Karyl's Reviews > The Year of Drinking Adventurously: 52 Ways to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

I've always been fascinated by spirits. My parents weren't very adventurous drinkers -- my mom has a glass of sweet wine with dinner and my dad will have a beer on Saturday night, but every so often they'd break out the Galliano and have Golden Cadillacs (a drink I just realized I've never tried). For myself, I didn't really start drinking until my mid-20s; my core group of friends looked down on the people getting shit-faced at frat parties, and to be honest, none of us liked beer anyhow.

But then I met Jeff Cioletti and his wife Craige, and all of a sudden, there was all this beer that sounded amazing and delicious! It didn't hurt that the craft beer scene was really starting to take off, so I had lots to choose from.

Since I've been back in Rhode Island this last year, I've also noticed the explosion of craft spirits. Watching "The Booze Traveler" on the Travel Channel has also broadened my horizons (which is why there is now a handle of Bols genever in my liquor cabinet).

Now Cioletti has published the perfect book for people who may be looking to broaden their horizons a bit more. There are so many spirits in this book I had never even heard of, but which now I want to try. Baijiu, huangjiu, shochu, and others have all been described in such a way as to de-mystify them to this reader for whom they're all totally new. (I only wish I lived nearer a large Chinatown so I could possibly try them.)

Each chapter takes us through a specific spirit and tells us a little bit about the history of it, where it comes from, and how it's made, plus gives examples of some excellent brands so we don't have to wander the aisles of the local packie in ignorance. Cioletti is never pretentious and always encouraging, plus he really does know his material thoroughly. He has researched and sampled each of these alcohols himself, and admits that in the course of writing this book, he himself has gotten out of his comfort zone (as vast as that is) a few times. His main point is to enjoy these spirits in moderation, not to ingest as much as possible in order to get hammered. If that's your only goal when drinking, this book is beyond you.

I would encourage you to buy this book, read it from cover to cover and make notes of your favorites, and then keep it in your car, so that when you happen upon a bar or restaurant that serves one of these adventurous spirits, or if you stop by your local liquor store with the idea of having a flight of your own at home, you have the perfect reference material right in your hands.