One of our (best) independent bookstores (Magic City) hosts an Adult Book Fair every year. (Let’s be clear. It is a book fair for adults, not a book fair featuring “adult” books. Hope that is clear.) They host it in a covered parking lot attached to a local brewery. It’s a fun time.
I finally nabbed a ticket this year and took our Goddaughter. Of course, I was drawn to the bargain table (where I picked up a signed copy of Tom Colicchio’s Why I Cook), the memoir section (where I picked up Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest), and the potpourri section. It was in this section that I found Get Lit: Cocktails That Bring Your Favorite Books to Life. I didn’t peruse it much because the crowds were pushing us along. It sounded like something right down my alley.
About the book:
Get Lit: Cocktails That Bring Your Favorite Books to Life is a captivating cocktail compendium that invites bibliophiles and cocktail enthusiasts alike to embark on a literary journey through the world of libations. Each page of this intoxicating title unveils a creative fusion of popular literature with mixology mastery, offering a delightful array of drink recipes inspired by beloved books from a variety of genres. Within the pages of Get Lit readers will uncover a treasure trove of cocktail concoctions, meticulously crafted to capture the essence of iconic characters, settings, and themes in popular literature.
The book will include 50 drink recipes, divided into 5 sections: “Fiery Goblets for Red Queens and Wicked Kings” (fantasy), “Cosmic Cups with Futuristic Flavors” (science-fiction), “Twisted Tonics and Icebreaker Potions For Love, Theoretically” (romance), “Suspenseful Spirits to Sip As You Sow Sinister Schemes” (thrillers) and “Virgin Brews for Virgin (Or Not So Virgin) Tropes” (mocktails, based on book tropes).
With its charming blend of literary references and mixology expertise, Get Lit is the perfect companion for both bookworms and cocktail connoisseurs, sparking spirited conversations and literary-inspired celebrations with every turn of the page. From tales of the supernatural to love gone wrong, every sip tells a story and transports the reader into the heart of their favorite literary landscapes. (Taken from riffraff books.)
About the Author(s):
Elizabeth Sagan lives in Romania, where she promotes reading through artistic images and humorous videos inspired by her love for fantasy books. She’s a reader first, a writer second and a content creator third, and she can’t fall asleep without a scene playing in her head. When she’s not reading or writing, she rescues birds. Get Lit is her nonfiction debut. You can find her on Instagram at @elizabeth_sagan.
Sother Teague is a professional barman, Wine Enthusiast’s Mixologist of the Year, is the former president of the New York chapter of United States Bartenders Guild, Beverage Director at New York bitters and amaro mecca Amor y Amargo – named one of the top 25 bars in North America – and the host of Speakeasy on Heritage Radio Network. He developed a love of teaching while working on the Food Network’s Good Eats, and has been featured as a cocktail expert by such publications as Esquire, GQ, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Time Out, BuzzFeed and more. Teague has published I’m Just Here for the Drinks: A Guide to Spirits, Drinking and More Than 100 Extraordinary Cocktails and Let’s Get Blitzen: 60+ Holiday Cocktails to Make Your Spirits Bright. He lives and works in New York’s East Village. (From GoogleBooks)
What I thought…
My coworkers love to read as much as I do. We just don’t read the same material. It became quite obvious during downtime at work or when we brought in books to trade. They are all into fantasy. I am not. (Yes, I have read all of the Game of Thrones novels, but that is about it.) I am really not into thrillers that much either. You can find me with my head in a cookbook, literary fiction or a memoir. So, if I had read the intro to this book before buying it, I probably would have passed. I thought I was getting something a bit more mainstream which might include some classics.
I did enjoy reading the introduction and getting to know Sagan better and the “Getting Started” section is very definitive. There are some great tips on setting up your home bar, especially like taking a book shelf or two in your library. The bar tools and glassware sections were very well researched and informative. The “10 Characters I’d Most Like to Grab a Drink With” was entertaining even though I didn’t know half the characters she was mentioning.
You can see the creativity in Sagan’s divisions for this book (see the blurb above) and how she marries the books with Teague’s recipes into five sections. Obviously there’s no Jane Austen inspired potent potables in the lot.
Sagan and Teague are proponents on making your own simple syrups and the final two pages of the book contain nineteen different varieties (plus two salt mixes).
The cocktails are inventive and beautifully photographed. Sagan writes an intro to each drink describing how and why the cocktail pairs with each book. Interestingly, in the Mocktail section, she focuses more on plot types, those that are overused and those that are popular, things like “The Chosen One,” “Enemies to Found Family,” Forbidden Love,” and “Knife to the Throat” to name a few. The most hilarious one was “Alphahole”:
Nice guys finish last, but alphaholes—who walk the fine line between alphas and asshole…. It’s the self-confidence that makes them so intriguing—the way they’re so sure of themselves makes you want to buy whatever they’re selling. The charming dimple, the playful smirk and the way their eyes darken when they see you…. Arrogant and ruthless, alphaholes are challenging enough to keep you entertained, yet their perfectly chiseled physique also makes you feel protected. When push comes to shove, you know they’re more than capable of defending you. (136)
While the Alphahole cocktail is in the Mocktail section (using Free Spirits’ The Spirit of Tequila), I converted the recipe to a high-octane one. The recipe features jalapeno-maple syrup and Sweet Spicy Salt (153).
To make the this drink, first mix up the jalapeno-maple syrup by placing 4 oz. maple syrup and half a jalapeno in a high powered blender. Blend and then strain. Mix up the spice mix: 1 T. Kosher salt, 1/2 T. sugar, 3/4 t. paprika (I used smoked paprika), and 1/8 t. cayenne.
The drink itself is just a basic marg: 2 oz. tequila (or fake tequila), 3/4 oz. jalapeno-maple syrup, 3/4 oz. lemon juice. Shake the ingredients with ice. Use a sliced lemon to rub on the rim of the glass and then dip the rim in the spice mixture. Strain the cocktail from the shaker into the glass. Serve.
If you’re interested, here are the books Sagan picked for inspiration:
- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
- The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
- The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
- A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
- Powerless by Lauren Roberts
- Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
- The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
- One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
- Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse, #1) by James S. A. Corey
- The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin
- This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Maxx Gladstone
- Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
- Project Hail Mary by Andrew Weir
- Red Rising by Pierce Brown
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- All Systems Red by Martha Wells
- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
- A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
- Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
- Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
- Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
- Beach Read by Emily Henry
- Twisted Love by Ana Huang
- Verity by Coleen Hoover
- Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
- Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver
- Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
- YOU by Caroline Kepnes
- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
- The Housemaid by Fried McFadden
- Where the Crawdad Sings by Delia Owens
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celest Ng
- Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
- First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
I was surprised to see that I had actually read a few (besides Martin’s books): Verity, The Seven Husbands of Eveylyn Hugo, Gone Girl, Where the Crawdad Sings, and Yellowface.
My intent was to hand this book over to my younger co-workers who have probably read everything on this list. Now, I think I might just keep it around for a while.
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