Garrett Peck

The Prohibition Hangover is about the changing role of alcohol in American society since Repeal. The book’s strength is its primary research, as I interviewed hundreds of people on all sides of the alcohol debate -– clergy, bar owners, public health advocates, alcohol beverage industry representatives, even Juanita Swedenburg, who successfully led her interstate wine shipment lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court. I live just outside Washington, DC. The nation’s capital is an excellent place to research alcohol, as most of the alcohol trade groups are here.

I came to this topic one Christmas eve when I noticed how differently three generations -- my grandmother, my mom, and myself -- approached a bottle of Burgundy wine. That launched me on more than four years of travel, research and interviews to write this book. My travels have taken me to the wine growing regions of Napa, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, the Finger Lakes of New York, the Texas Hill Country, the Rhine and Mosel Rivers of Germany, the budding wine industries in Argentina and Israel, and twice to Italy. I went to Canada to learn about Canadian whisky, and to New Orleans to rediscover the cocktail. I’ve researched the beer industry in Pennsylvania and New England, the wine industry in California, and the distilled spirits industry on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

I am a freelance writer for the alcoholic beverage industry and public speaker on alcohol issues. I also lead the Temperance Tour of Prohibition-related sites in Washington, DC, which has been highlighted on C-SPAN Book TV and Maryland Public Television's "Artworks This Week." This was at the center of my second book, Prohibition in Washington, DC: How Dry We Weren't, published by The History Press in 2011.


INTERVIEWS WITH GARRETT PECK

Repeal Day 2008, The Kojo Nnamdi Show, December 4, 2008 (25 minute audio segment on Windows Media and iTunes).

Taxes and Alcohol, MetroConnection, April 2009 (Windows Media).

10 Questions for...Garrett Peck, Ask Wendy - The Query Queen, August 28, 2009. 

Author Q&A: Garrett Peck, "The Prohibition Hangover," Write On! Online, September 4, 2009.

The Prohibition Hangover, The Kojo Nnamdi Show, September 9, 2009 (40 minute audio segment on Windows Media).

Intoxicating History, The Boston Globe, September 18, 2009.

Book-Signing 'Binge', The Boston Herald, September 20, 2009.

The Prohibition Hangover Author Garrett Peck, A.V. Club DC, September 27, 2009.

Garrett Peck, Author of The Prohibition Hangover, Halogen Life, September 30, 2009.

Chewing the Fat: Prohibition Hangover Author Garrett Peck, DCist, October 7, 2009.

Garrett Peck Discusses 'The Prohibition Hangover' (YouTube video interview), Part I (8 minutes) and Part II (6 minutes), Rick Sincere, Charlottesville journalist/blogger, October 16, 2009.

The Prohibition Hangover, "Insight," Capital Public Radio (Sacramento), October 19, 2009 (interview starts at :28).

Authors@Google: Garrett Peck (YouTube video), October 29, 2009. 

Armstrong & Getty radio talk show (910 AM in San Francisco), November 13, 2009.

C-SPAN Book TV, 6-minute video interview at National Press Club Book Fair, November 17, 2009.

Five Questions for Garrett Peck, Ms. Cavanaugh Goes to Washington blog, November 25, 2009.

Episode 71: The Politics of Booze, Competitive Enterprise Institute podcast, November 30, 2009.

Author Garrett Peck on The Prohibition Hangover: Alcohol in America from Demon Rum to Cult Cabernet, Reason.tv, December 3, 2009 (click for 8-minute video). 

D.C. to Celebrate Repeal Day in Style, The Dizzy Fizz blog, December 4, 2009.

Richmond's Morning News with Jimmy Barrett (1140 AM WRVA in Richmond, VA), December 7, 2009.

OutCast Austin (KOOP 91.7 FM), December 8, 2009.

Kane's Beverage News Daily, December 14, 2009.

Catskill Review of Books, December 16, 2009.

