Name: Virginia Distilled
Brand: Patrick Evans-Hylton
SKU: 9781467144285
Price: 23.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Virginia Distilled

9781467144285

$23.99

Raise a glass to Virginia, birthplace of American spirits, and its long history of distilling and imbibing.

Colonist George Thorpe first crafted “corn beere,” an ancestor to bourbon, in 1620 at Berkeley Plantation, and George Washington once operated one of the nation’s largest distilleries. Icy mint juleps were first served in Virginia until the state was one of the first to enact Prohibition. That dark period gave rise to bootlegging, moonshining, and even NASCAR.

Through well documented research, interviews with key stakeholders, and plenty of cocktail recipes for the reader to shake and stir at home, author Patrick Evans-Hylton showcases the rich history of 400 years of drinking in the Commonwealth.

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Wisconsin Tobacco Farming

9781467158985

$24.99

“The great concerns of the southern states have made their products so well known that few people realized that tobacco can be grown elsewhere than Virginia and Cuba.” – Clarence Olson, Edgerton Reporter, 1953

Widely known as America’s Dairyland, Wisconsin also has a long, fertile history with tobacco. For centuries, Indigenous tribes cultivated it for spiritual, medicinal, and ceremonial purposes. First introduced commercially in Dane and Rock Counties, and later Vernon County, the crop earned a reputation among generations of local farmers as the "mortgage lifter.” Specializing in the broadleaf tobacco used to bind cigars, local farms became major producers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries—a lifeline for newly arrived Norwegian immigrants. Ultimately, the state’s golden age of tobacco spawned the creation of the country’s first cooperative tobacco marketing association.

Author and Wisconsin historian Gail Klein surveys the Badger State’s historic tobacco regions and the agricultural commodity’s lasting impact.

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Oxnard Sugar Beets

9781467136792

$21.99

In the early 1890s, farmers Albert Maulhardt and John Edward Borchard discovered Ventura County's favorable conditions for a highly profitable new cash crop: the sugar beet. Not long after inviting sugar mogul Henry T. Oxnard to the area, construction began on a $2 million sugar factory capable of processing two thousand tons of beets daily. The facility brought jobs, wealth and the Southern Pacific rail line. It became one of the country's largest producers of sugar, and just like that, a town was born. Despite the industry's demise, the city of Oxnard still owes its name to the man who delivered prosperity. A fifth-generation descendant, local author and historian Jeffrey Wayne Maulhardt details the rise and fall of a powerful enterprise and the entrepreneurial laborers who helped create a city.

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Ontario Garlic

9781626199200

$21.99

The taste of Ontario garlic is as rich and varied as its history. Used mainly for medicinal purposes in the nineteenth century, people turned up their noses at the aromatic bulb as it became associated with new immigrants. The once acceptable ingredient became undesirable in church and school—kids who smelled of garlic were sent home. Pioneering chefs, farmers and a wave of cultural diversity have brought the zesty allium into the mainstream, making it a gourmand's go-to spice, celebrated at nine festivals across the province. Toronto Garlic Festival founder Peter McClusky serves up garlic's long journey from central Asia to its now-revered place in the hearts and dishes of Ontarians. Growing tips and forty recipes bring Ontario garlic from farm to festival to feast.

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Cotton

9780738517810

$24.99

In the barbeque joints and plate lunch cafes off Memphis's Front Street, one is easily reminded of the days when cotton was king, of a society of characters and cads; the big time and the small time; the rich and the richer; the hangers-on, anointed, powerful, and busted. Cotton created empires in agriculture, transportation, banking, and warehousing. It also shackled the dreams and lives of those born into slavery and sharecropping. Although many of the day-to-day dealings have moved to manicured office parks and high-rise buildings, cotton's influence still remains at the core of the Southern economy and Southern society. Cotton propelled technological advances that have changed the face and soul of the South. It was the wellspring that gave birth to modern music. Cotton triggered the migrations of millions of blacks and poor whites, shaping the culture of Northern cities. Its allure has called out to writers, artists, and photographers from around the world, attracted by the tragedy, irony, and power of cotton's story. In this book of vivid images and intriguing text, Memphis historian and author William Bearden presents the captivating history of cotton's profound influence on American society.

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Virginia Honey

9781467146890

$21.99

Honeybees have been a part of Virginia's history since they arrived with the first European colonists.

They were Jamestown's valuable addition, a Civil War soldier's sweet if painful temptation, and served as home front heroes when the world wars caused sugar shortages. In recent years mead has seen a resurgence along with beekeeping, and has claimed a place as a craft beverage in the Old Dominion.

Join author Virginia Johnson to hunt escaped swarms flying wild in the forests, visit modern-day observation hives and follow the mead path across the Commonwealth for a taste of history.

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Cleveland County Agriculture

9781467115353

$24.99

Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in southwestern North Carolina, Cleveland County has long been cultivated. Before the Civil War, self-reliant farms grew and raised a diverse array of vegetables, field crops, and livestock. These small farms relied on family labor, draft animals, waterwheels, and ingenuity. Eventually, the county became a leader in production of cotton and dairy products; tractors, combines, and hay balers became farm mainstays. Cleveland County Agriculture showcases the triumphs and trials of farmers--farmers who endured the Great Depression, the arrival of the boll weevil, and the everyday challenges of farm life.

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Nevada County Wine

9781467139540

$21.99

Nevada County’s tumultuous wine history includes several booms and busts, starting in the 1850s when gold prospectors brought the first grapevines in their saddlebags. Economic downturns, prohibition and war all tried to kill the fledgling wine industry, but it hung on thanks to gentleman farmers and members of the mining industry who supplied a thirsty clientele. Today, although the mines have gone quiet, wineries are thriving in the hills of the Gold Country, and the pioneering spirit lives on in their distinctive vintages and growing techniques. Join author Mary Anne Davis as she explores the family vineyards of the California foothills.

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A Culinary History of Pittsburg County

9781626191624

$21.99

Long before the era of the foodie, the little coal-mining town of Krebs set the standard for celebrating food in Oklahoma. Its reputation as the Sooner State's Little Italy began in the mid-1870s when Italian immigrants chased the coal boom to Pittsburg County, deep in the heart of the Choctaw Nation. After 150 years, Italians and Choctaw neighbors are now bound by pasta, homemade cheeses and sausages and native beer once brewed illegally in basement bathtubs and delivered by children from door to door. Stop by for a steak at GiaComo's, a Choc at Pete's Place, lamb fries at the Isle of Capri, gnocchi at Roseanna's or a gourd of caciocavallo at Lovera's--venues that have proven impervious to time and hardship. Join Food Dude Dave Cathey on a tour through this colorful and delicious history.

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A History of Honey in Georgia and the Carolinas

9781626198289

$21.99

In the late 1800s, Georgia and the Carolinas produced millions of pounds of honey and created a lasting legacy within the industry. The uses for the sweet nectar go well beyond flavor. Bee pollination extensively benefits agricultural crops in the area. Elements from the beehive are commonly used in popular cosmetics, medicines and mead. Beekeepers also face serious challenges like Colony Collapse Disorder. Join author and beekeeper April Aldrich as she traces the delectable history of honey and beekeeping throughout the region, from ancient apiaries to modern meaderies and beyond.