A Good Drink: In Pursuit of Sustainable Spirits

Responsible drinking takes on new meaning in this insightful tour de force from journalist Farrell (Bay Area Cocktails). A former bartender from San Francisco, Farrell combines her knowledge of cocktail culture with an expertise in oral history to survey the intersection of hard liquor and environmental well-being. As she travels across the country and into Mexico—eventually migrating to Zoom when Covid-19 strikes—she profiles small-batch distilleries; provides unvarnished histories of various spirits; and chronicles the financial ruin of several bars in the face of the pandemic. Sustainability, social consciousness, and all-natural ingredients are common themes throughout. In the opening section, Farrell focuses on bourbon, tracing its roots in slave labor and profiling a South Carolina distillery that eschews the ubiquitous yellow dent corn in favor of a red heirloom variety. Then she’s off to Guadalajara to study the complex regulations that affect the distilling and exporting of mezcal and tequila. A chapter on gin and vodka spotlights Denver’s spirits distillery Leopold Bros., “who treat drinking as an agricultural act” by supporting local farmers and using solar power to reduce waste, while another chapter pivots to matters of scale, measuring the financial and environmental risks that come with competing against the international conglomerates that “rule the industry.” Farrell’s writing is as informative as it is intoxicating. (Sept.)