Steven Grasse is the renaissance brand maker behind such spirits as Hendrick’ s Gin, Art in the Age, Narragansett Beer, Sailor Jerry Rum, and Tamworth Distillery. He started his own firm, Quaker City Mercantile, in 1988, and his work across a wide variety of brands (from MTV to Guinness) and media bears two signature traits: an antic sense of play matched with an equally deep devotion to history. Along the way, Grasse has applied his renegade spirit to the page; first in the surprise smash The Evil Empire: 101 Ways England Ruined the World, then critically acclaimed Colonial Spirits: A Toast To Our Drunken History in 2016.