"For a long time, university scholars have snubbed their nose at the true history of the world, ignoring the role drinking has played into our decision-making to form empires. Whether it was a temperance decision or past historians thought man was better than to be influenced, history books tend to forget George Washington was a distiller, among other whiskey-soaked facts. In American History Through a Whiskey Glass: How Distilled Spirits, Domestic Cuisine, and Popular Music Helped Shape a Nation , Harris Cooper shows all those pretentious scholars they may want to grab a whiskey and start reading the true history." --Fred Minnick , author of Bourbon: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of an American Whiskey "In this lively whiskey history book, Harris Cooper proves an engaging host at a series of whiskey and period-based dinner parties, presented with recipes, playlist suggestions, and an appropriate sipper. This book alternates tales of some of American whiskey's greatest characters with tasting notes and technical notes on a number of different whiskies, each paired with a characteristic era - you could read this book neat, but why not mix it up with some friends, music and food?" --Becky Harris , president, American Craft Spirits Association; founder and chief distiller, Catoctin Creek Distillery "Harris Cooper has written an enjoyable, humorous book that mashes together history, food, music and, of course, the best of American spirits." --Clay Risen , author of The Crowded Hour and American Whiskey, Bourbon & Rye " American History Through a Whiskey Glass is a frenetic hash of political ephemera, culinary exploration, pop music, and whiskey history all told with animated verve by Professor Cooper. Grab a glass and a full bottle and settle in for some odd connections, trivial pursuits, and spirited fragments that add up to our national sense-memory. Whiskey-fueled, determined, and definitely not the history you learned in school.

" --Colin Spoelman , cofounder and master distiller, Kings County Distillery.