Extra Virginity

New York Times Bestseller

Humans have been perfecting the science of alcohol production for ten thousand years, but modern scientists are only just beginning to distill the complex reactions behind the perfect buzz. In a spirited tour across continents and cultures, Adam Rogers puts our alcoholic history under the microscope, from our ancestors’ accidental discovery of fermented drinks to the cutting-edge laboratory research that proves why—or even if—people actually like the stuff.

From fermentation to distillation to aging, Proof offers a unique glimpse inside the barrels, stills, tanks, and casks that produce iconic drinks. Rogers ventures from the whiskey-making mecca of the Scottish Highlands to the most sophisticated gene-sequencing labs in the world—and to more than one bar—introducing us to the motley characters and evolving science behind the latest developments in boozy technology. He uncovers alcohol’s deepest mysteries, chasing the physics, molecular biology, organic chemistry, and even metallurgy that power alcohol production, and the subtle mixture of psychology and neurobiology that fuels our taste for those products.

With intoxicating enthusiasm, Rogers reveals alcohol as a miracle of science. If you’ve ever wondered how exactly your drink of choice arrived in your glass, or exactly what will happen to you once you empty it, Proof makes an unparalleled drinking companion.

andmdash;and#160;Amanda Hesser, co-founder of Food52.com and author of The Essential New York Times Cookbook

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andldquo;Virgin Territory is so essential because its subject is so well-colonized. Equal parts cookbook, autobiography, and culinary history, itand#39;s a compelling education in cookingand#39;s most essential oil.andrdquo;

andmdash;and#160;Dan Barber, chef and co-owner, Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns

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andquot;This is the tasty and nutritious food for thought which olive oil enthusiasts have been hungering for. Jenkins draws on decades of experience in the Mediterranean to tell the people and places, the beauty and the uses of great oil andndash; and the practicalities of choosing and using it. An invaluable guide to a luminous yet often murky world.andquot;

andmdash;and#160;Tom Mueller, author of the best-selling Extra Virginity

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andldquo;Virgin Territory takes a deep dive into the history, culture, and taste of olive oil. Jenkins grows olives, harvests them, and cooks with her own oil. A terrific cook, she passionately wants everyone to know the difference a high quality extra-virgin olive oil can make to any dish. I learned so much about olive oil from this book and canandrsquo;t wait to try every one of her recipes.andrdquo;

andmdash;and#160;Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and author of What to Eat

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andldquo;I love this book! Nancy explains olive oil well, writing from vast and personal experience. She pokes holes in our cherished myths and is well qualified to do so, and of course, her recipes are always good to cook. Virgin Territory is smart, fun to read, and relevant--thank you Nancy, once again, for such good work.andrdquo;

andmdash;and#160;Deborah Madison, author of Vegetable Literacy and The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

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andldquo;Studying olive oil with Nancy Harmon Jenkins has profoundly influenced my cooking. I recommend her book to any food lover, professional or otherwise--Nancyand#39;s lessons and recipes will make anyone a better and healthier cook.andrdquo;

andmdash;and#160;Anita Lo, chef/owner, Annisa

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andldquo;Olive oil may be the most important food in the Western cooking, and Nancy Jenkins is a rare expert. No one brings more love and knowledge to the subject with all its fascination and complexity. She is one of our finest writers, and she happens to be a talented cook.andrdquo;

andmdash;and#160;Ed Behr, editor and publisher of The Art of Eating

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andldquo;In Virgin Territory Nancy Harmon Jenkins tells us about several of her andldquo;Olive Oil Gurus.andrdquo; Well, Nancy is now my olive oil guru. This is an eloquent book that has the bonus of also being a bit of a memoir as well as a cookbook filled with beloved, mostly Mediterranean, recipes. It will help us understand everything we didnandrsquo;t know, or thought we knew but really didnandrsquo;t, or that we might have thought was complicated about olive oil. Nancy tells us just what we need to know in the most understandable, forthright and personable fashion.andrdquo;

andmdash;and#160;Martha Rose Shulman, recipes for Health on nytimes.com and author, most recently, of The Simple Art of Vegetarian Cooking

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andquot;Nancy Harmon Jenkins takes a deep look at the complexities of a key component in Mediterranean cookingandmdash;extra-virgin olive oil--and draws on her years of experience to tell us what itandrsquo;s all about, why some is good, some is bad, how to know the difference, and, most importantly, with lots of appealing recipes, how to use this healthy ingredient in our kitchens and on our tables.andquot;

andmdash;and#160;Paula Wolfert, author of The Food of Morocco and many other books

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andldquo;Nancy Harmon Jenkins is the leading American authority on olive oil. No doubt about it. She has been studying, writing, lecturing and guiding tours about olive oil for nearly 40 years. She even makes her own extra-virgin from the trees on her property in Tuscany. She, above all, knows that knowledgeable consumers are the key to more, better, genuine extra-virgin olive oil for us all. Virgin Territory is a much-needed, thorough and easy-reading education, from the sensory to the science. Plus olive-oil centric recipes! I couldnandrsquo;t ask for more.andrdquo;

andmdash;and#160;Arthur Schwartz, author of Naples At Table and The Southern Italian Table

“One of the best science writers around.” —National Geographic

"Rogers's book has much the same effect as a good drink. You get a warm sensation, you want to engage with the wider world, and you feel smarter than you probably are. Above all, it makes you understand how deeply human it is to take a drink." —Wall Street Journal

“A great read for barflies and know-it-alls—or the grad student who is likely both.” —New York Times T Magazine

