Hemingway and Bailey's Bartending Guide to Great American Writers

Friday, March 11, 2011


Hemingway and Bailey's Bartending Guide to Great American Writers
by Mark Bailey
★★★★☆

Writers like to drink… a lot. I like to read funny stories about what they did or said while drinking, because writers tend to be quite witty. This book fills that desire perfectly. Each author chosen has a two-page spread detailing an incident where they were drinking, a recipe for their drink of choice (or one often associated with them), a line or two about drinking from one of their books


(Making cocktails during the Oscars)

Kerouac, Benchley, Fitzgerald and, of course, Hemingway, all found a place in the book, along with dozens of others. It’s a quick read, but a fun one. I also loved seeing some of the unique drink recipes included. While watching the Oscars, I mixed a few of the cocktails from the books. My favorites were the French 75 and the Tom Collins. I’m a gin girl and apparently many writers were gin drinkers too.

Bottom photo by moi.

5 comments:

Jeanne said...

Sounds like a fun book, especially, somehow, at this time of year.

Teacher/Learner said...

Ooh, that sounds like a fun book! It's one of those cliches that turns out to be true--so many of the greatest writers ever were on the bottle. After a while, I'm surprised they churned out legible sentences :D

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Teacher/Learner - I know, it's amazing to think about the work some authors can do while completely sauced.

Bybee said...

Gin smells so nice.

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Bybee - I think so, but I have a friend who thinks it smells like Christmas trees.