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The Book Examiner's ultimate guide to pairing alcohol and literature: read, drink, and be merry
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The consumption of alcoholic beverages isn't just a coincidentally recurring quirk in the literary world: it's downright traditional. For many famous writers of the past and present, a cocktail glass is as at home in their hand as a pen. Consider Ernest Hemingway who said,
A man does not exist until he is drunk.
Or William Faulkner:
Civilization begins with distillation.
And, famously, F.Scott Fitzgerald who spent the majority of his writing career (and life) in a state of perpetual tipsiness:
First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.
With this in mind, there can only be one logical way to truly enjoy a book--with an adult beverage in hand. However, don't think just any old drink can be paired with your tome of choice; sipping the wrong drink while reading is tantamount to serving Chardonnay with nachos or Budweiser with Osso Bucco--an outrage to the drink and to the book.
Determining which drinks are appropriate for which works of literature can be a touchy decision, and infinitely harder than figuring what wine to serve with Gorgonzola or pot roast; lucky for you, the Book Examiner has labored long and hard to find the perfect combinations.
Read, drink, and be merry.
Pairing books with cocktails and hard liquor
I am not a heavy drinker. I can sometimes go for hours without touching a drop. - Noel Coward
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