A fascinating read over a wide range of topics. There's the history of brewing, holy wells, wassailing and voodoo. A great gift for a whisky lover.
In Holy Waters, Tom Morton investigates the connections between various drinks and religion. Spirits and spirituality are closer linked than we might think, although he does turn his attention to some less and even non-alcoholic beverages occasionally.
He travels the world, taking in places as diverse as India, Mexico, Germany and Martinique, and an equally wide ranging variety of drinks such as sake, rum and mead. As is befitting of a Scottish author however, there is a heavy bias towards Scotland and whisky.
It's a fascinating read over a wide range of topics. There's the history of brewing, holy wells, wassailing and voodoo. Each chapter is accompanied by a set of tasting notes for some drinks related to the subjects covered.
This book would make a great Christmas present for a whisky lover - especially if it came wrapped with a bottle.
A wonderful book for anyone who wants to know what to stock up their bar with, but to also learn some great stories, sit back, relax and take a sip.
Tom Morton's Holy Waters is a wonderful book for anyone who wants to know what to stock up their bar with, but also for a book to add to the shelf for you to sit back, relax and take a sip.
Touring far and wide we travel along with Tom trying out different spirits, and learning a little more about the depth and history of the drink. These are accompanied by easy-to-understand tasting notes, and recommendations for bottles which will give you quality but without breaking the bank (Mostly!). Fans of the Long Way Round or Billy Connoly's adventures will find a lot of similarities here in the presentation of information with a deal of humour and respect for the subjects at hand.
The main thread of the book is alcohol's link to various religions over time - from the author's experience with holy communion and the sweet red wine, to further afield like the links between Rum and Voodoo.
I really enjoyed Tom's writing style and stories, it gives you something to keep coming back to, nuggets of information to throw out with friends and generally provides an enhanced experience for what you are drinking.
Whether you are looking to read this book for yourself, or someone you know - I think this sets up a great read, and a great gift if it's going along with some of the suggested material.
Alcohol, Spirituality, History, Travel
Tom Morton’s book is hard to categorize. It’s autobiography, science, social and cultural history, travelogue, comparative religion, and a tasting guide to a wide range of drinks, not all of them alcoholic. Each chapter looks at a different stage of the author’s global journey to investigate the links between alcohol and spirituality, and is accompanied by tasting notes for the drinks consumed along the way.
He writes with an obvious sense of humour and a deep interest in the places, people, and drinks he visits. The huge amount of research done is worn lightly and gives a real insight into history and the human condition. It’s a book dense with information but which is easily accessible and rewards close attention.
To use an apt metaphor, it’s a book for sipping, not gulping. Each chapter can stand alone, complete in itself and can be accompanied by the drinks listed. The text ties together the drinks and their wider significance, whether that’s historical, psychological or in religious terms. There’s lots of food (drink?) for thought here.
I’d recommend Holy Waters to a wide audience of those interested in any or all of the subjects covered. It would make a great gift, accompanied by a bottle or two of the hard stuff mentioned.
An interesting and occasionally fascinating book about the history of various beverages and how they came to be linked with faiths from across the world.
This is an interesting little book that links alcohol and religion, or faith, together. This book covers a history of alcohol and brewing across various countries and how some of these brews came to be linked with the various religions and faiths. The book is filled with interesting facts and information - I particularly enjoyed the information about witches!!
Each chapter comes with some suggested beverages and ends with some tasting notes for the suggested drinks. Even as a non-drinker, I found the book interesting and, on occasions, fascinating but I am sure that people of more faith or with a greater appreciation of the beverages covered would get more out of it than I did.