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August’s Best Reads on Drinks and Drinking

This month in the PUNCHbowl: reviving Lebanon's wine culture, chronicling London's early-morning drinkers, revisiting the rum-running submarines of Prohibition and more.

Cocktail recipe

Despite the enormous contributions historically made by people of color to the food and drink landscape, “craft” still registers overwhelmingly as “white.” Lauren Michele Jackson considers this “lie by omission” to tell the stories of oft-overlooked distillers, pit masters and coffee roasters who’ve helped shape craft culture as we know it. [Eater]

Winemaking has been a constant in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley for millennia. However, since Lebanon became an independent state in 1943, cannabis and opium poppies—far more lucrative crops—have taken center stage. Anthony Elghossian reports on Heliopolis, a local wine cooperative, which is hoping to bring winemaking back to the region. [Roads & Kingdoms]

As drought threatens many of Italy’s vineyards, local vintners are divided over the potential impact of climate change; while some are welcoming the warmer weather, others worry over the rapidly changing conditions. Jason Horowitz on the shifting wine landscape in the face of drastic change. [The New York Times]

Historically, some of the most notable Golden Age bartenders have come from abroad, including both Harry Johnson and Henry Carl Ramos (the latter, the inventor of the Ramos Gin Fizz). Likewise, immigrants today continue to impact how and what we drink, offering both subtle and significant contributions to contemporary bar culture. [Imbibe]

Though not a bartender, David Embury contributed an influential mainstay of post-Prohibition drinking literature with his 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. Research into the man himself, however, has uncovered bigoted opinions on race. Wayne Curtis offers a personal account of coming to terms with Embury’s complicated legacy. [The Daily Beast]

In the U.K., the ritual of morning drinking was once closely tied to a culture of overnight industries from London’s meat markets to Edinburgh’s docks. Today, however, an early morning visit to any given pub will reveal a motley crew of patrons. Angus Harrison on the development and diversity of London’s morning drinkers. [Vice]

A few short years after the onset of Prohibition, Americans reported spotting rum-running submarines from Puget Sound to Cape Cod. Authorities, unable to verify the sightings, downplayed the rumors. Sarah Laskow revisits the claims in search of the truth. [Atlas Obscura]

In Eater, Sarah Miller laments the incessant barrage of all things rosé. [Eater]

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Tagged: longreads