From the wine-loving Spaniards who first settled Los Angeles to the cocktail quaffers of the jet age, Los Angeles tastes have shifted when it comes to enjoying alcoholic beverages. The city has been a center of winemaking and brewing, a region where intoxicating potions were celebrated by movie stars and hunted down by prohibitionists, and a place where finely balanced drinks and abysmal concoctions were crafted by bartenders and celebrities. This talk covers the period from 1778 to 1933 that begins with pious monks and ends with law-dodging partiers who were anything but reverent.

About the Presenter: Richard Foss is the California Curator for the Museum of the American Cocktail and Pacific Food and Beverage Studies, a board member of the Culinary Historians of Southern California, and has written books on the history of rum and the history of food in flight. He has been writing about food and drink in greater Los Angeles for thirty years.