London Dry - Bruning, Ted

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Résumé :
Few drinks have been more vilified than gin. From its birth in 17th-century Holland to the class-conscious London suburbs of the 1950s gin has been condemned by evangelists and snobs alike, attracting an opprobrium that springs more from the ignorance and prejudice of its detractors than from any quality inherent either in the liquor or in its drinkers. As artisan gin has become more and more popular in the past decade, more and more writers have found something to say about it; and it is a source of great frustration to find that every single historian of the subject (with the glaring exception of Professor Peter Clarke) has turned out to be a lazy retailer of unsupported propaganda. Clarke's unsparing curiosity in The Mother Gin Controversy in the Early 18th Century (Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 1988) inspired the author to look afresh for similar shortcomings in other aspects of gin's history. He found plenty!

Biographie:
Ted Bruning was born in Wolverhampton in 1957 and acquired a taste for antiquities from his father, an architect manqu?, and his mother, an inveterate romantic. After training and experience in local news reporting, his antiquarian leanings were given structure and purpose by a medieval history degree at University College, London. In 1986 chance and opportunity led him to the hospitality industry and bar trade press: he was news editor of the Morning Advertiser, the licensees' newspaper, and then editor of What's Brewing, the Campaign for Real Ale membership newspaper. Here he was able to combine his knowledge of the pub trade and love of history with books including Historic Pubs of London (1998), Historic Inns of England (2000), and London by Pub (2001). More recent works have been trade manuals including the best-sellers The Microbrewers' Handbook (2007, now in its 7th edition), The Craft Distillers' Handbook (2015; 2nd edition 2017; 3rd edition forthcoming), and the Bar Owners' Handbook (2019). Histories have included Golden Fire: The Story of Cider (2012) and Merrie England: The Medieval Roots of the Great British Pub (2014). He has also published a volume of poetry, Phantastic Songs from the World Next Door, and is currently planning a change of direction with Arthur: The Last Roman.