Cocktail preferences from famous fiction writers and from famous chefs

 Over at theKitchn, they’re celebrating Cocktail Week. We found two of their articles, 10 Famous Fiction Writers and Their Cocktails, and 25 Food Writers Share Their Safety Drinks especially informative.

The first article deals with what famous fiction authors, e.g. Hemingway, Faulkner, Chandler, preferred to drink. Among some of the fun facts: James Bond ordered 19 vodka martinis and 16 gin martinis during his career. And Edna St. Vincent Millay invented The Between the Sheets (the description of how she did so is definitely an R-rated image).

The second article looks at what chefs will order at a bar where they either don’t know or have suspicions about the bartender. Beer would seem to be somewhat obvious, but greyhounds and Americanos? And while a gin (or vodka) and tonic is especially popular, it’s very important that the tonic be from an unopened bottle and not from the gun. 

And while we’re on drinks, we’d like to remind you that we have numerous cocktail books in our library and are indexing more and more. One particular book that we’ve indexed is definitely in the running for one of the best titles in the library, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails: From the Alamagoozlum to the Zombie – 100 Rediscovered Recipes and the Stories Behind Them.

Bottoms up, everybody.