Literary Libations

Writers and booze are longtime bedfellows. Whether hard drinking is a byproduct of the creative lifestyle or a little liquor lubricates the muses' journey from ether to pen, scribes and their sips are, in themselves, the stuff of lore. Favorite drinks of famous authors is my topic this week, as a toast to the local writers who submitted entries for the 2015 SFR Writing Contest.

Hard-drinking Hemingway was known for his travels and exploits of both a noble and vile nature. Among his favorite haunts was El Floridita, a bar in Havana, Cuba, where several versions of this drink were created during the 1930s:

Hemingway Daiquiri

• 2 ounces light rum
• ¾ ounce lime juice
• ½ ounce grapefruit juice
• ½ ounce simple syrup
• ½ ounce maraschino liqueur
• Garnish: lime wheel
• Shake, with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass.

Invented in the early 1900s, in New Orleans, one of Williams' favorite cities, this drink is one of the most delicious and indulgent, and considered by some as the perfect "morning after" drink:

Ramos Gin Fizz

• 2 ounces gin
• 1 ounce heavy cream
• ½ ounce lemon juice
• ½ ounce lime juice
• 1 ounce simple syrup
• 6 drops orange flower water
• 1 egg white
• splash club soda
• Garnish: orange slice

Vigorously shake all ingredients, except club soda, for at least a full minute. Add ice, and shake vigorously again, for about two minutes. Strain into a highball or Collins glass. Add splash of club soda. Garnish with orange slice.

One of the free-spirited writers of early 1900s, Millay is known for being the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, as well as for her bawdy behavior. She spent a lot of time in Paris, and this drink, a riff on a sidecar, suits her well:

Between the Sheets

• ¾ ounce brandy
• ¾ ounce light rum
• 1 ounce Cointreau
• ¾ ounce lemon juice
• Garnish: lemon twist

Shake, with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass.

Famous for his books Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men, and, of course, The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck's career as a screenwriter and gritty humanist, with a glitzy Hollywood lifestyle, are summed up quite nicely in this drink, using a form of rough apple brandy as a base:

Jack Rose

• 2 ounces applejack
• ¾ ounce lemon juice
• ½ ounce simple syrup
• ¼ ounce grenadine

Shake, with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass.

There's little doubt as to Thompson's zest for spinning bad decisions into fodder for public entertainment. Rumor has it that his one attempt at healthfulness required eating a lot of grapefruit, and he was known to always have a few with him. So what if a little vodka fell into the juice?

Greyhound

• 2 ounces vodka
• 5 ounces grapefruit juice
• Pour into a tall, ice-filled glass. Stir gently. Drink briskly.

Want more? I used a fab little book called Hemingway & Bailey's Bartending Guide to Great American Writers as reference.

Santa Fe Reporter