The Dark History of Whisky

Mystery and true crime writer Dobbs (A Date with the Hangman) offers a delightful, comprehensive overview of the turbulent legacy of whiskey and whisky, starting with the scoop on that pesky e. (Only when made in Ireland and the U.S. does the name have an e.) After a pithy lesson in how the distillate is made, Dobbs dives into whiskey’s colorful folklore, which features a plethora of ghosts (among them a murderous cat), a legendary Scottish cannibal, and even the devil himself. Dobbs also tracks how whiskey’s troubled relationship with the taxman has led to major political and social shifts, starting in 17th-century Scotland and Ireland under English rule (where ingenious ways of avoiding the fiscal authorities included women hiding canteens under maternity clothes and bottles tucked inside dead fowl). Public resentment sometimes led to the tarring and feathering of officials, and occasionally to kidnapping and murder, while across the pond taxes on distilleries were among those that prompted the 1791 Whiskey Rebellion. Dobbs also traces the later upheavals that resulted from Prohibition, not least the rise of the American gangster. Along the way, he gives tasting lessons, provides surprising suggestions for mixers (coconut water and green tea), and makes a study of whiskey in music, film, and literature. It’s an entertaining and edifying look at the mayhem inspired by “the wonderful golden liquid.” (May)