Speaker: Henry Jeffreys
Topic: Empire of Booze: An Alcoholic History of British Imperialism
Venue: Vinson Lecture Theatre
Time: 14:00-15:00 Saturday 14 September
Talk Summary:
Britain has had a long, sometimes troubled, relationship with alcohol, but it can also lay claim to being the most inventive and creative nation of all when it comes to the arts of libation. Much of that is down to Britain’s global reach, which reached its peak in the first half of the 20th century. Discover how we owe the champagne that is drunk today to 17th-century methods for making sparkling cider; how madeira and India Pale Ale became legendary for their ability to withstand the long, hot, often stormy journeys to Britain’s burgeoning overseas territories; why whisky became the familiar choice for weary empire-builders who longed for home; and the long, if sometimes contested, role that the great wines of France have played across the Channel.
Henry Jeffreys worked in the wine trade and publishing before becoming a full-time writer. He runs the Substack site Drinking Culture, and won the Fortnum & Mason Drink Writer of the Year 2022/23. He is the author of three books: Empire of Booze, The Home Bar, and The Cocktail Dictionary. His latest book is Vines in a Cold Climate (Unbound), which looks at the history of English Wine, examines its current condition and its future potential.