Proof: The Science of Booze

This is my kind of journalism. Long-form, informative in its depth, accessible in its delivery, and speckled with the right amount of personality. In this case, Rogers mixed irreverence and respect with a twist if passion...dry...two olives.

In the acknowledgements Adam Rogers admits that;
“The word “actually” is why people don't have drinks with me anymore. ...Every time I was in a bar ...someone would start talking about the drink in his or her hand ...and I would start a sentence with “Actually-“ And that was it. I'd disgorge a head full of booze data and turned into the snottiest of snotty bar know-it-alls.”

It is this love for the subject that shines through. As an editor for Wired, the book grew from a feature story called “The Angels' Share” which won an award for science journalism in 2011. Here Adam examines more than just the science of yeast and dives into barrel aging, fermentation, aging, smell, taste and hangovers. Actually, “23 percent of people do not get hangovers (the scientific term for them is “jerks”) He's a likeable guide through the world of booze and takes us down some interesting nooks and crannies.

Proof bounces around a bit and some of the chapters toward the end weren't exactly in keeping with earlier chapters, but overall I liked it. It handled the science well, walking a fine line between solid information and being overly intellectual.