C-SPAN Book TV: Prohibition Hangover - Garrett Peck, January 1, 2010 (45 minute program; or click YouTube video for 10-minute preview).


Ridin Dirty, daily talk show about drinking-and-driving issues with Ken Sharp (830 AM KLAA in Southern California), March 3, 2010. 

 
Garrett Peck on the Kojo Nnamdi Show, September 9, 2009.

Historic New Orleans Cocktails," Santé Magazine, May 19, 2006.
Maxing Martinis in Downtown DC, Santé Magazine, June 2006.
To Faith, Hope, Charity -- and Temperance?  Northwest Current, June 16, 2006.
Bourbon is Back, Beverage Media, September 2006. 
Red Tape Hangover, The Washington Post, October 19, 2006.
Changes Coming to Cognac, Beverage Media, November 2006.
Behind the Bar, Santé Magazine, Holiday 2006.
Cordial Kaleidoscope, Beverage Network, February 2007.
Gin: An Exotic Twist on the Classics, Beverage Media, May 2007.
Bourbon County is All Wet, Wine Spectator, June 30, 2007.
Preserving Wine -- Preserving Profits, Beverage Media, September 2007.
Is That a Fake ID?, Beverage Media, October 2007.
Can Brandy Cure Its Anemia?, Beverage Media, November 2007.
Ready to Mix, Ready to Drink, Beverage Media, February 2008.
If the Glass Fits, Beverage Media, February 2008.
Canadian Whisky, Beverage Media, March 2008.
Irish Whiskey: Not Easy Being Green, Beverage Media, March 2008.
After 75 Years, What is The Future of the Three-Tier System?, Beverage Media, April 2008.
Holiday Cheer: New Wines from the Holy Land, The Forward, April 11, 2008. 
Winemaking in Ancient Israel, self-published, April 2008.
World Cocktail Week Celebrated at Proof in Washington, DC, Santé Magazine, June 12, 2008.
Vodka's Room to Run, (feature article), Beverage Media, July 2008.
Move Over Napa: Boutique Wines From Israel Are Making a U.S. Debut, The Forward, November 12, 2008.
Finding Efficiencies in Shipping, Beverage Media, January 2009.
PX: The Speakeasy Reborn, Santé Magazine, March/April 2009.
Mixing It Up: The Future of the Gay Bar, Nightclub & Bar, September 2009.
Closing Time for Virginia's ABC Stores, The Washington Post, November 8, 2009.
Privatize Virginia's Liquor Stores, The Roanoke Times, November 23, 2009.
Making Social Media Stick, Nightclub & Bar, December 2009.
Going Live, Nightclub & Bar, March 2010.
Measuring The Nightlife Economy, Nightclub & Bar, May 2010.

My second book, Prohibition in Washington, DC: How Dry We Weren't, is due out in spring 2011 from The History Press. I was also a contributing writer to Alcohol in Popular Culture: An Encyclopedia, Rachel Black, editor (Greenwood, October 2010).

OTHER WRITINGS
I have written for The Washington Post, covering the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany, and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the movie Airplane! I served as Francis Kennedy’s research assistant for the Conservation Fund’s The Civil War Battlefield Guide, second edition (1998). I wrote the chapter on the battle of Boydton Plank Road, as well as many of the uncredited smaller battles articles. And I'm an avid letter to the editor writer, such as Connect the Farragut Stations and An Eyeful of Washington Eyesores in The Washington Post.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
I did my undergraduate work at the Virginia Military Institute, where I was a contributing writer to The Cadet, the weekly college newspaper. Afterward I served with the US Army in Germany, and was stationed near the Mosel River, one of the prime wine-growing regions in the country. I earned my M.A. in International Affairs at the George Washington University. I have worked fifteen years in marketing for the telecommunications industry.

Finally, I have collected wine for more than 20 years. Cheers!

 

Photos by Manuel Claros.