The Golden Elixir of the West: Whiskey and the Shaping of America

by Sherry Monahan, Jane Perkins

Overview

An insider's look at the iconic drink and its role in shaping the American West

Distilleries are the new microbreweries, cropping up all over the West and producing brands that emulate the predecessors that were made in copper stills by emigrants and served in saloons and dance halls. This history of the spirit and its origins and migration across the country—and its place in shaping the West—celebrates the story of the golden elixir through first-hand accounts, evocative photographs, and historic cocktail recipes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493028498
Publisher:	TwoDot
Publication date:	10/02/2017
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

SHERRY MONAHAN is the author of The Cowboy’s Cookbook; Frontier Fare: Recipes & Lore from the Old West; and Mrs. Earp: Wives and Lovers of the Earp Brothers. She also writes a monthly food column for True West.
DAVID AND JANE PERKINS have lived in Park City, Utah, since 2004. In 2008 their High West distillery became the first legal distillery in Utah since the 1870s.

Table of Contents

Preface: David Perkins vi

Introduction Sherry Monahan Jane Perkins viii

Chapter 1 Early Trail Blazing: Explorers and Traders 1

Chapter 2 Nuts and Bolts: From Grain to Liquid Gold 21

Chapter 3 The Rush Is On: Pioneers and Settlements 38

Chapter 4 Saloons: The Life, Breath, and Death in a Town 65

Chapter 5 Calls of Eureka and Giddy-Up: The Mining and Cattle Influence 103

Chapter 6 The Iron Horse: How It Connected the West 162

Chapter 7 Fast Forward: Whiskey in the Modern West 193

Chapter 8 Belly Up to the Bar: Cocktails of the West 199

Appendix: Liquor Laws and the Old West 211

Endnotes 220

Index 228

About the Authors 235