The Thinking Drinkers Almana

5

To give you a flavour of the book, I’ll start with a quote from the introduction. In fact, the very first few sentences of the introduction: ‘”Quick, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever” – Aristophanes, Ancient Greek Comic. Yes, that’s right. We’ve introduced this book with a quote from a Classical comedic clever clogs from Ancient Greece. Pretentious? Bien sur. But, apparently, it gives the book gravitas. Not that the book needs anymore gravitas. If anything it’s got too much gravitas – in fact, on page 11, there’s a whole page dedicated to Isaac Newton, the man who actually discovered the stuff – when an apple (which makes cider) bopped him on the head.’ So before we’ve got eight sentences into the book, we’ve got Ancient Greece, wine, Frenglish, gravity, a comedian, a scientist, cider, irony, sarcasm and Smart Alec. There are 271 pages to go. Quick background. McFarland and Sandham met while working on a pub newspaper 20 years ago. They were drinks writers long before they were drinks comedians. They’re catholic in their tastes: cocktails, beer, spirits, cider, wine – they cover it all. As glib and as flippant as they sound, between them they pack a substantial amount of knowledge and experience. Stating the obvious, this is an almanac. So there are 366 entries from 1 January to 31 December (including a leap-year 29 February, ‘thrown in for free’). The pair are quick to point out that they’re ‘acutely aware of the potential downfalls of drink … when mishandled and consumed in excess, it can cause all kinds of mischief, misery and mishaps. But when afforded a certain level of reverence and respect, when enjoyed in moderation, we passionately believe that drink is one of life’s truly great pleasures.’ They also reiterate that they don’t recommend we drink every day (despite recommending a drink every day!) – ‘that would be daft’. So that’s the HSE and the Temperance League appeased. Actually, the book is a load of fun!