Troy Hughes, compotator extraordinaire, uses his medieval art history degree to its fullest in his side gig producing award-winning bourbons and ryes under the brand Mt. Pleasant Club Whiskey. By day a corporate attorney, he sometimes leads a weekend whiskey walking tour of his beloved Washington, D.C. neighborhood Mt. Pleasant, except when Arsenal is playing. This is his second book, the first being Whiskey Makers in Washington, D.C.: A Pre-Prohibition History. He's a veteran and a cat dad and is thankful that his wife, Toni, allows him to continue going down this rabbit hole.

Liquid Legacies

"Makers and Shakers is not just a book about alcohol -- it's a reckoning with the racial and cultural history that has shaped the American spirits industry. It's filled with intriguing trivia, powerful stories, and sobering truths." -- Jacob Kiper, Drink Hacker