my passion for wine as a Sommelier and Beverage Director in luxury hotels in London and around the world. To learn more about wine, I studied to become a French, Italian, and Spanish Wine Scholar, joined the Champagne Academy in France, and recently completed a two-year Diploma in Wine at the WSET School in London. Iâve also worked two harvests as a winemaker at Mission Hill Winery in British Columbia in 2020 and Trius Winery in Niagara, Ontario in 2021. My novels are inspired by my studies, work experience, and travels through the worldâs best wine regions.
I loved this book and couldnât recommend it highly enough. It reads like a modern-day thriller, made all the better as it's based on true-events. Itâs a well-told story involving Thomas Jefferson, Chateau Lafite Wine, Christie's Auction House, Masters of Wine, and Billionaires that had me turning the pages as fast as possible. I loved all the historical details and the well-researched nature of this gripping tale.
What I enjoyed most about the book was its exploration of the perceived value we place on wine and how we reconcile that perceived value with how far we would go to obtain such items at any cost. As this recounting demonstrates, there are at least two sides to every story and sometimes many more. I hope to read more by this author and hope he explores other famous stories of theft, fraud, and betrayal in the world of wine.
The rivetingly strange story of the world's most expensive bottle of wine, and the even stranger characters whose lives have intersected with it.
The New York Times bestseller, updated with a new epilogue, that tells the true story of a 1787 Château Lafite Bordeauxâsupposedly owned by Thomas Jeffersonâthat sold for $156,000 at auction and of the eccentrics whose lives intersected with it.
Was it truly entombed in a Paris cellar for two hundred years? Or did it come from a secret Nazi bunker? Or from the moldy basement of a devilishly brilliant con artist? As Benjamin Wallace unravels the mystery,âŚ
I have been a journalist for over a decade, most frequently writing on the subjects of spirits, cocktails, and drinking culture for such publications as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Esquire, Playboy, and VinePair. I have written 12 booksâ6 of them on boozeâmy latest of which is Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits.
So often, booze history has not been carefully written down, and Simonson wanted to ensure that would not be the case when it came to the cocktail renaissance that kicked off in the early 21st century.
Chapter by chapter, he introduces us to the playersâbartenders, bar owners, producers, and repsâalong with the bars that reinvigorated a nearly-dead American tradition of Martinis, Manhattans, Margaritas, and many more drinks that are now, thanks to them, ubiquitous everywhere on the globe.
A narrative history of the craft cocktail renaissance, written by a New York Times cocktail writer and one of the foremost experts on the subject.
A Proper Drink is the first-ever book to tell the full, unflinching story of the contemporary craft cocktail revival. Award-winning writer Robert Simonson interviewed more than 200 key players from around the world, and the result is a rollicking (if slightly tipsy) story of the charactersâbars, bartenders, patrons, and visionariesâwho in the last 25 years have changed the course of modern drink-making. The book also features a curated list of about 40 cocktailsâ25 modern classics,âŚ
The Guardian of the Palace is the first novel in a modern fantasy series set in a New York City where magic is realâbut hidden, suppressed, and dangerous when exposed.
When an ancient magic begins to leak into the world, a small group of unlikely allies is forced to actâŚ
I have been a journalist for over a decade, most frequently writing on the subjects of spirits, cocktails, and drinking culture for such publications as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Esquire, Playboy, and VinePair. I have written 12 booksâ6 of them on boozeâmy latest of which is Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits.
Booze books need not only to be filed all the way in the back of the bookstore in the âFood/Drinkâ section; the best deserve to be mainstreamâand bestseller Pappyland proved that.
This is a dual memoir in some ways, following the rise, fall, and incredible rise again of the Van Winkle family and their grandfather Pappyâs vaunted and eponymous spirit, along with the story of Thompson reckoning with his own family lore and fatherhood.Â
âA warm and loving reflection that, like good bourbon, will stand the test of time.â âEric Asimov, The New York Times
The story of how Julian Van Winkle III, the caretaker of the most coveted cult Kentucky Bourbon whiskey in the world, fought to protect his family's heritage and preserve the taste of his forebears, in a world where authenticity, like his product, is in very short supply.
Following his fatherâs death decades ago, Julian Van Winkle stepped in to try to save the bourbon business his grandfather had founded on the mission statement: âWeâŚ
Raised on happy hours on Cape Cod, MA patios with my Irish-American relatives, I long have been fascinated by how alcohol can bring people together and facilitate bonds that traverse both hardship and joy. During my travels and research in Mexico, Chile, Peru, Guatemala, and Ecuador, I observed how alcohol could both render families asunder and unite communities. As addiction makes clear, alcohol could hold tremendous power over individuals. But it also marked the identities of even the most casual drinkers. Throughout my research on other topicsâcrime, gender, medicineâalcohol consistently emerges as a crucial avenue of inquiry. The books listed below offer innovative and insightful ways of centering alcohol in scholarly narratives.
