Even before the Stone Age, our ancestors were thinking about what happens when we combine one flavor with another, both in the primordial kitchen and behind the prehistoric bar. Fast-forward to today, and the carefully crafted cocktail is all around us. But what if we told you it wasn’t always this way?

Welcome to Proof's first-ever miniseries: 100 Proof: The Journey of the American Cocktail. Over six episodes, we’ll look at the rise and fall--and subsequent resurgence--of the American cocktail, and contemplate what forces led to our modern cocktail renaissance. We'll also share some recipes along the way. Hosted by Cook's Country Editor-In-Chief Toni Tipton-Martin, and reported by Proof's managing producer, Yumi Araki.

Episode 1 drops May 23.

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Can saliva change the way our food tastes? Does it affect our cooking? In our Season 16 finale, reporter Jacklyn Kim digs into the unexpected ingredient that we end up adding to every meal.

Proof will be back later in May with a 6-part miniseries on the history of cocktails!

Until then, stimulate your taste buds and break out the cast iron with the Test Kitchen recipe for Cast Iron Margherita Pizza.

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In 1951, the Explorer's Club hosted an extravagant banquet that had 250,000-year-old woolly mammoth on the menu. The dinner raised eyebrows back then as it does now. What does it mean to seek out "exotic" foods? Why do we do it? And was it really wooly mammoth that was on the menu? Reporter Doug Mack digs in.

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