We drink culturally: alcoholic cocktails of famous writers

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Imagining yourself as a 20s playboy or a 50s beatnik, taking it on your chest is much more interesting.

So be it, we will not offer "a tear of a Komsomol member." All cocktails can be prepared at home.

1. Cocktail "Alexander" and the heroes of Evelyn Waugh

A creamy cocktail that, according to legend, was named after Queen Alexandra of England, wife of Edward VII. The drink turned out to be strong and with such a powerful taste that it began to be considered masculine, and “Alexandra” turned from “Alexandra”. Today, of course, little attention is paid to the sex of cocktails - the main thing is to like the taste.

However, in the novel by British writer Evelyn Waugh "Back to Brideshead" this gin-based cocktail is traditionally drunk by gentlemen. More precisely, Anthony Blanche, an esthete with outrageous manners, who was closely acquainted with Proust, Cocteau and Diaghilev, is trying to treat the main character.

He ordered four Alexander cocktails from George at the bar. And, placing the glasses in a row in front of him, smacked his lips so loudly that he attracted the indignant gaze of all those present.

Evelyn Waugh "Return to Brideshead"

Ingredients and preparation method:

• 45 ml gin;
• 30 ml of Creme de Cacao liqueur;
• 30 ml of cream.

Glass type: champagne saucer.

Whisk all ingredients in a shaker with ice and filter into a cocktail glass.

"Alexander" is considered an all-day cocktail, but due to its sweetish creamy taste it is suitable as a digestif - a drink that is served after meals, "for dessert".

2. Ernest Hemingway's daiquiri

The heroes of Hemingway's works often kiss the glass. For example, in the novel A Farewell to Arms, alcohol is mentioned almost 90 times. The author himself did not lag behind the characters. A coarse-knit sweater, wrinkles at the corners of the eyes and a love of sea adventures … Hemingway is the embodiment of brutal romance. At the same time, in addition to pure whiskey ("Whiskey is food not for the stomach, but for the soul"), he loved classic cocktails, especially based on rum.

Most of all, Hemingway liked the daiquiri, which was prepared in the Floridita bar in Havana, where a few drops of Maraschino liqueur were added to it. The writer asked to make him stronger. This is how the Papa Double cocktail appeared, containing about 120 ml of pure alcohol.

After the release of For Whom the Bell Tolls, Hemingway wrote to his ex-wife: "The book sells like cool daiquiris in hell."

Ingredients and preparation method:

• 60 ml white rum;
• 30 ml lime juice;
• 15 ml sugar syrup.

Glass type: champagne saucer.

Whisk in a shaker with ice for 10 seconds, filter into a cocktail glass. For Papa Double, double the rum portion.

Daiquiri is originally a Cuban cocktail that is best enjoyed on the beach. And if the vacation is not yet soon, no one bothers to arrange a themed party at home.

3. Milk Punch from The Pickwick Papers

Samuel Pickwick is the most good-natured character of Charles Dickens, a source of inspiration for the creators of Pickwick tea and a symbol of all the most cozy and lamp-like in old England. Mr. Pickwick's alcoholic drink also breathes warmth. Traditional punch is a hot alcoholic cocktail with juice or fruit. It is served in a large container and drunk from porcelain cups. And milk punch is a delicate drink with a creamy taste, which in the egg version is called eggnog and is especially loved in England.

Mr. Pickwick, always ready to sacrifice his own interests for the sake of friends, immediately tasted the drink.

- Weird! - smacking his lips, said Mr Pickwick. - I can't define it yet. Oh yeah! - he added after the second try. - It's a punch.

Charles Dickens "Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club"

Ingredients and preparation method:

• 60 ml cognac, whiskey or rum (brown or gold);
• 85 ml of milk;
• 20 ml sugar syrup;
• 1 egg yolk;
• a pinch of nutmeg.

Glass type: thick-walled porcelain mug.

This punch is also prepared cold by mixing the ingredients in a shaker with ice. And to get a hot drink, you need to mix the yolks and sugar syrup in a blender, pour the mixture into a saucepan with milk, add alcohol. Keep the mixture on fire, stirring constantly, until it becomes hot and smooth. Alternatively, you can cheat and simply reheat a well-mixed drink in the microwave - no one will judge you.

The drink is perfect for a rainy autumn evening or winter holidays. Call your friends, play a good British comedy, spill eggnog and open your Pickwick Club. Alternatively, following the example of Mr. Pickwick, you can pour it into a thermos and take it for a walk outside the city.

4. Absinthe "Cursed Poets"

Contrary to popular belief, Parisian bohemians were not fond of burning absinthe. This came into vogue when the bars were filled with American soldiers who loved the show. But Paul Verlaine, Rimbaud and other writers who visited institutions in Montmartre preferred diluted absinthe with various additives.