With clear and engaging prose, Gaytan reveals the power dynamics that shaped tequilaâs trajectory in Mexico and abroad.
She traces tequilaâs meteoric rise past other agave-derived drinks like pulque and mezcal. I really appreciate how she approaches her study as a sociologist but does not eschew history in her analysis. Although ancient Mayas were among the first to produce and consume tequila, its association with modernity can be attributed, in part, to modern marketers disassociating tequila from indigenous inebriation.
Even as she firmly grounds tequila in lo Mexicano or being Mexican, Gaytan also explores tequilaâs influence and popularity in the United States. Her book reminded me how different my experience of drinking tequila in the United States has been from my enjoyment of tequila in cantinas in Mexico.Â
Italy has grappa, Russia has vodka, Jamaica has rum. Around the world, certain drinks-especially those of the intoxicating kind-are synonymous with their peoples and cultures. For Mexico, this drink is tequila. For many, tequila can conjure up scenes of body shots on Cancun bars and coolly garnished margaritas on sandy beaches. Its power is equally strong within Mexico, though there the drink is more often sipped rather than shot, enjoyed casually among friends, and used to commemorate occasions from the everyday to the sacred. Despite these competing images, tequila is universally regarded as an enduring symbol of lo mexicano.
I'm an award-winning travel and drinks writer and have worked for National Geographic, The Times, BBC Travel, American Express, AAA, Waitrose Drinks, and many more. My love of spirits and travel led to me starting the Travel Distilled website and I'm the author of Cask Strength, which tells the story of the barrel, and of the travel guides Islay Distilled and Cognac Distilled. I've visited numerous distilleries in the UK, Ireland, USA, France, Greece, Iceland, Sweden, Mexico, and elsewhere. I was persuaded to try drinking vodka for breakfast while touring Siberia. It seemed a good idea at the time but it's not a habit I've kept up.
Mezcal is one of the fastest-growing spirits categories, and I love this smoky-tasting drink that's mostly made in small batches by one-man (or increasingly one-woman) distilleries around Mexico.
Author Emma Janzen loves it and is curious about it so much that she sets off on a journey around Mexico to meet the makers, and the bartenders who are turning mezcal into cocktails. I'm not jealous of her journey at all! The journey produced a handsome book with wonderful photos, and it's a book that has both style and substance.
What I like about it is that she gets out and meets people, and introduces the reader to their lives, whether it be cool mixologists in Oaxaca City or mezcal makers in the middle of nowhere. If you like mezcal, it's a must-read.
In Mezcal, two-time James Beard Awardâwinning author Emma Janzen explores what sets this cousin of tequila apart from the rest of the pack.
*Nominated for the 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Award in the Beverage category*
Produced in Mexico for centuries but little known elsewhere until recent years, mezcal has captured the imagination of spirits enthusiasts with its astonishing complexities. And while big liquor is beginning to jump aboard the bandwagon, most mezcal is still artisanal in nature, produced using small-batch techniques handed down for generations, often with agave plants harvested in the wild.
Aury and Scott travel to the Finger Lakes in New Yorkâs wine country to get to the bottom of the mysterious happenings at the Songscape Winery. Disturbed furniture and curious noises are one thing, but when a customer winds up dead, itâs time to dig into the details and seeâŚ
As an own voice author, it is incredibly important for me to write characters that look like me, but it is exceptionally healing to find novels where I feel represented. My inner child yearns for more books that remind me of my adolescent wish to be a main character, to have a fleshed-out story, to be the hero or overpowered creature of the night. Being a main character means being seen and being heard, and I think now is the time to branch into every genre I can to know that any story, no matter how big or small the pages, can be done and can be Black. Happy reading!Â
Faeblood Unbroken by Alyiah Marie Gonzales is exactly what I needed when I started reading indie novels. In this diverse collision of fae and vampire lore, we follow Elyria through a magnetic, romantic slow burn with Zarina Sinclair, and both women are incredibly tender and fierce through Gonzalesâ descriptive writing. The tension in this novel shines through how the women communicate and handle complications, while the lightheartedness in this novel does an excellent job of propelling us through the darkness of their character arcs and introspective decisions. This novel brings the feelings of women to the forefront of its imaginative storytelling, and I look forward to seeing where else the diversity will unfold as the series continues.Â
And I am aware of none of it, content to bartend at Celestial Nights and spend weekends with my roommate Leafy and cheap bottles of tequila. But, when a woman with golden eyes and an electric touch sparks my world into embers and challenges everything I thought I knew about myself, a forgotten piece of home returns and leaves me at a perilous crossroads.
