Happy Cocktail Tuesday!


Since it’s Tuesday, only a day after Monday, and only two more before Thursday, it really is the perfect cocktail day. Not following me? That’s okay, there’s really not much logic behind it anyways. What it comes down to is cocktails every day of the week, because every day of the week should be a party!

Actually, let’s all put down the daily cocktails. We are about to discuss a book about Hemingway and we all know what happened there. Let’s keep it to once or twice a week? Okay, good.

Let’s talk book. In To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion, Philip Greene explores cocktails through the words of Papa Hemingway. Greene really seemed to work on creating cocktails that were true to the time period with paired Hemingway literary references cited right after the cocktail recipes themselves.

Along with photos from the author’s collection, it makes for an interesting look at all that is Hemingway–both the time and places he lived. You’ll learn about Hemingway’s exaggerated love of cold drinks, his invented technique of carburetion, as well as anecdotal stories about people around Hemingway, including Sherwood Anderson and James Joyce.

My first gripe with the book came down to the fact that it was impossible to read it anytime before 3 PM because Greene promised such beautiful things with each cocktail that I wanted to try them right then. Then again, I don’t know if it’s a gripe as much as a character flaw.

The only other thing that would have improved the book would have been an index listed by ingredient so I could go directly to drinks that I could make with what I had on hand. Turns out I’m spoiled by apps like Top Shelf and Mixology.

Greene’s book was a fun ride and inspired me to make a drink that I only have horrible high school memories about–the daiquiri. Turns out Hemingway’s daiquiri is more my style with a sweetness that’s only a small note in the tangy, crisp blend. I didn’t even bother with the crushed ice and it came together quickly and beautifully. Even better, if you’re in the Phoenix area it can help you get through that stockpile of citrus I’m sure you have around.

daiquiri_greene

Papa Doble (The Wild Daiquiri) 

  • 3 3/4 oz white rum
  • 2 oz fresh lime juice (I used lemon and it was just fine)
  • 2 oz fresh grapefruit juice
  • 6 drops maraschino liquer

Greene’s suggested reading: Islands in the Stream (“Cuba”).

 

Have a favorite Hemingway work? We have a love/hate relationship, but I would love some recommendations on how to get started reading the big H. 

Update! Philip Greene will be giving a cocktail seminar in Phoenix for Arizona Cocktail Week on February 19. Check out more details here >> bit.ly/Xkrg9l. 

About nikki_steele

Freelance writer and editor. Creator of BookPairing blog.
by nikki_steele Posted on February 5, 2013
This entry was posted in Book to Wine Pairings, Pairings, Uncategorized and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.
  • Amanda @ On a Book Bender

    Cocktails! This is a favorite subject of mine. (Wednesdays seem to be my alcohol day, though only because Wine Wednesday–or Vodka Vednesday, if the day has been particularly tiring–rolls off my fingers so well.)

    This book sounds very cool, especially for Hemingway fans. (I’m not, though now I kind of wish I was. For the cocktails. That’s not weird, right?) I would agree, though, that not having an index by ingredient is a downfall.

    Now I want a drink, too. :)

    • http://www.bookpairing.com/ Nikki Steele

      I can appreciate that. Wine Wednesdays is also much classier than Toasted Thursdays of my youth. But Vodka Vednesday? The classiest.

      I have a really weird relationship with Hemingway in that I’ve only read parts of his books and, at the time, they annoyed me because they were all about eating and drinking and thinking. It’s not like I do much else though. Greene’s book definitely made me want to pick up some of his other books. It has to go down easier with cocktail in hand.