Craft Spirit World by Emily Miles

Distillation is as close as mankind has come to alchemy: turning everything from the humble potato to run-of-the-mill corn into glorious liquor. But there's nothing like industrialisation to suck the soul out of a process % and, with their vast column stills and bulk-buy mentality, that is exactly what the spirit-industry behemoths have managed to do. Cue the micro-distiller – a new breed of artisan producer reigniting our love of spirits and making drinks of quality rather than quantity. Artisan spirits can not only taste better, but each microdistiller has a tale to tell about the ingredients or the dream that led them to lovingly coax each drop of spirit from still to bottle. And we all love a good story. In "Craft Spirit World", over 100 of the best examples on the market of gin, vodka, rum, whisky, bourbon, cognac and more are revealed, coming from producers dotted across the globe – from New Zealand and South Africa to Scotland, Italy, Canada and the United States. Each entry then covers the history behind the drink, where to get it and, most importantly, what it tastes like.