"In this brisk dive into the history and geekery of our favorite social lubricant, Wired editor Adam Rogers gets under the cap and between the molecules to show what makes our favorite firewaters so irresistible and hard to replicate—and how a good stiff drink often doubles as a miracle of human ingenuity." —Mother Jones

"A comprehensive, funny look at booze...Like the best of its subject matter Proofs blend of disparate ingredients goes down smooth, and makes you feel like an expert on the topic." —Discover

"A romp through the world of alcohol." —New York Post

"This science-steeped tale of humanitys 10,000-year love affair with alcohol is an engaging trawl through fermentation, distillation, perception of taste and smell, and the biological responses of humans to booze...Proof is an entertaining, well researched piece of popular-science writing." —Nature

"A whiskey nerd's delight...Full of tasty asides and surprising science, this is entertaining even if you're the type who always drinks what the other guy is having." —Chicago Tribune

“Written in the same approachable yet science-savvy tone of other geeky tomes (think Amy Stewarts The Drunken Botanist and Brian Greenes The Fabric of the Cosmos), Rogers book sheds light on everything from barrels to bacteria strains.” —Imbibe Magazine "This paean to booze is a thought-provoking scientific accompaniment to your next cup of good cheer."—The Scientist

"Follow a single, microscopic yeast cell down a rabbit hole, and Alice, aka Adam, will take you on a fascinating romp through the Wonderland of ethyl alcohol, from Natures own fermentation to todays best Scotch whiskies—and worst hangovers. This book is a delightful marriage of scholarship and fun." —Robert L. Wolke, author of What Einstein Kept Under His Hat and What Einstein Told His Cook

"Proof, this irresistible book from Adam Rogers, shines like the deep gold of good whiskey. By which I mean it's smart in its science, fascinating in its complicated and very human history, and entertaining on all counts. And that it will make that drink in your hand a lot more interesting than you expected." —Deborah Blum, author of The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York "Absolutely compelling. Proof sits next to Wayne Curtis And a Bottle of Rum and Tom Standages A History of the World in Six Glasses as a must-read." —Jeffrey Morgenthaler, bar manager at Clyde Common and author of The Bar Book "Proof is science writing at its best—witty, elegant, and abrim with engrossing reporting that takes you to the frontiers of booze, and the people who craft it." —Clive Thompson, author of Smarter Than You Think "Rogers distills history, archaeology, biology, sociology, and physics into something clear and powerful, like spirits themselves." —Jim Meehan, author of The PDT Cocktail Book

"A page-turner for science-thirsty geeks and drink connoisseurs alike, Proof is overflowing with fun facts and quirky details. I'm drunk—on knowledge!" —Jeff Potter, author of Cooking for Geeks "Adam Rogers writes masterfully and gracefully about all the sciences that swirl around spirits, from the biology of a hangover to the paleontology of microbes that transform plant juices into alcohol. A book to be savored and revisited." —Carl Zimmer, author of Parasite Rex and A Planet of Viruses "Reading Proof feels just like you're having a drink with a knowledgeable and enthusiastic friend. Rogers' deep affinity for getting to the bottom of his subject shines through on every page." —Adam Savage, TV host and producer of MythBusters "As a distiller I find most books on booze to be diluted. The science and history here are sure to satisfy the geekiest of drinkers. While the chapters, carried by stories, told through the lens of a rocks glass do not lose the casual. To get this kind of in depth overview of how spirits are produced, consumed and studied you'd have to read 20 books." —Vince Oleson, Head Distiller/Barrel Thief, Widow Jane Distillery

"An entertaining read...Rogers elegantly charges through what took me more than 5 years of research to learn...Proof will inspire and educate the oncoming hordes who intend to make their own booze and tear down the once solid regulatory walls of the reigning royal houses of liquor."

—Dan Garrison, Garrison Brothers Distillery "From the action of the yeast to the blear of the hangover, via the witchery of fermentation, distillation and aging, Wired articles editor Rogers takes readers on a splendid tour of the booze-making process." —Kirkus Reviews, starred "Impressively reported and entertaining...Rogers's cheeky and accessible writing style goes down smoothly, capturing the essence of this enigmatic, ancient social lubricant." —Publishers Weekly

“Lively . . . [Rogers’s] descriptions of the science behind familiar drinks exert a seductive pull.” — New York Times

Humans have been perfecting alcohol production for ten thousand years, but scientists are just starting to distill the chemical reactions behind the perfect buzz. In a spirited tour across continents and cultures, Adam Rogers takes us from bourbon country to the world’s top gene-sequencing labs, introducing us to the bars, barflies, and evolving science at the heart of boozy technology. He chases the physics, biology, chemistry, and metallurgy that produce alcohol, and the psychology and neurobiology that make us want it. If you’ve ever wondered how your drink arrived in your glass, or what it will do to you, Proof makes an unparalleled drinking companion.

“Rogers’s book has much the same effect as a good drink. You get a warm sensation, you want to engage with the wider world, and you feel smarter than you probably are. Above all, it makes you understand how deeply human it is to take a drink.” — Wall Street Journal

ADAM ROGERS is articles editor at Wired, where his feature story “The Angels Share” won the 2011 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award. Before coming to Wired, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT and a writer covering science and technology for Newsweek.

Yeast 14

Sugar 35

Fermentation 59

Distillation 80

Aging 104

Smell and Taste 133

Body and Brain 160

Hangover 187

Conclusion 205

Acknowledgments 213

Notes 215

Bibliography 235

Index 248