A list of essential books recommended by ADI president and founder Bill Owens:
Bitterman’s Field Guide to Bitters and Amari: 500 Bitters; 50 Amari; 123 Recipes for Cocktails, Food & Homemade Bitters by Mark Bitterman.
Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2015. ISBN 1449470696.
Bitters and amari are the future.
The Craft Maltsters’ Handbook by Dave Thomas.
White Mule Press, 2014. ISBN 0991043626.
One of the smartest maltsters out there puts down in words what years of experience has taught him.
The Distiller’s Guide to Rum by Ian Smiley, Eric Watson and Michael Delevante.
White Mule Press, 2014. ISBN 099104360.
The top-selling book by White Mule Press by the best consultants in rum.
Fire Water: Experimental Smoked Malts and Whiskeys by Darek Bell.
Corsair Artisan Distillery, 2014. ISBN 0983350019.
Expand your mind.
The Kings County Distillery Guide to Urban Moonshining by Colin Spoelman and David Haskell.
Harry N. Abrams, 2013. ISBN 1419709909.
Yes, there was distilling going on all over this great land 100 years ago, not just in Kentucky.
And it is coming back.
The Maturation of Distilled Spirits: Vision & Patience by Hubert Germain-Robin.
White Mule Press, 2016. ISBN 0996827706.
A sixth-generation Cognac distiller reveals the cellar masters’ techniques of nurturing flavor in the barrel. A must-read.
Oak: The Frame of Civilization by William Bryant Logan.
W. W. Norton & Co., 2006. ISBN 0393327787.
How oak advanced modern civilization and was discovered as the perfect material for aging distilled spirits.
Proof: The Science of Booze by Adam Rogers.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. ISBN 0547897960.
Everything you thought you knew about beverage alcohol is wrong. Adam has the proof.
Water: A Comprehensive Guide for Brewers (Brewing Elements Series) by John J. Palmer and Colin Kaminski.
Brewers Publications, 2013. ISBN 0937381993.
Good distillation begins with good fermentation, and water is crucial to fermentation.
Whisky: Technology, Production and Marketing, edited by Inge Russell and Graham Stewart.
Academic Press, 2014. ISBN 0124017355.
If you took a college course in distilling whiskey, this would be the textbook.
