7 Literary Cocktail Books: Boozy, Punny Tributes to Famous Authors
By Taylor Jasmine | On October 7, 2023 | Comments (0)
Some of us find that books are natural partners with coffee, but a small, feisty group of literary cocktail books prove that literature and booze are inextricably intertwined as well.
These literary cocktail books aren’t so much about the true history of famous authors and their drinking habits, but punny tributes to them and their works. I guess it makes sense — after all, many writers led booze-soaked lives.
The genre of literary cocktail books took off with Tim Federle’s Tequila Mockingbird, and is going strong with Agatha Whiskey by Colleen Mullaney
These beautifully packaged books, filled with real recipes for cocktails (and sometimes mocktails) as well as fascinating literary history, are perfect gifts for the book loving cocktail connoisseur in your life.
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Agatha Whiskey
Agatha Whiskey: 50 Cocktails to Celebrate the Bestselling Novelist of All Time by Colleen Mullaney (Skyhorse, 2023). From the publisher: A celebration of Agatha Christie’s timeless murder mysteries, killer short stories, suspenseful plays, and unmatched characters—with cocktails that are so tantalizingly delicious, it must be a crime.
Dame Agatha Christie is perhaps the world’s most famous mystery writer with over a billion copies of her books sold. Agatha Whiskey takes clues from Agatha’s most pivotal works of fiction and honors her most popular detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple.
There’s a plot twist for everyone with fifty thrilling drinks such as a pocket full of rosé, orient espresso martini, and daiquiri on the Nile. There are also detective drinking games to get the whole party on the right track, perhaps sipping until there were none, and mocktails for those who choose to forgo an endless night.
Just like Agatha, Agatha Whiskey is here to entertain, inspire, and add some drama of the right sort to your life. Sample Passion Fruit Martinis, and read a Q & A with the author.
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Gin Austen
Gin Austen: 50 Cocktails to Celebrate the Novels of Jane Austen by Colleen Mullaney (Union Square & Co., 2019). From the publisher: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a person in possession of this good book must be in want of a drink.
Discover an exotic world of cobblers, crustas, flips, punches, shrubs, slings, sours, and toddies, with recipes that evoke the past but suit today’s tastes. Raise your glass to Sense and Sensibility with a Brandon Old-Fashioned, Elinorange Blossom, Hot Barton Rum, or Just a Dashwood.
Toast Pride and Prejudice with a Cousin Collins, Fizzy Miss Lizzie, or Salt & Pemberley. Brimming with enlightening quotes from the novels and Austen’s letters, beautiful photographs, and period design, this intoxicating volume is a must-have for any devoted Janeite. Learn more about Gin Austen, with a recipe for Gin and Bennett.
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Tequila Mockingbird
Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist (10th Anniversary Expanded Edition) by Tim Federle (Running Press, 2023) From the publisher: Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tequila Mockingbird with this special new, expanded edition! This clever cocktail guide pairs cherished novels with both classic and cutting-edge drink recipes—no B.A. in English required.
It’s been ten years since the world’s bestselling cocktail recipes book, Tequila Mockingbird, captured the attention of bar crowds, literary lovers, English majors, and readers everywhere with its clever commentary on history’s most beloved books.
This much anticipated 10th anniversary expanded edition features an updated introduction, refined drink recipes, and more than 70 delicious drinks and bar snacks, of which 15 recipes and 7 illustrations are exclusive to this revised edition.
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Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margarita
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margarita: More Cocktails with a Literary Twist by Tim Federle (Running Press, 2018). From the publisher: Literature, puns, and alcohol collide in this clever follow-up to Tequila Mockingbird, the world’s bestselling cocktail recipes book.
Tim Federle’s Tequila Mockingbird has become one of the world’s bestselling cocktail books and resonated with bartenders and book clubs everywhere.
Now in this much anticipated follow-up, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margarita, Federle has shaken up 49 all-new, all-delicious drink recipes paired with his trademark puns and clever commentary on more of history’s most beloved books, as well as bar bites, drinking games, and whimsical illustrations throughout.
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Literary Libations
Literary Libations: What to Drink with What You Read by Amira Makansi (Skyhorse, 2018). From the publisher: Want to know what to drink with all your favorite books?
A bubbly, boozy French 75 with The Great Gatsby. A luscious Chocolatini with Bridget Jones’s Diary. Old vine California Zinfandel with The Grapes of Wrath. Lager (by the pitcher, from your local dive) with Fight Club.
Refreshing citrus shandy with Their Eyes Were Watching God. And don’t you dare open Dracula without a Bloody Mary near at hand!
Now book lovers everywhere can raise the perfect toast to Shakespeare, Austen, Kerouac, Woolf, and more. With drink pairing recommendations for nearly 200 classic and contemporary works of fiction, including non-alcoholic pairings for kids and young adult books, Literary Libations is a necessary addition to bookshelves and bar tops everywhere.
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Buzzworthy
Buzzworthy: Cocktails Inspired by Female Literary Greats by Jennifer Croll (Prestel, 2023): From the publisher: The author of Free the Tipple is back with another collection of delectable cocktails—this time a literary mix inspired by the world’s most iconic women writers. The fifty recipes in this volume are as unconventional, imaginative, and refreshing as the authors that inspired them.
Each double-page spread includes an illustration of one important woman writer along with fascinating background about her œuvre, personality, and points of literary distinction.
And, of course, each profile is paired with a delicious recipe for a fitting cocktail. Pulling from every category—literary and genre fiction, poetry, graphic novels, essays and nonfiction— this book offers some surprising twists as well as old favorites. Perfect for literary-themed parties as well as intimate gatherings, this book itself is an intoxicating, lip-loosening brew made of equal parts sophistication and fun.
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How to Drink Like a Writer
How to Drink Like a Writer: Recipes for the Cocktails and Libations that Inspired 100 Literary Greats by Apollo Publishers (2020). From the publisher: Pairing 100 famous authors, poets, and playwrights from the Victorian age to today with recipes for their iconic drinks of choice, How to Drink Like a Writer is the perfect guide to getting lit(erary) for madcap mixologists, book club bartenders, and cocktail enthusiasts.
Have you dreamed of sharing martinis with Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton after poetry class? Maybe a mojito—a real one, like they serve at La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana—is all you need to summon the mesmerizing power of Hemingway’s prose. Writer’s block? Summon the brilliant musings of Truman Capote with a screwdriver—or, “my orange drink,” as he called it.
With 100 spirited drink recipes and special sections dedicated to writerly haunts like the Algonquin of the New Yorker set and Kerouac’s Vesuvio Café, pointers for hosting your own literary salon, and author-approved hangover cures, all accompanied by original illustrations of ingredients, finished cocktails, classic drinks, and favorite food pairings, How to Drink Like a Writer is sure to inspire, invoke, and inebriate.
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