Alcohol and Drugs History Society

Welcome to the ADHS Daily Register

And to the online home of The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs: An Interdisciplinary Journal (SHAD). The site will be updated on a daily basis with news, publications, or resources of interest to members of our group. We encourage you to check back often. Keep reading to find out more about the site and how to contribute to it.

Brewing beer in Croydon for 350 years (article)

Herbert Shaw, "A Croydon Brewery," Brewery History 131 (2009): 2-18.  Operating under various names from 1586 (or earlier) to 1936.

Coffee from Distant Lands for McDonalds

Mcdonalds chose an obscure coffee roaster based in Texas called Distant Lands to make the fast-food chain a rival of Starbucks.  For more, see here.

Catholic temperance societies in Toronto in the 1870s (article)

This is an old but neglected article available as a PDF text on the Internet.

Brian P. Clarke, "'Heroic Virtue': The Catholic Temperance Crusade in Toronto during the 1870s," CCHA, Historical Studies 54 (1987): 57-67.  Irish Catholic women joined parish confraternities but not Irish Catholic men who made the tavern the center of their social life.  Priests hoped to break the grip of the tavern with a temperance crusade.

Low prices hurt Australian wine makers

Australian wine makers are suffering from over-production, low prices, and an image problem.  For too long, Australian wine has been identified with shiraz from South Australia which now has gone out of fashion.  For more, see here.

Scandinavian brewing history (articles)

Most of the British publication Brewery History, no. 121 (2009) consists of a special Scandinavian theme.

Siri Aanstad, "Introduction: the Scandinavian Brewing Industry" (26-28)

Siri Aanstad, "A Small, Global Adventure: Mapping Norwegian Beer Exports in the 19th Century" (29-50)

Martin Jes Iversen and Andrew Arnold, "Carlsberg: From Exporter to an Integrated Multinational Enterprise" (51-62)

Martin Jes Iversen, "Carlsberg and the Cartels" (63-67)

Peter Sandberg, "The Pressure of New Innovations on Transnational Cartels and Trade Organisations: The Tin Can and the Increased Competition between the Swedish and Danish Brewing Industries since the 1950s" (68-85)

Le sandwich versus French cafe (with wine and espresso)

The new French habit of eating a sandwich at lunch (sometimes at one's desk) is another blow at the French cafe and a slow-paced lunch there, complete with wine and espresso.  Compared with a half million cafes fifty years ago, France now has only 38,600.  For more, see here.

Chocolate history (book)

Sarah Moss and Alexander Badenoch, Chocolate: A Global History (Reaktion Books, 2009).

Temperance philanthropy (article)

H. Paul Thompson,  “The Temperance Philanthropy of Harvey B. Spelman and JDR:  The National Temperance Society and Publication House.” Research Reports from the Rockefeller Archive Center (Fall 2005): 11-14.            

New rum distillery in Newport, RI, once the rum capital of the world

A new rum distillery, named after a seventeenth-century Rhode Island pirate (Thomas Tew) has opened business in Newport, RI. In 1769 the Rhode Island city boasted 22 such rum distilleries.  For more, see here.

Kentucky's bourbon trail hopes to attract tourists as Napa valley wineries do

Kentucky hopes that its bourbon trail will attract tourists as successfully as do Napa valley wineries, the second leading tourist attracts (after Disneyworld) in California.  For more, see here.

Drug policy in the Americas, At Last a Debate

The Economist Magazine prints a view contrary to its own position. Here is the link.

A Misguided 'War on Drugs'

The New York Times publishes this opinion from a UN health specialist and a UN torture specialist based on facts from around the world. Here is the link.

'Predrinking' and Drunkenness

Alcohol control policy researchers are debating the relationship between these two topics in Addiction magazine, 104, Jan 2009. A link to the first two pages of commentary (following an article on 'pre-drinking' by S. Wells, K Graham, and J. Purcell) is here. The categorical accuracy/utility of the term 'predrinking' is called into question by R. Room and M. Livingston.

Greening the coffee capsule business

The New York Times reports the plans of Nespresso, maker of capsule-based espresso machines and drinks, to transform its business to become ecologically friendly or "green."  For more, see here.

Temperance and drink in Nebraska

Two articles by Patricia C. Gaster in Nebraska History: "A Fallen Victim to 'the Liquor Curse': The Life and Death [1912] of Samuel D. Cox" 89/2 (2008): 84-93; "Good Grammar and Sensational Style" 88/1-2 (2007): 28-41 [re Wm E. "Pussyfoot"Johnson, his temperance Daily Bumble Bee (published against the Omaha Bee), and the fight for prohibition in 1890.

