MOBILE, Ala. — My first thought when I first received my copy of “The Drunken Botanist” was to flash back to my college years in a way that may surprise some of you.
Contrary to what you might think it wasn’t the drunken part, it was the botany part. The study of plants wasn’t my strongest subject; I think I made a D in the course.
So you can understand my skepticism when I received the book in the mail that explained in detail the relationship between drinking and plant science. But author Amy Stewart crafted a wonderfully entertaining book that made me want to rethink my own personal bias against plants.
On April 12, Stewart will be coming to Mobile, Ala., as the guest of the Mobile County Master Gardeners. She will be appearing at the 9th annual Master Gardener Educational Seminar at the Jon Archer Center on Schillinger Road.
Stewart, a bona fide botanist who is also the author of the book Flower Confidential, will discuss plants and gardening. But she will also spend a chunk of time talking about how mankind has used plants through the ages for something very important – making libations.
My first question to her was simple: Why do a book on plants and drinking?
Here answer was equally simple: “You can’t have the drinking part without the plant part,” she said.
She pointed out the obvious to a dope like me, that all alcoholic beverages are made from plants. All of them, not just a few, but all of them from a sloe gin fizz to a fuzz navel have roots in the soil.
At this point, I’m hooked.
Amy Stewart, author of “The Drunken Botanist.”
Her message, she said, is to remind people that without plants we would have no cocktails. “I’ll be talking about the broad spectrum, how barley ends up in whiskey and some plants get added at the distillery. How hops in beer and juniper in gin change and improve the flavor for the better,” she said.
As for the home gardener, Stewart said there’s plenty to learn about how to grow your own plants to enhance your cocktail experience. “Well, I have a cocktail garden with 40 varieties that can be used in drinks,” she said.
A cocktail garden? Who knew? Maybe I have a green thumb after all.
She recommends amateur gardeners grow the things that they like to add to your cocktails. If, for instance, you like to sip on a mojito or a mint julep in the evening, then a nice array of mint plants would be an excellent idea. “We can be specific enough to tell you which mints to plant for which drink,” she said.
Herbs and some flowering plants also are wonderful add-ons for making cocktails more flavorful and Stewart said she will offer suggestions for how to maximize your plant production.
Living here in the humid subtropics, though, we can’t always grow everything we need when we need it. Stewart’s advice is quite logical: adapt and overcome.
“It’s all about growing what you can and making the best of where you live,” she said.
She pointed out that living in the Northwest as she does, she’s envious of our long and early growing season. “We can’t grow melons, watermelons and things like that. I have a wonderful watermelon tequila drink that is flavored with basil so you learn to love what you have,” she said.
Stewart’s presentation will be at 2:30 p.m., but the event starts at 1 p.m. when the county’s master gardeners will host a reception in their demonstration garden at the center. A host of tasty appetizers and some non-alcoholic infusions will be served.
The seminar is open to the public, but seating is limited and reservations are required. Tickets are $20 and he deadline for reservations is April 4. Send ticket information and a check to Mobile County Master Gardeners, 12915 Dauphin Island Parkway, Coden, AL 36523.
In the meantime, here’s a cocktail from the book. I’m sure if it’s any good but I love the name.
The Frezier Affair
Makes 1 drink
Ingredients:
3 slices ripe strawberry
1½ ounces white rum
½ ounce yellow Chartreuse
Juice of 1 fresh lime
Instructions:
Reserve 1 strawberry slice for garnish.
In a cocktail shaker, combine the remaining ingredients and crush the strawberries with a muddler. Shake over ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the reserved strawberry slice.
