Intoxicating Pleasures: The Reinvention of Wine, Beer, and Whiskey After Prohibition

I first met the author of this book, Lisa Jacobson, while working at The Filson Historical Society. She came in and did research and I discussed whiskey history with her. I don’t remember what she was researching at the time, but I don’t think she was researching this book. She is now an Associate Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara and has written a very interesting book on the history of alcohol in the United States after Prohibition. She contacted me and asked if I would review the book and I agreed to do so.

Intoxicating Pleasures: The Reinvention of Wine, Beer, and Whiskey after Prohibition. Lisa Jacobson, The University of California Press, Oakland, California, 2024. Contents, Introduction, Bibliography, Index, End Notes, Illustrations. 379pp.

This book looks at the history of wine, beer and distilled spirits after Prohibition. Of particular interest is the role these spirits played during the Second World War. Jacobson looks at the role the distilled spirits industry played in the supply of alcohol for the war effort. She also looks at how the troops serving in the military and civilians had access to alcohol during the war. It comes as no surprise that a black market for whiskey grew as it was rationed during the war. It also comes as no surprise that officers had greater access to alcohol during the war than did the enlisted men.

The book is well written and interesting to read. It is well indexed and has end notes for those wishing to know more on a given subject. There are plenty of black and white illustrations ranging from liquor advertisements to Ernie Pyle cartoons from the war. The chapters are clearly defined and she starts the history right before the repeal of Prohibition with a march in New York City, with the demand that beer become legal for sale. It ends with an epilogue summing up the impact the post Prohibition and war-time experiences had on society.

The book is an excellent addition to any library of distilled spirits, wine and beer. I am glad Lisa contacted me and asked me to review her newest book.