'If you have any interest in drink or history or in drink in history then this is unmissable' Tom Holland of The Rest Is History

Award-winning drinks writer Henry Jeffreys offers up this rich and full-bodied history of Britain and its Empire, told through the improbable but true stories of how the world’s favourite alcoholic drinks came to be.

Empire of Booze traces the impact of alcohol on British culture and society, from madeira and India Pale Ale being created to withstand long, hot journeys to tropical territories to why whisky became the favoured choice for weary empire builders longing for home.

Filled to the brim with fascinating trivia, this colourful history underlines that Britain’s alcoholic innovations are some of its greatest, most lasting gifts to the world

'Jeffreys clearly knows his booze' Guardian

'Entertaining' Sathnam Sanghera

'An ambitious undertaking, but Jeffreys achieves it with a sharp eye and an understated humorous touch' Daily Mail