Pub
crawl your way through the sacred seasons with this entertaining and
useful collection of cocktail recipes, distilled spirits, beer, and
wine for virtually every occasion on the Catholic liturgical
calendar. One part bartender's guide, one part spiritual manual, a
dash of irreverence, and mixed with love: Drinking
with the Saints
is
a work that both sinner and saint will savor.
You
may think you're savy on saintly drinking, but did you know:
Beer
may have been invented by the ancient Egyptians, but it was perfected
in medieval monasteries?
The
méthode champenoise was invented by a Benedictine monk whose
name now adorns one of the world’s finest champagnes: Dom Pérignon.
According to the story, when he sampled his first batch, Pérignon
cried out to his fellow monks: “Brothers, come quickly. I am
drinking stars!”
Whiskey
was invented by Irish monks, who probably shared their knowledge with
the Scots during their missions. Whiskey was first prescribed
medicinally as a cure for “paralysis of tongue,” and apparently
it works: no Irishman since has ever been accused of having a
paralyzed tongue.
Chartreuse,
the world’s most magical liqueur, was perfected by Carthusian monks
and is still made by them. Only two monks at a time know the recipe.
The
California wine industry began when Blessed Junípero Serra and his
Franciscan brethren brought the first wine grapes to the region. And
its rebirth in Napa County after Prohibition was thanks in large part
to a chemistry teacher and LaSalle Christian Brother named Brother
Timothy.
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