Distilled Knowledge: The Science Behind Drinking's Greatest Myths, Legends, and Unanswered Questions. This item is unavailable.Distilled Knowledge: The Science Behind Drinking's Greatest Myths, Legends, and Unanswered Questions

A charming, uproarious exploration of the scientific answers to our most timeless questions about drinks and drinking

The world is full of questions, myths, and half-truths about drinking. Beer before liquor, never sicker? Should you drink the hair of the dog that bit you?

These questions usually have hilarious answers, but more often than not, the old wives’ tales and wild guesses of bartenders (and –goers alike) drown them out. For the first time in one volume, Distilled Knowledge compiles all the major points of discussion and disputation―with the science to either back them up or knock them down.

Cocktail historian and instructor Brian D. Hoefling’s pithy, conversational text is divided into two parts. The first, “What Hits the Glass,” discusses the ins and outs of fermentation, distillation, aging, and mixing―even solving the age-old conundrum between “shaken” and “stirred.” The second section, “What Hits the Body,” deals with the after-effects of alcohol on the human body, answering a wide range of questions on intoxication, social lubrication, and hangovers.

Readers will receive a complete and comical education through this attractive volume, which features clear, cheeky illustrations throughout. Complete with cross-references, scientific appendices, and a full index, the easily digestible entries are robust enough to put an end to any bar-room dispute. A compulsively readable book, Distilled Knowledge is as funny as it is factual and will delight cocktail enthusiasts, beer aficionados, and those who love a good bit of trivia.

<div><B>Brian D. Hoefling</B> is a cocktail historian, instructor, and inveterate barfly. The founder of the Herzog Cocktail School and a specialist in custom cocktail courses, his writing has appeared in the <I>Boston Business Journal</I>. He lives in Boston with an impressive selection of rums. Visit him at herzogcocktailschool.com.
<BR><B>Leandro Castelao</B> is an Argentinean illustrator based in Brooklyn, New York. He has worked with <I>The New York Times</I>, <I>The New Yorker</I>, Nike, and Google, among many others. In 2014 he was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for best recording packaging. Visit him at leandrocastelao.com.
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