Alcoholica Esoterica presents the history and culture of booze as told by a writer with a knack for distilling all the boring bits into the most interesting facts and hilarious tales. It's almost like pulling up a stool next to the smartest and funniest guy in the bar. Divided into chapters covering the basic booze groups--including beer, wine, Champagne, whiskey, rum, gin, vodka, and tequila--Alcoholica Esoterica charts the origin and rise of each alcohol's particular charms and influence. Other sections chronicle "Great Moments in Hic-story," "Great Country Drinking Songs," "10 Odd Laws," and "Mt. Lushmore, Parts I-V." Additionally, famous quotes on the joys and sorrows of liquor offer useful shots of advice and intoxicating whimsy.Did you know...that the word bar is short for barrier? Yes, that's right--to keep the customers from getting at all the booze.that Winston Churchill's mother supposedly invented the Manhattan?that the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock because the sailors on the Mayflower were running low on beer and were tired of sharing?that you have a higher chance of being killed by a flying Champagne cork than by a poisonous spider?that the Code of Hammurabi mandated that brewers of low-quality beer be drowned in it?that beer was so popular with medieval priests and monks that in the thirteenth century they stopped baptizing babies with holy water and started using beer?

    Beachbum Berry's Taboo Table is a cookbook done in a style similar to the author's two drink recipe books, Beachbum Berry's Grog Log and Beachbum Berry's Intoxica!. Taboo Table features famous "lost" and exotic recipes (most ironically created in the USA) for appetizers, entrees and desserts. There is also a fascinating and informative history of tiki cuisine from the first Polynesian settlers to the last remaining Polynesian restaurants. Vintage menu art as well as new, tiki-inspired artwork dot every page, making Taboo Table a must-have for people looking for a nostalgic trip into a lost part of exotica. "Beachbum Berry's Taboo Table: Tiki Cuisine From Polynesian Restaurants Of Yore is a unique collection of South Sea-themed vintage recipes that is enhanced with an informed and informative history of tiki cuisine from the first Polynesian setters to the last remaining Polynesian restaurants. "From Crab Rangoon; Shrimp Luau; Chicken of the Gods; and Javanese Lamb Sate; to Shellfish Polynesian; Pitcairn Salad; Mai Tai Pie; and Molokai Mule, this compendium of dishes and drinks is a welcome and recommended, spiral bound and celebratory addition to any multi-cultural kitchen cookbook collection." -- Midwest Book Review