Remember the painting by Picasso "The Absinthe Drinker": on the table next to the woman - a glass of green liquid and a siphon. Cold water makes the drink cloudy and whitish, because essential oils form an emulsion. Another way to soften the taste of absinthe is to add sugar syrup there. We offer the French method, which includes both.

Ingredients and preparation method:

• 30 ml of absinthe;
• 60 ml of cold water;
• 1 sugar cube.

Glass type: Absinthe Glass.

Place the sugar on the absinthe spoon that is attached to the glass. Pour water into absinthe through sugar.

Absinthe's romantic and controversial reputation stems from its intoxicating thujone content. However, it is not easy to feel the effect of the secret ingredient: the drink has 70 degrees, so there is a great chance to get drunk faster. It is much easier to feel thujone relaxation if you drink absinthe in cocktails and take your time.

5. Faulkner and Fitzgerald's mint julep

William Faulkner began his alcoholic career as a child by tasting his grandfather's punch. Subsequently, the writer drank a lot of various drinks, and during the Prohibition era he did not disdain corn alcohol either. Faulkner even worked drunk, which, however, did not prevent him from becoming a great writer and receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature.

From mixed drinks, he preferred mint julep - a classic old cocktail of bourbon and fresh mint, the recipe for which dates back to the early 19th century. This drink was especially loved in the "Roaring Twenties", when many knew how to have fun. For example, it was prepared by Daisy, the heroine of The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald.

Ingredients and preparation method:

• 50 ml bourbon;
• 10 ml of still water;
• 10 g icing sugar;
• 8-10 mint leaves.

Glass type: Rocks or Old Fashion.

Crush mint with powdered sugar in a glass, add crushed ice. Pour in bourbon, garnish with a sprig of mint.

Traditionally, mint julep is served in a special metal glass. If you don't have one, a rock with a cup holder will do. The main thing is that the metal is frosty and cold hands.

6. "Boiler Man" by Charles Bukowski

Bar culture is different. As chic and aristocratic as in the novels of Charles Bukowski - dark, dirty and desperate. “I went to the worst bars, hoping that they would kill me there, but it turned out that I was just picking up again,” he wrote. For both the writer and many of his characters, the main factors of choice were the price of alcohol and its effect, not aesthetics. Nevertheless, Bukowski also prepared his signature "cocktail" - he drank cheap whiskey and beer. This harsh combination is called the "Boiler".

Ingredients and serving:

• simpler bourbon;
• any beer.

Glass type: Rocks and Beer Glass

Whiskey is served without ice and is drunk in one gulp, and then washed down with beer.

If you want to try this method, keep in mind that beer contains not only its own degree, but also carbon dioxide, which helps strong alcohol to be absorbed. So the effect can be quick and unexpected. There is still no exact data on how mixing different alcohol affects a hangover - everything is very individual. But choosing low-quality ingredients in principle, it is easy to get a headache in the morning.

7. Jeeves' hangover cocktail

The carefree aristocrat Bertie Wooster of Woodhouse's novels began the evening with champagne at a billiards table at the Drones Club and ended with a few glasses of brandy. Booze sometimes drove Worcester into trouble. Once he even managed to steal a police helmet. Unsurprisingly, he could feel bad in the morning. Fortunately, Jeeves butler was always ready to help and prepare a healing cocktail for the hungover gentleman. How exactly the servant prepared the drink is unknown, but its composition resembles the Oyster Prairie cocktail. In any case, this is the opinion of the members of the English Society of Wodehouse Wooster Sauce.

“Be kind, sir,” Jeeves said, bending over to me like a doctor to a patient, like a court healer giving a glass of life-giving elixir to a sick prince of blood. - This is the composition of my personal invention. It is colored by Pikan sauce, nutritious by a raw egg and spicy by red pepper.

Pelam Woodhouse "Commanding the Jeeves Parade"

Ingredients and preparation method:

• 50 ml of brandy;
• 15 ml wine vinegar;
• 5 ml tomato ketchup;
• 5 ml of Angostura bitter;
• 15 ml of Worcester sauce

Glass type: goblet.

Mix in a glass, add pepper and whole egg yolk.

To drink this mixture in one gulp, you need to have a strong spirit. Worcester compares its effect to the explosion of a mine in the head and fire in the esophagus. Although, if you suffer so much in the morning that you need a hangover cocktail, getting rid of it will be worth it.

A few years ago, design company Pop Chart Lab released The Cocktail Chart of Film & Literature poster that you can buy and hang at home. The poster contains recipes for famous cocktails not only from books, but also from films and TV series.