Travelling Bartender

It might be said that behind every great author there is a great bottle. My guess is that in most cases the bottle is empty. This little book takes a look at how great american writers have produced so many empty bottles.

For each author you will find: a drinking story, a drink recipe, and a paragraph or two from a representative work. The stories are fun. The drink recipes are spot on, simple and well done. I’ve mixed several and never had a complaint.

I have about 10 of these sitting on top of the wine rack in the dining room. It’s nice to hand one out to someone who’s drinkin’ what you’re mixin’.

THIS IS AN ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL BOOK. It is a great gift for any interested in authors or mixing drinks … or both. Small but packs a powerful punch.

Combine one shot of booze, four ounces of Great American Writers, and garnish heavily with several tales of drunken exploits. What you get is a tidy little book that’ll knock your socks off.

This isn’t exactly a cocktail recipe book. It’s not really a literature anthology, either. I’m not entirely sure what it is, but I do know that it’s one of the most enjoyable books I’ve bought in the past year or two.

In a nutshell, Bailey and Hemingway were sitting in a bar one night, remembering the good old days when authors found their ideas at the bottom of a bottle. So as a tribute to the great author-drinkers 20th Century, they mixed up this book. They picked out about 70 writers and paired them each with a real, no-fooling-around kind of drink. Then they selected a short excerpt from each author’s work, and to round it out (and here’s where the book gets really entertaining), there’s a story of some drunken feat.

As far as the drink recipes in this book go, I like every one of them that I’ve tried. No, it’s not nearly a complete compilation of cocktails, but there’s something for everybody here, whether you’re a fan of the quick and harsh Boilermaker or the dainty French 75, the sophisticated Gimlet, or the casual Planter’s Punch. Bottoms up!

I always wondered what Jack Kerouac’s favorite drink was…and now I know thanks to Hemingway & Bailey’s guide—and I even know how to mix it. A great idea and great execution!

I absolutely love this book. Not only do I love great writers, especially the crazy ones, but I love booze too. When I pick up this book it not only shows some of the writers character by the drink they choose but it makes me want to make a drink for myself. Great coffee table book/conversation piece.