As we approach the end of 2021, we can look back at the previous two years of restrictions, lockdowns, COVID tests and vaccination lines, not to mention all the political strife… or we can look to the unknown, ahead to the new year. But let us pause for a moment and enjoy the now: a holiday season that should be livelier than last year’s. After all that’s gone on, we could use some old-fashioned holiday cheer.

On today’s episode, in the spirit of the holiday season, we spoke with Editor-in-chief David Wondrich and Associate Editor Noah Rothbaum of The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails to talk about their book, the growth of cocktail culture, and some of their favorite holiday drinks from around the world. Then, to speak on Christmas traditions, we revisited our interview with Gerry Bowler, the author of Christmas in the Crosshairs: Two Thousand Years of Denouncing and Defending the World’s Most Celebrated Holiday, from an Oxford Comment of Christmas Past.

Learn more about David Wondrich and Noah Rothbaum and The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-companion-to-spirits-and-cocktails-9780199311132
Learn more about Gerry Bowler and Christmas in the Crosshairs here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/christmas-in-the-crosshairs-9780190499006

Please check out Episode 68 of The Oxford Comment and subscribe to The Oxford Comment through your favourite podcast app to listen to the latest insights from our expert authors:
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The Oxford Comment Crew:
Executive Producer: Steven Filippi
Associate Producers: Erin Cox and Tom Woollard
Host: Tom Wollard

Music: Filaments by Podington Bear is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

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