A captivating narrative history that traces liquor, beer, and wine drinking in the American South, including 40 cocktail recipes.

Ask almost anyone to name a uniquely Southern drink, and bourbon and mint juleps--perhaps moonshine--are about the only beverages that come up. But what about rye whiskey, Madeira wine, and fine imported Cognac? Or peach brandy, applejack, and lager beer? At various times in the past, these drinks were as likely to be found at the Southern bar as barrel-aged bourbon and raw corn likker. The image of genteel planters in white suits sipping mint juleps on the veranda is a myth that never was--the true picture is far more complex and fascinating. Southern Spirits is the first book to tell the full story of liquor, beer, and wine in the American South. This story is deeply intertwined with the region, from the period when British colonists found themselves stranded in a new world without their native beer, to the 21st century, when classic spirits and cocktails of the pre-Prohibition South have come back into vogue. Along the way, the book challenges the stereotypes of Southern drinking culture, including the ubiquity of bourbon and the geographic definition of the South itself, and reveals how that culture has shaped the South and America as a whole.
About the Author: ROBERT F. MOSS is a food and drinks writer and culinary historian living in Charleston, South Carolina. He is the Contributing Barbecue Editor for Southern Living and the Southern Food Correspondent for Serious Eats. He is a frequent contributor to the Charleston City Paper, and his work has also appeared in publications such as Garden & Gun, the Los Angeles Times, the Charlotte Observer, Texas Monthly, the Columbia Free Times, and Early American Life.

Robert is the author of The Barbecue Lover's Carolinas, a guide to the restaurants, recipes, and traditions of barbecue in North and South Carolina; Barbecue: The History of an American Institution, the first full length history of barbecue in the United States; and Going Lardcore: Adventures in New Southern Dining, a collection of essays about dining in the modern South.

A native of Greenville, South Carolina, Robert attended Furman University and received a Ph.D. in English from the University of South Carolina.