“When the Black Death spread across Europe, from 1347 to 1350, physicians didn’t really have anything to make people feel better besides aqua vitae. So they used them. The French translated aqua vita into eau de vie, and the Dutch… — Adam Rogers Copy Share
“Alexandria was "the single place on earth where all the knowledge in the entire world was gathered together -- every great play and poem,… — Adam Rogers Copy Share Image
“The bar, though, was cool and dry—not just air-conditioner cool, but cool like they were piping in an evening from late autumn. The sun… — Adam Rogers Copy Share Image
“It happens thousands of times a day around the world, maybe millions, yet it is the culmination of human achievement, of human science and apprehension of the natural and technical world. Some archaeologists and anthropologists have argued that the production of beer induced human beings to settle down and develop permanent agriculture -- to literally put down roots and cultivate… — Adam Rogers Copy Share
“the distilled spirits business is dominated by giant producers who run immensely productive facilities that produce complex, expensive chemical admixtures year after year. That’s… — Adam Rogers Copy Share Image
There's something about when humanity goes from hoping they get lucky in finding something fermented to doing it on purpose. They don't understand what… — Adam Rogers Copy Share Image
“North and Central America have thirty species of Vitis; China has another thirty. But Eurasia has only V. vinifera. And Eurasia is where wine was born. From Chardonnay to Pinot Noir, Syrah to Viognier, all wine—no matter what the label says, what color it is, or where it comes from—is made from the same species of grape, probably originating somewhere… — Adam Rogers Copy Share
I suspect states are going to realize there's money to be made, and they'll start to change laws so people can distil to sell.… — Adam Rogers Copy Share Image
“When the Black Death spread across Europe, from 1347 to 1350, physicians didn’t really have anything to make people feel better besides aqua vitae. So they used them. The French translated aqua vita into eau de vie, and the Dutch called it “burnt wine,” or brandewijn. Exported to England, that got corrupted to “brandy-wine,” and eventually just “brandy.” The Scots… — Adam Rogers Copy Share
Typically we don't think of cities as being particularly extreme environments, but few places on earth get as hot as a rooftop or as… — Adam Rogers Copy Share Image
“These guys weren't just shmucks off the street. They had a reputation for being right about stuff. According to some histories, Berzelius is the scientist who first called molecules that contained only carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen "organic," because they're found in living things -- thus inventing "organic chemistry," the college course that destroys the hopes of so many kids… — Adam Rogers Copy Share
From the early days of the telegraph, to be a telegrapher was a job, and there weren't many of those folks. They could recognize each other's style by their dots and dashes. They called that the "fist." St. George, they have a fist. You taste something from St. George, even across categories - the gin, the whisky - it tastes… — Adam Rogers Copy Share
