Phoenix Books and Vermont Italian Cultural Association are thrilled to present an evening with Vermont author and renowned herbalist Guido Masé for a discussion of his most recent book, DIY Bitters: Reviving the Forgotten Flavor - A Guide to Making Your Own Bitters for Bartenders, Cocktail Enthusiasts, Herbalists, and More.
About DIY Bitters: Make your own bitters at home to enhance your medicine cabinet, and your bar!
Used since the Middle Ages, bitters are made by combining various plant botanicals and/or spices with 100-proof alcohol and letting them sit until the bitter and medicinal qualities have been extracted. Just a small amount of the resulting liquid can then be used to stimulate the digestive system and promote healthy digestion. This is why "apertifs" and "digestifs" are so popular--both then and now!
DIY Bitters is a how-to guide that explores the history and health benefits of bitters, and shows you how to make your own bitters at home, to be used alone or in cocktails, tonics, and even main meals. Herbalists Jovial King and Guido Masé owners of the bitters company Urban Moonshine, teach you how to make recipes for classic bitters like orange and angostura, or explore more innovative bitters like elderflower-echinacea-honey and chocolate love tonic. You can even find a guide for creating your own unique flavors from the plants and ingredients you have on hand.
About The Wild Medicine Solution: As people moved into cities and suburbs and embraced modern medicine and industrialized food, they lost their connection to nature, in particular to the plants with which humanity coevolved. These plants are essential components of our physiologies--tangible reminders of cross-kingdom signaling--and key not only to vibrant physical health and prevention of illness but also to soothing and awakening the troubled spirit. Blending traditional herbal medicine with history, mythology, clinical practice, and recent findings in physiology and biochemistry, herbalist Guido Masé explores the three classes of plants necessary for the healthy functioning of our bodies and minds--aromatics, bitters, and tonics. He explains how bitter plants ignite digestion, balance blood sugar, buffer toxicity, and improve metabolism; how tonic plants normalize the functions of our cells and nourish the immune system; and how aromatic plants relax tense organs, nerves, and muscles and stimulate sluggish systems, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. He reveals how wild plants regulate our heart variability rate and adjust the way DNA is read by our cells, controlling the self-destructive tendencies that lead to chronic inflammation or cancer.
Guido Masé RH(AHG) is a clinician and educator in the Western herbal tradition. He spent his childhood in Italy and has been living in Vermont since 1996. His practice interweaves clinical experience, mythology, and science. He is chief herbalist at Urban Moonshine, clinician at the Burlington Herb Clinic, faculty member and clinical supervisor at the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, teacher in herbal medicine at the University of Vermont, and author of The Wild Medicine Solution and DIY Bitters. He is developing the integrative phytotherapy department at Wasso Hospital in Loliondo, Tanzania.
About Vermont Italian Cultural Association: The Vermont Italian Cultural Association (VICA) is dedicated to preserving and promoting Italian culture in Vermont. We welcome anyone interested in Italian culture, arts, language, history and other aspects of Italian civilization. You don't need to be Italian to appreciate Italian culture.For more information please visit: https://www.vermontitalianculturalassociation.org
How to register
Registration is free, but book purchases are welcomed and appreciated--thank you for supporting our author!
You must register on this page to attend the event. The event will stream on Zoom. You will receive an email with the Zoom link after registering. If you don't receive a confirmation email after registering today, contact us right away so we can check for problems now.
Purchase a signed, personalized copy of DIY Bitters or The Wild Medicine Solutiion HERE. Signed copies will be available a few days after event. If you ordered a book for store pick up, we will contact you as soon as it's ready. If you ordered a book with shipping, please allow an additional 7-10 days for delivery after it has been signed.
If you have signed up for the event and are having difficulty accessing it via Zoom, please contact us via email at tickets@phoenixbooks.biz throughout the event & will do our best to provide technical support as needed.