Mexico's "magic mint" bittersweet hallucinogen

USA Today, 22 June 09, reports about the powerful hallucinogen salvia divinorum, known as magic mint.  In a district of Mexico south of the capital traditional Mazatec medicine men used magic mushrooms, salvia leaves, and psychedelic seeds of morning glories to diagnose illnesses.

Whiskey and wine (books)

Elizabeth Downer briefly reviews Kate Hopkins, 99 Drams of Whiskey:The Accidental Hedonist's Quest for a Perfect Shot and the History of the Drink (St. Martin's) and Vivienne Sosnowski, When the River Ran Red: An Angry Story of Courage and Triumph in America's Wine Country (Palgrave Macmillan). The latter book deals with northern California winemakers during National Prohibition.  For more, see here.

Liverpool public house (book)

 Alistair Mutch, The Liverpool pub: a cultural and business history (Liverpool: Bluecoat Press, 2008).

Cultural Encyclopedia of Alcohol (CFP)

Does your research focus on the culture of alcohol consumption and production in the United States? I am looking for contributors for a new project entitled The Cultural Encyclopedia of Alcohol. This is a reference work that will be published by ABC Clio. It is a popular culture look at alcohol in the United States in encyclopedia form. Entries range from 250-2000 words. This is an interdisciplinary project and contributors from fields such as history, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, media studies and gender studies are welcome. There is a small honorarium for contributors and copies of the work are available to those who make major contributions. If you would like to get involved in this project, please send your CV and a writing sample to Rachel Black (reblack[at]gmail.com). I would be happy to send you a list of available entries and more details about this project.

Rachel Black  Universita' di Scienze Gastronomiche  piazza Vittorio Emanuele, 9  Fraz. Pollenzo  12060 Bra (CN)  Italy  tel. (1) 415-272-2474 Email: r.black@unisg.it Visit the website at http://www.nutritionalanthro.org/community/showthread.php?t=53

Drink Talking (book)

Drink Talking : 100 Years of Alcohol Advertising. by Penny Dade, (Series: Library of historic advertising) [London]: Middlesex University Press, 2008. 160p. Here's the link to the publisher's webpage for the book.

Sport, Beer, and Gender (book)

Sport, Beer, and Gender: Promotional Culture and Contemporary Social Life. Wenner , Lawrence A. and Steven J. Jackson, eds. (Series: Popular culture and everyday life v. 17) New York: Peter Lang, 2009, 317 p. Here's the link to the publishers webpage for the book.

Alcohol as a health enhancer

The New York Times reports on the unresolved hundreds-of-years-old debate here.

Cultural history of the recovery movement (book)

Trysh Travis, The Language of the Heart: a Cultural History of the Recovery Movement from Alcoholics Anonymous to Oprah Winfrey (University of North Carolina Press, forthcoming 2009).

Program for 5th International Conference on the History of Alcohol and Drugs

Below the fold is the program for the 5th International Conference on the History of Alcohol and Drugs: The Pathways to Prohibition, June 26-28, 2009, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland.  Thanks to Dan Malleck, secretary-treasurer of the Alcohol & Drugs History Society and editor of the Social History of Alcohol & Drugs, for this material.

Proposed licensing Act, 1908, for England and Wales (article)

Luci Gosling, "Trouble Brewing: the background to the much-contested Licensing Act, 1908," History Today 58/3 (2008): 21-23. Should be licensing bill as House of Lords rejected it.

Rise and fall olf public house closing hours in Britain (article)

John Robert Greenaway, "Calling ‘Time' on Last Orders: the Rise and Fall of Public House Closing Hours in Britain," Revue française de civilisation britannique 14/2 (2007): 181-96.

Alistair Mutch replies to David Gutzke re the English public house (article)

Alistair Mutch, "Theories and Evidence: A Response to David Gutzke, 'Progressivism and the History of the Public House, 1850-1950'," Cultural and Social History--The Journal of the Social History Society 5/2(2008): 219-26.

Mutch, the author of several articles about the English public house, had been criticized by Gutzke in his book and elsewhere.

Battle of the instant coffee sticks (and instant coffee gets better)

The Chicago Tribune arranged for a blind taste test: brewed coffee vs Starbucks VIA Ready Brew sticks vs Nescafe Taster Choice instant coffee sticks.  Although the brewed coffee finished first, the instant coffee sticks did surprising well, probably the most important result in the taste test.  Starbucks finished a close second to the brewed coffee, and a minority preferred Nescafe over Starbucks as less bitter.  For more, see here.

Weed, booze, cocaine and other old school "medicine" ads

Intriguing assemblage of old illustrated advertisements on the blog "Pill Talk," June 9, 2009, here.

