Our August book selection for This Girl’s Book Club is Carla Harris Carlton’s new book, Barrel Strength Bourbon: The Explosive Growth of America’s Whiskey. This easy-to-read book is chock-full of gorgeous photos and loaded with well-researched insight to the rise of bourbon.
Carlton begins the book with a brief history of bourbon and the process behind making it. From there she leads the reader through the domestic and international rise of the spirit and analyzes how this liquid boom has drawn travelers from around the world to tour the homes, farms, and distilleries of early whiskey pioneers.
Threaded throughout the book are wonderful interviews with leaders, innovators, and experts in the industry, as well as insightful quotes and tips about drinking whiskey. Informative without the dryness of a textbook, Carlton keeps the reader engaged through her conversational tone and journalistic writing style.
We met Carlton back in 2012 when she featured our first book on her popular blog, The Bourbon Babe, and we’ve been fans ever since. Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, she’s got more than just her birthplace to justify her place amongst the authorities in the world of bourbon. According to her bio, “her grandmother worked the bottling line at Seagram’s in Louiseville in the late 1930s, and her grandfather grew his own mint for his yearly Derby Day julep.” To learn more about Carlton and her world of whiskey, you can follow her on Twitter @TheBourbonBabe.
We highly recommend this book for the bourbon aficionado or for anyone who loves a good drink! Available now on Amazon.com.
