Native people had clearly worked out a method for cultivating and roasting the agave. Many mezcals are double- or triple-distilled to perfect the flavor. . In fact, many bloom after eight to ten years but "decade plant" doesn't sound nearly as romantic. --Library Journal, starred review, "Gardeners, nature lovers and mixologists will find themselves reaching frequently for this volume . Pechuga is a particularly rare and wonderful version of mezcal that includes wild local fruit added to the distillation for just a hint of sweetness, and a whole raw chicken breast, skinned and washed, hung in the still as the vapors pass over it. Q. A rich compendium of botanical lore for cocktail lovers." The Drunken Botanist is a strange brew—part Ripley's Believe It or Not, part compendium on the order of Schott's Original Miscellany and part botanical garden tour, albeit with a curated cocktail party at the end…What Stewart's book lacks in narrative spine…it makes up in easygoing charm, sly wit and an eye for the telling anecdote…The Drunken Botanist is a sipping book, not a quaffing book, best enjoyed in moderation. They are perfect on their own; there's no need to pollute a fine, handcrafted tequila with lime juice and salt. —USA Today, "The Drunken Botanist is a sipping book, not a quaffing book, best enjoyed in moderation...Part Ripley’s Believe It or Not, part compendium on the order of 'Schott’s Original Miscellany' and part botanical garden tour, albeit with a curated cocktail party at the end.... a companionable reference and whimsical recitation of historical-botanical trivia, with a little tart debunking." Pick up your copy of The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart on Amazon. Scotch emerged from barley, tequila from agave, rum from sugarcane, bourbon from corn. A rich compendium of botanical lore for cocktail lovers. "The Drunken Botanist is a sipping book, not a quaffing book, best enjoyed in moderation...Part Ripley’s Believe It or Not, part compendium on the order of 'Schott’s Original Miscellany' and part botanical garden tour, albeit with a curated cocktail party at the end . Cutting it forces the base to swell without growing taller; at that point, the wound is covered and allowed to rest for several months while the sap builds. Main cuisine served at The Drunken Botanist is Chinese,European,Italian,North Indian. Amy Stewart is the award-winning author of six books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world. April 30, 2013 - Award-winning author and horticultural journalist, Amy Stewart, takes us on her world-wide trek connecting plants with alcoholic drinks. To your health!” Booze and botany. This rotten interior is scooped out and the inside of the cavity is repeatedly scraped, which irritates the plant so much that sap begins to flow profusely. The much-anticipated bloom is vitally important, however: it yields the raw ingredients for tequila, mezcal, and dozens of other drinks distilled or fermented from this strange, heat-loving succulent. The book is divided into 3 sections; first covering plants used as primary components of fermentation or distillation, then discussing the many, many plants that are used for flavoring in alcoholic drinks, and lastly giving some advice on how to. The book is best described as an encyclopaedia of the botanical origins of drinks, and how people came to make alcohol out of every plant they could find. (Agaves are monocarpic, meaning that they bloom only once and then expire, so this is not as much of a tragedy as it may seem.). The Drunken Botanist uncovers the enlightening botanical history and the fascinating science and chemistry of over 150 plants, flowers, trees, fruits, and even a few fungi. Raicilla comes from the area around Puerto Vallarta, bacanora from Sonora, and sotol, made from the related desert spoon or sotol plant Dasylirion wheeleri, from Chihuahua. . Once it begins flowing, the sap is extracted every day by means of a rubber tube or, in the old days, a pipette made from a gourd called acocote. Start by marking “The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks” as Want to Read: Error rating book. The agave is better known for what it is not than for what it is. I’m super torn on how to rate this book - my general policy is that I rate according to personal enjoyment. 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