Discover The Art Of Making The Perfect Cocktail
There’s nothing quite like a cocktail. Whether you’re getting together with a group of friends to celebrate a special occasion, whether you’re hosting a dinner party and want to add a little extra glamour and sophistication to the evening, or whether you just want to enjoy a delicious drink at the end of a hard day, cocktails are the perfect solution.
However, there’s an art to preparing the perfect cocktail. Lots of us don’t know the ingredients that go into making a flawless cocktail, and that’s why this guide to the art of cocktail making is so helpful. When the sun sets, having a menu of cocktails that you can whip up at a moment’s notice is a great way to impress friends and family members alike!
Interestingly, many authors inspired cocktails, and there are a number of popular and lesser known drinks which are related to some of the greatest books in the library. You’ll impress your loved ones even more if you can tell the story of the author who designed these cocktails while you pour them over ice!
The Sir Walter Scott
Scottish patriot and novelist Sir Walter Scott may never have actually tried this French cognac based drink, but it’s certainly delicious to sip with its mix of Hennessy, triple sec, rum, lime juice and grenadine.
The Gryffindor
Any Harry Potter fan will recognise the name of the hero’s school house, and you can now join the boy who survived in drinking this colour themed, elaborate cocktail which combines orange and cranberry juice with a touch of raspberry liqueur. The drink is then topped off with an orange peel twist and a cherry for extra sophistication!
The Catcher In The Rye
Salinger’s novel is a high school classic, and it’s a clever name given to this cocktail made from rye whiskey. Blending this classic liquor with Grand Marnier, sherry, bitters and Torani Amer, this strong drink is sure to impress.
Gin Fitzey
Author F. Scott Fitzgerald was well known as a connoisseur of alcoholic drinks and one of his favourite drinks was the Gin Rickey. His own version of this drink is the Gin Fitzey, made by combining gin with lime juice, lime wedges and club soda.
The Bukowski Boilermaker
Charles Bukowski was no stranger to going on a bender, with his favourite drink being a Boilermaker. This drink is named after him and is made up of simply, pouring a shot of whiskey into a pint of lager and mixing it inside the glass before downing it.
The Sextontini
Anne Sexton loved martini, and often mentioned the drink in her letters. The Sextontini is named after her and is made by taking the highest quality gin and some extra dry vermouth and combining it before adding some olives.
Dorothy Parker’s Sour
The whiskey sour has always been popular, and Dorothy Parker was known for her love of it. Despite her passion for alcohol, her writing career never suffered, even though she sometimes served one of these cocktails for her breakfast! You can whip up your own by combining whiskey with sugar and lemon juice then serving it with a cherry and a wedge of lemon.
The Tennessee Fizz
One of America’s most celebrated and famous playwrights, Tennessee Williams was also known for his love of a good drink. He particularly enjoyed the Ramos Fizz – a drink which combined dry gin with heavy cream, lime and lemon juices, egg whites, orange flower water and sugar.
The Gibson O’Neill
One of the more unusual classic cocktails to be named after a playwright is the Gibson O’Neill. The Nobel Laureate was well-known for his penchant for going to New York’s Garden Hotel to sample this blend of dry vermouth and gin with cocktail onions and club soda.
The Old Fashioned Anderson
The Old Fashioned has long been a popular cocktail which blends whiskey with bitters, sugar and club soda. However, it was very popular with a certain Sherwood Anderson too, a writer who influenced some of the biggest names in literature like Fitzgerald, Faulkner and Hemingway.
Hangman’s Blood
There are a number of links between this cocktail and literature. It was first mentioned in “A High Wind In Jamaica”, a novel by Richard Hughes, in which it was described as a combination of gun, brandy, port and rum. This drink also became a firm favourite of Anthony Burgess, another novelist, who took the cocktail a step further and added even more alcohol in the form of champagne, stout and whiskey.
Literary Inspired Cocktails
Whether you’re drinking alone or with friends, a literature-inspired cocktail could be just the thing to spruce up a dull evening. Whatever type of alcohol you prefer, or whoever your favourite writer may be, there’s sure to be a drink outlined here that tantalises your tastebuds.