Georgia's local option law of 1885 (article)

Michael A. Wagner, "'As Gold is Tried in the Fire, so Hearts Must be Tried by Pain': The Temperance Movement in Georgia and the Local Option Law of 1885," Georgia Historical Quarterly 93/1 (2009): 30-54.

Black women, prohibition, and the election of 1928 (article)

 Lisa G. Materson, "African American Women, Prohibition, and the 1928 Presidential Election," Journal of Women's History 21/1 (2009): 63-86.

Reviving the rock-and-rye "medicinal" cocktail

According to the Wall Street Journal, a few enthusiasts for old drinks are experimenting with new recipes for the rock-and-rye cocktail once regarded as a medicinal cure-all.  The old recipe combined rye whiskey with hard candy and a few herbs and bits of fruit.  For more, see here.

History of wine words (book)

Charles Hodgson, History of Wine Words: An Intoxicating Dictionary of Etymology and Word Histories from the Vineyard, Glass, and Bottle (Ottawa: P2Peak Press, 2009).

Welsh temperance reformer, Thomas Thomas of Pontypool (book)

Arthur J. Edwards, Thomas Thomas of Pontypool--Radical Puritan (Apecs Press, 2009).

Kessinger Publishing (temperance reprints)

The reprint house, Kessinger Publishing, offers many minor classics in temperance history, as for instance, James S. Balmen, A Biographical Sketch of John Clegg Booth, Late Temperance Advocate, York (1874).

Andean cocaine (book)

Paul Gootenberg, Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global Drug (University of North Carolina Press, 2009).

Chocolate in world history (book)

Sarah Moss, Chocolate: A Global History (Reakton Books, 2009). Commodity history of the popular candy and cooking ingredient and forgotten caffeinated beverage.

Tobacco in Russian history and culture (book)

Matthew Romaniello and others, Tobacco in Russian History and Culture (Routledge, 2009).

Old Boston taverns and tavern clubs (book)

Samuel Adams Drake, Old Boston Taverns and Tavern Clubs (BiblioBazaar, 2009).

Perhaps 600 medical marijuana shops in Los Angeles today

Four years ago there were only four medical marijuana shops in Los Angeles, but today--despite a supposed moratorium on new pot shops--the estimated number is about 600. Sometimes two or three cluster on the same block, even near schools. The marijuana shops are easily recognized by a saw-tooted cannabis leaf on the front of the building.  For more, see the Los Angeles Times article here.

Upscale craft beers as the "new wine"

The Washington Times reports on upscale craft beers, often high in alcoholic content, that aspire to be America's "new wine."  Now comprising only four per cent of the national beer market, the craft beer brewers hope that in five years their beers will constitute seven or even 7.5 per cent of the market.  For more, see here.

Speakeasy nostalgia in big cities

The New York Times reports on the nostalgia for prohibition-era speakeasies that has produced imitation speakeasies in major cities, especially in New York City.  From the outside, it is hard to know that these legal drinking places are bars that sell alcoholic drinks.  Mixed into the story are bits of history about the real speakeasies and the drinks that they served, often horrid and sometimes deadly.  For more, see here.

Electronic cigarettes: nicotine without smoke or regulation

The New York Times reports on the the new version of cigarettes that provide nicotine without smoke or government regulation.  For more, see here.

Australia increases state power over violence in drinking places

Here's the link to the article in the Sydney Morning Herald, and here's the link to the inhemix.com.au article.

7 New Emerging Wine Regions

Global warming is partly responsible for emerging grape growing regions according to an article by Simon Majumdar at AskMen.com - here is the link.

The Credit freeze traps 130,000 cases of North Coast wine

New Vine Logistics, a wine storage and shipping business, ran out of cash, ceased operations, and isn't returning phone calls.  Here is the link to the story.

Obama's Supreme Court Nominee ruled against Out-of-State Wine Shippers and got overturned

Click here for the article on Tom Wark's Fermentation, The Daily Wine Blog.

Wine, beer, and other alcoholic beverages (book)

Patrick E. McGovern, Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages (University of California Press, forthcoming 2009).  By an anthropologist who is an authority on ancient alcoholic drinks.

Guinness beer (book)

Stephen Mansfield, The Quest for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World (Thomas Nelson, forthcoming 2009).  

More opium conference papers

World History Association conference, Salem, Massachusetts, June 25-28, 2009.

A. Uner Turgay (McGill University), American Trade in Turkish Opium in the 19th Century

John Wills (Southern California University), The First Inhalers: A World-Historical Question

Paul Winther (Eastern Kentucky University), The Missionaries are Right, the Missionaries are Wrong: Missions and Opium in China, 1756-1917.