VIDEO: Andrew Smith Discusses American Drinking History
Last month, Andrew F. Smith, author of Drinking History: Fifteen Turning Points in the Making of American Beverages, discussed what makes American drinks “American” at the Los Angeles Public Library in an event sponsored by the Culinary Historians of Southern California (CHSC).
From the CHSC site: What is American Drink? Is it warmed-over traditional British beverages, such as tea, ale, hard cider, syllabubs, toddies? Or is it versions of ethnic beverages brought by successive waves of immigrants – lager and pilsner, sangria, tequila, bubble tea? Or is it the fiercely marketed creations of America’s beverage industry – Kentucky Bourbon, Kool-Aid, Snapple, Coors, Coca-Cola? Why do Americans drink the beverages that we do?
