Drunken BotanistSake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley, tequila from agave, rum from sugarcane, bourbon from corn. Thirsty yet? In The Drunken Botanist, Amy Stewart explores the dizzying array of herbs, flowers, trees, fruits, and fungi that humans have, through ingenuity, inspiration, and sheer desperation, contrived to transform into alcohol. Of all the extraordinary and obscure plants that have been fermented and distilled, a few are

notes of golden roasted pineapple

a great sipper on its own

The first five years in the barrel make it bourbon

Pimm's presents inviting aromas of orange

as well as floral hibiscus

peppermint

with a more spice and fruit forward profile than the typical citrus and gentian (though those are both present as well)

San Francisco born and raised

A tang propels maple

Its spirited flavor fortifies classic cocktails like the Manhattan and Old Fashioned

supported by cinchona bark and bitter roots

easy sipper