Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist

Literary lush alert! I love a good cocktail allllmost as much as I love a good book, so this selection seemed perfect for me. English major? Check. Cocktail enthusiast? Check. Chortler at a terrible pun? Check!!!

The former barista in me still gets a thrill whenever I create a concoction (alcoholic or non) that makes my guests stop and say, “Wow, this is good. What’s in this?” Now I’ve got a bevy of beverages to attempt, and I cannot wait until my living room is finished so I can stock my liquor cabinet. (Our liquor cabinet is actually an antique medical cabinet. Get it? It’s like…modern medicine! Silly, I know, but it amuses us.)

Okay, back to the book. Tequlia Mockingbird deals with classics, but not in an overly highbrow show more way, which I appreciated. I mean, I’ve read many-to-most of the books featured here, and they’re serious works. (Well, most. There are entries for children’s books and chick lit, after all.) But Tim Federle manages to make the summaries move breezily with some remarkably clever plays on words and literary quips.

The cocktails are mainly variations on the staples, which I’m sure you can guess from names like “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margarita” and “The Joy of Sex on the Beach.” There are a few that I’ve never heard of or tried as well, though, and they sound delicious. I’m especially jazzed to try “Frangelico and Zooey,” and not just because the Glass family is one of my top five literary families. The drink sounds excellent.

Not only is this book clever and quirky and mouth-watering, it’s easy on the eyes as well. Printed in chocolate- and rust-colored ink, it features artwork by Lauren Mortimer that is simultaneously witty and gorgeous. I especially enjoyed the illustration for “Paradise Sauced” (an apple martini), which substitutes a martini glass for the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, with a snake wrapped around the stem.

All in all: I had high hopes for this book, and it delivered. Entertaining, attractive, and useful, it’s the whole package. It would make a great gift for an English major. (I would have loved to receive this as a gift, but nobody picked up on the hints I was dropping, so I went out and bought it for myself…and I’m so glad I did!) show less

A hilarious collection of literary-themed cocktail recipes and party appetizers. The names and thoughtful ingredients are so much fun! I love the way each drink is explained and in some there are even multiple options. For example, The Turn of the Screwdriver comes with an option two possible drinks, one if you think she's sane, the nother if you think she's nuts. So far The Midsummer Night's Beam recipe, a refreshing mint and bourbon drink, is my favorite!

This book has an excellent introductory section that talks about all the tools, spirits, mix-ins, and terms used throughout. The end of the book has a complementary imperial to metric conversion chart, as well as a some very tongue-in-cheek (definitely rhetorical, rather that sincerely suggested) drinking games.

I also very much appreciate that the book includes non-alcoholic beverages and snack recipes, however, I feel they could’ve easily been paired with adult literature. Although all the paired literature is excellent, I would much prefer reading “Chocolat” by Naomi Harris or “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel than “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” while drinking the Chocolate Fake-tini, and “Bread show more Alone” by Judi Hendricks or “Comfort Food” by Kate Jacobs than “Alice in Wonderland” while eating the paired grilled sandwich.

The monstrosity books/series such as “Remembrance of Things Past,” “Atlas Shrugged,” “Gone with the Wind,” the ENTIRE “Sherlock Holmes” series, and others just seem a bit ambitious for the average reader to slog through. Could you imagine drinking the same cocktail for the 9 months it would take to get through all seven of the 600 page volumes of “Remembrance of Things Past?” Oof!!

Minor critiques aside, if you look at this book as NOT a read-&-drink-a-long, then it’s delightfully humorous and filled with traditional cocktails with a literary inspired twist. I look forward to trying them out! show less

The conception is somewhat better than the execution. The cocktail recipes are fine, but the accompanying text about the literary works is slight and rather vapid. That said, I will be drinking my way through it over time, and it does look nice as a novelty item, I just wish Federle had taken his idea a little more seriously.

This is spectacular if for no other reason than the puns! I love each little blurb and some of the recipes where amazing!

"Are You There God? It's Me, Margarita"--lol, love that one! A great cookbook to have on hand for book group refreshments, literary-themed parties, and just anytime! Non-alcohol recipes included. Some to try: Pat the Tummy, Rip van Drinkle, Cherry Poppins, Love in the Time of Kahlua, Pear the Wild Things Are.

Plenty of punny cocktails to impress your guests with, especially if said guests are a bunch of bookish nerds.

What made this especially helpful for me personally however, are formulas for metric conversions included at the end. All of my favorite recipes use imperial measurements, and I always feel a vague sense of panic, when I see ounces and Fahrenheits. It’s a matter of seconds to pull up necessary formulas online, but I find a handy table more pleasing.

The inclusion of nonalcoholic beverages and a couple of easy recipes for a quick bite are also a plus.