Zarina Sinclair now holds my heart between stiletto nails, and my own reckless curiosity yearns to see what sheâll do with it. Despite mythsâŚ
I have been a voracious zombie fan since George A. Romero changed the nature of zombies with his low-budget breakthrough film, Night of the Living Dead over 40 years ago. Since then, I have watched a ton of zombie movies and shows and read even more zombie books and comics. It was inevitable that they would star in my own books, including my zombie trilogy, The Deadland Saga along with several novellas and short stories.
This is my favorite zombie series of all time. Adair is an incredible writer, and his Slow Burn series gives us plenty of Romero-style zombies that we love, but it also gives us more. In this series, some of the infected donât turn into regular zombies. Zed is one of these. I donât want to give any spoilers but trust me on this. If you like a good zombie tale, read Slow Burn, and I guarantee youâll continue on to book 2 and every other book in this series about zombies with a twist. Â
A new flu strain has been spreading across Africa, Europe, and Asia. Disturbing news footage is flooding the cable news channels. People are worried. People are frightened. But Zed Zane is oblivious. Zed needs to borrow rent money from his parents. He gets up Sunday morning, drinks enough tequila to stifle his pride and heads to his momâs house for a lunch of begging, again. But something is wrong. Thereâs blood in the foyer. His motherâs corpse is on the living room floor. Zedâs stepdad, Dan is wild with crazy-eyed violence and attacks Zed when he comes into the house.âŚ
Iâve been mesmerized by paranormal stories since grade school when I first read The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. Paranormal, supernatural, and magical books capture my imagination, probably because Iâve always wished I could fly like I can in my dreams. But since gravity is real, I make the magic happen in my writing. I especially enjoy when the magic takes place in a contemporary setting but is hidden to all but the reader and the ones who possess it. It feels like being in on a very big secret. The books Iâve recommended are a mix of secretive and outed magic. I hope you enjoy them.
Ann Charles is someone I want to shoot tequila with, and I donât shoot tequila. But I would with Ann. Her deadwood series had me laughing out loud. She writes characters so well that youâll feel like you know them right down to their roots. Youâll be cheering on the good guys, hightailing it away from the scary ones, and cringing when you just know someoneâs heading in the wrong direction. Iâm immensely impressed that with each new book, Ann presents an original twisty mystery with a wicked sense of humour. And not only is she a talented, award-winning, and best-selling author, but sheâs down-to-earth, and also organizes an annual fan party for her readers. Iâm one of those fans and eagerly await her next book!
NEARLY DEPARTED IN DEADWOOD, the Top-Rated #1 Kindle Bestseller in BOTH Women Sleuth and Ghost genres!
WINNER of the 2010 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense WINNER of the 2011 Romance Writers of AmericaÂŽ Golden Heart Award for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements
Praise for NEARLY DEPARTED IN DEADWOOD... "Full of thrills and chills, a fun rollercoaster ride of a book!" ~Susan Andersen, New York Times Bestselling author of Burning Up
"Ann Charles has written an intriguing mystery laced with a wicked sense of humor. Watch out Stephanie Plum, because Violet Parker is coming your way." ~DeborahâŚ
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa storiesâall reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argueâŚ
As a child, I loved singing and acting and fantasized about what it might be like to be a famous movie star. Though the practical side of my brain led me to become a lawyer instead, my fascination with Hollywood never waned. When I set out to write my first novel, I finally had the opportunity to explore celebrity culture. But I'm just a regular person, living a very normal life. The books Iâm recommending lift the curtain on fame and explore the ultimate fantasy: what if a beloved, uber-famous actor or actress actually fell in love with you?
Talk about swoon-worthy: recently divorced regular gal Nora is a Hallmark-style screenwriter until her latest script is tapped for the big screen starring the âsexiest man alive,â Leo.
I was drawn in by the fantasy of crushing on a movie star, but I stayed for the relatability and depth of the main character. This was one I read in about twenty-four hours because I needed to know whether Nora would find her happy ending.
I also appreciated that this book left some things to the imagination. It was heavier on the romance than the sex.
"Readers who loved Emily Henry's Book Lovers are sure to savor Nora Goes Off Script." âShelf Awareness
Named one of the Best Beach Reads of Summer 2022 by The Washington Post ⢠USA Today ⢠Cosmopolitan ⢠Southern Living ⢠Country Living ⢠Business Insider ⢠Buzzfeed ⢠Book Riot ⢠The Augusta Chronicle
Noraâs life is about to get a rewriteâŚ
Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. As a romance channel screenwriter, itâs her job. But when her too-good-to work husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns herâŚ
