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erinnejc's review
4.0
As an avid gin lover this was a great book, full of history and learnings. Would love to have it on my shelf permanently.
kairosdreaming's review
3.0
*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.
Gin is my favorite; a good Aviation, mixed with a little jam, however you like it. But according to Rendell, it hasn't always been the premium liquor it is today. Not trendy, not as fun, but definitely consumed in vast quantities.
To start off first, this book lives up to its name. While the description mentions "light-hearted", I didn't really find it so. It was gloomy and largely showed all the Acts against gin, the history of the poor and their consumption, among all the other myths and issues that gin lies at the heart of.
While this was well written, it was a "dry" gin for me. The numerous chapters on the gin acts got somewhat repetitive, and while, that is history as it was made, I started skimming through them. I definitely enjoyed the last few chapters the best. Stories of the different distillers, the way new cocktails were made and shaped. And I also enjoyed the etymology (Geneva vs Gin, where did the word cocktail come from, etc.) that Rendell explored in this book as well.
If you are really interested in the political/sociological/historical implications of gin, this is a book that definitely encompasses all of those areas.
Review by M. Reynard 2022
Gin is my favorite; a good Aviation, mixed with a little jam, however you like it. But according to Rendell, it hasn't always been the premium liquor it is today. Not trendy, not as fun, but definitely consumed in vast quantities.
To start off first, this book lives up to its name. While the description mentions "light-hearted", I didn't really find it so. It was gloomy and largely showed all the Acts against gin, the history of the poor and their consumption, among all the other myths and issues that gin lies at the heart of.
While this was well written, it was a "dry" gin for me. The numerous chapters on the gin acts got somewhat repetitive, and while, that is history as it was made, I started skimming through them. I definitely enjoyed the last few chapters the best. Stories of the different distillers, the way new cocktails were made and shaped. And I also enjoyed the etymology (Geneva vs Gin, where did the word cocktail come from, etc.) that Rendell explored in this book as well.
If you are really interested in the political/sociological/historical implications of gin, this is a book that definitely encompasses all of those areas.
Review by M. Reynard 2022
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