Then you get a bit specialist. “ Inside Burgundy” (Jasper Morris) is the book I reach for most when I need to know something. It is impeccable. “ The Wines of Burgundy” (Clive Coates) is up there too. For a reference point on older wines then “Vintage Wine” (Michael Broadbent) is a must. And the paragraph above is lifted straight from what I wrote about “ Pomerol” (Neal Martin), which is the sort of book I’d like to write. Neal’s book is the last wine book I’ve read. Otherwise Britain’s contribution was the mercantile one; “commercial nous”, as Jeffreys puts it, “rather than viticultural skill”. It was merchants who were responsible for the vast spread of Scotch whisky, as opposed to Irish or Bourbon, over the world. It was a Briton who built the first brewery in India. (His son was later responsible for the most notorious atrocity in Anglo-Indian history, the Amritsar massacre; Jeffreys has missed this.)

In short, “Empire of Booze” is an excellent and entertaining read. Well written, clearly well-researched, amusing and informed. If it wasn’t any good you’d be reading something else here today; that was the deal. Swedes have schnapps and the Mongolians have fermented mare’s milk. The British, however, have a whole smorgasbord of drinks to compensate for the cold, strong drinks such as rum and India Pale Ale that could stand long hot journeys were developed. Whisky, an indigenous British drink, became the drink of Britain, champagne would have been flat and sweet. Port? Well, the names on the bottles are a clue: Taylor’s, Churchill’s, Smith Woodhouse. We went on toThis was a Christmas gift from a few years ago and I don't know why I put off reading it, it was a fascinating look at the history of certain alcoholic drinks as influenced by Britain (for good or bad). I learn so many interesting facts! I would definitely recommend to anyone with an interest in how alcohol is made (rather than just an interest in drinking it). Jason Rodriguez is a guides writer. Most of his work can be found on PC Invasion (around 3,400+ published articles). He's also written for IGN, GameSpot, Polygon, TechRaptor, Gameskinny, and more. My book is about Britain and booze and the first chapter is largely about Sir Kenelm Digby and his roll in the invention of strong glass. It should be out early next year. No boats have been missed! Henry Jeffreys is everything you want a wine writer to be: funny, knowing, unpretentious but also un-blokeish, funny, clever, refreshing, original, funny and inquisitive. And did I say funny? Craig Brown, author and parodist Well argued and full of fascinating booze-related facts . . . it's an ambitious undertaking, but [Jeffreys] achieves it with a sharp eye and an understated humorous touch I rather liked. * Daily Mail *

In the case of minor factions, these are thugs or random groups that might be part of a quest. As for major factions, these are the actual AI-controlled mob bosses and syndicate leaders. They progress over time just like you. Once you hit 100 notoriety, you can choose a made mobster to become an advisor. Advisors provide a loyalty bonus to your other units, making them extremely useful. You can only have one Advisor, so choose wisely! Underboss I may have missed the boat here, but interested to know when your book on Kenelm Digby will be out. As I'm living in Thailand at present, book launches are not often on my radar. to the world of the English language, railways and organised sports are much noted, but I would argue that our greatest gifts to the world are our

Fascinating pub trivia . . . Henry Jeffreys is a wine columnist and drinks writer who clearly knows his stuff * Mail on Sunday * Thanks for getting in touch. Henry is currently hard at work writing the first draft of the book. Once we receive this next year we'll get to work on editing, proof-reading, type-setting, designing the cover and producing the book. Please do look out for further updates of the book's progress.

If any man deserved the epithet, a legend in his own lunchtime, it was Keith Waterhouse. You probably remember him for his playsBilly Liar, made into a film with Julie Christie and Tom Courtenay, andJeffrey Bernard is Unwell but his lunching exploits are equally worth celebrating. His work day consisted of rising at 6am, reading all the papers, writing his Daily Mail column followed by lunch that…I’d love to say it was a bottle of Chateau Palmer 61 drunk with my grandfather but I didn’t have that sort of upbringing. My parents drank wine but I never particularly liked the sort of hard earthy wine my father bought. In retrospect it was probably quite good Bordeaux. I much preferred going to the pub and drinking beer with my father. This is a difficult one to answer as following that rioja epiphany I got a job in Oddbins in Headingley where we drank a lot of very good wine though often in slightly strange circumstances: a bottle of Pesquera drunk after a techno night or a 1976 Von Buhl Spatlese drunk whilst watching the sun come up over Harrogate. These were memorable wines and I was certainly closer to my maker though not sure the wines were the main reason. They also started the fashion for corking bottles – before then they had been sealed with paper and wax – facilitated by Britain’s close diplomatic relationship with Portugal, where most cork trees grow. I am a great admirer of Henry Jeffreys and have been eagerly awaiting his booze and empire book for many years!" – Elif Batuman, author, academic and journalist.