Drinking Boston: A History of the City and Its Spirits

From the revolutionary camaraderie of the Colonial taverns to the saloons of the turn of the century; from Prohibitiona period rife with class politics, social reform, and opportunismto a trail of nightclub neon so vast, it was called the Conga Belt, Drinking Boston is a tribute to the fascinating role alcohol has played throughout the citys history. Teasing out this curious relationshipin particular, the clash between a constrained Puritanism (lingering like a hangover today) and a raucous revolutionary spiritDrinking Boston introduces the cast of characters who championed or vilified drinking and the places where they imbibedlegally and otherwise. Visiting some of Bostons most storied neighborhood bars, this pub crawl ends with Bostons distinct recipe for the current cocktail renaissance sweeping the nation. Stephanie Schorow serves up a remarkable cocktail representative of Bostons intoxicating story: its spirit of invention, its hardscrabble politics, its mythology, and the citys never-ending battle between personal freedom and civic reform.