Lost Recipes of Prohibition: Notes from a Bootlegger's Manual

by Matthew Rowley

Overview

Nominated for a James Beard Award, more than 100 secret and forgotten formulas for illicit booze

American Prohibition was far from watertight. If you knew the right people, or the right place to go, you could get a drink—most likely a variation of the real thing, made by blending smuggled, industrial alcohol or homemade moonshines with extracts, herbs, and oils to imitate the aroma and taste of familiar spirits. Most of the illegal recipes were written out by hand and secretly shared. The “lost recipes” in this book come from one such compilation, a journal hidden within an antique book of poetry, with 300 entries on making liquors, cordials, absinthe, bitters, and wine.

Lost Recipes of Prohibition features more than 70 pages from this notebook, with explanations and descriptions for real and faked spirits. Readers will also find historic and modern cocktails from some of today's leading bartenders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682680759
Publisher:	Countryman Press, The
Publication date:	06/06/2017
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	7.70(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Matthew Rowley is a former museum curator who specializes in folk distilling and the manufacture and distribution of illicit spirits. His work has appeared in Whisky Advocate, Distiller, and other publications. The author of Moonshine!, he lives in California.

Editorial Reviews

"Matthew Rowley found his way into Prohibition’s crypt, returned with a notebook scrawled with crabbed hieroglyphics, and took the time to translate it for those curious about how one drank when one couldn’t drink. Fascinating and revealing! "

Wayne Curtis

"Rowley takes the gift of a mysterious notebook and runs with it, taking us along for an entertaining and fascinating ramble."

Dave Stolte

"If ever there was a case to be made for kismet, it is in your hands. Somehow this mystery-tinged, camouflaged doctor’s notebook found its way to Matthew Rowley. The utility of what’s here is no trifle, but only Matt could have entertainingly illuminated not just the artifact, but all its implications . . . Buy this, you will not be bored."

Max Watman

"Open Lost Recipes of Prohibition to any page and you’ll be drawn into the mysterious world of a long-vanished physician-turned-whiskey peddler and his illicit and even dangerous recipes. Matthew Rowley takes us through the handwritten notebook, exploring its historical context, elucidating its odd ingredients (talcum powder?), and even sampling the recipes. This is a must-have for anyone who enjoys a good cocktail—or the discovery of buried treasure."

Amy Stewart

"Few people on earth have the authority to unveil such a treasure trove as Matthew Rowley does. Immerse yourself in the epic journey of cocktail archaeology contained within these pages. "

Jeffrey Morgenthaler

"Nobody is more familiar with the dark caverns of drinks history than Matthew Rowley, and Lost Recipes of Prohibition is an eye-opening exploration of the era, turning up many rich rewards. "

Paul Clarke

"In Lost Recipes of Prohibition, Matthew Rowley unearths recipes of a bootlegging physician living in Harlem. Rowley then translates the good doctor’s formulary into recipes that modern bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts can use."

Michael Dietsch