Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist by Lauren Mortimer

Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist Reviews

• 
  Heidi The Reader

  New life goals: buy this book. Read every classic mentioned within and try associated drink. (I was shocked by how few of these I'd read.)
  
  I highly recommend this charming book of literary themed drinks. For folks who are either underage or choose not to imbibe, there are a few non-alcoholic selections and snacks included.
  
  The book summaries are hilarious and playfully presented. Some of my favorite drink titles: "Paradise Sauced", "Are You There God? It's Me, Margarita.", and "Moby-Drink".
  
  This is a must-read for any bookworm or aspiring bartender. Five stars. Cheers!
• 
  PorshaJo

  Fun read with a twist! Ha! How could you NOT enjoy a book that begins...'an English major walks into a bar'. Each drink has its name intertwined with a classic book. Each recipe begins with a recap of that book. I'm not much of a drinker, but found this highly enjoyable. It even made me think of a few books I still have yet to read and some reminders of the ones I've already liked. A short, quick read but quite enjoyable for any literary fan....and even drinkers I imagine. :-)
• 
  Lorna

  OK so I was had at the title, Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist. And the fun doesn't stop there. Tim Federle has taken literary classics and cleverly played with the titles to give us luscious literary cocktail classics like One Flew Over the Cosmo's Nest, Love in the Time of Kahlua, Frangelico and Zooey, A Rum of One's Own, and The Lime of the Ancient Mariner. And for all of you Ernest Hemingway fans, we have such delights as Moby-Drink, A Farewell to Amaretto, Vermouth the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Seagram's.
  
  How can you not embrace a book that begins with this opening line:
  
  

  "An English major walks into a bar . . . ."

  
  
  While I will admit that it crossed my mind how fun it would be to read each of these books and then celebrate my achievement by making the literary cocktail in celebration. However, I had to give that up early on. You would think that in the midst of a raging pandemic and rolling lockdowns, I would have been up to the task, but alas. . . .
  
  

  "Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right."

  -- Mark Twain
• 
  HBalikov

  I do solemnly swear that I do not understand why I was recently gifted with multiple books on mixed drinks. I do not average even a single mixed drink a month. And, I can’t believe it is a vote by my friends that I quit serving them wine or beer. I will do my best to put reviews of all of these books up simultaneously for your consumption and would appreciate any thoughts you might care to offer on the subject.
  
  Here, the drinks are only an excuse for a bad pun homage to some famous books. There is Paradise Sauced reference to Milton’s Paradise Lost
  
  The Rye in the Catcher honors Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye.
  
  Aside from the recipes, there is a very brief discussion of glassware and equipment and a few suggested drinking games. The book’s publisher insists that this book has sold more copies than any other cocktail book. Here is a sample of what you would be getting:
  
  "An apple a day may keep the dentist away, but the Devil’s no doctor. Paradise Lost, Milton’s seventeenth-century blank verse poem (don’t hold your breath for Dr. Seuss rhymes), was one of the first examples of Christian literature to paint Adam, Eve, and even your old friend Satan in gray strokes—it’s less good vs. evil than complicated vs. conflicted. Remarkably, Milton didn’t just write a twelve-part book, he spoke it: the author was blind, so he had to dictate the entire text to some kind of angel. Toast Milton’s Godlike effort with a recipe that features a sinful apple at its core. It’ll be worth the price tomorrow morning. Sugar, for cocktail rim (page 7) 1½ ounces vodka 1 ounce sour apple schnapps ½ ounce lime juice ½ teaspoon granulated sugar Rim a chilled cocktail glass in sugar and set aside. Shake the ingredients with ice and strain into the glass. You don’t need a man to enjoy life’s splendors, but prepare to pucker up after a sip of this sour sauce."
  
• 
  Naomi

  Blog review in progress
  
  Initial thoughts: Are you serious? A book that combines two of my favorite things...books and drinks? Yep...and this one was pure brilliant creativity! The drinks, for the most part, are unusual drinks that are paired up with books named after them. For the most part, ingredients would be easy to locate (although there are a couple that might need some searching and ordering). There are recipes for drinks for a crowd or your favorite book club. To boot, there is a recipe for a homemade grenadine that will become my only recipe since I can't stand the commercial grenadine and tend to stay away from any drink requiring grenadine. I also love the fact that the author gives summaries of the books, as well. Not all drinks are alcoholic and those which aren't, give YA/Juvenile book summaries. Then, we are given snacks to soak up some of that alcohol.
  
  What really made me laugh about this book is that it is written in the format of a classic book with the heavy, cream colored paper and brown ink. I'll say it again, this book was just creative genius!
  
  I loved everything about this book that it IMMEDIATELY went into my Amazon cart and will have recipes featured on The Pub and Grub Forum!
• 
  Gerry

  For a life-long teetotaller like myself to purchase a volume on cocktails, there must have been something special about the book. And there was. If the title 'Tequila Mockingbird' was not sufficient (and it was), the sub-title 'Cocktails with a Literary Twist' sealed the deal. What is more, it was money very well spent.
  
  Tim Federle presents us with 65 recipes for literary cocktails all based on, and titled accordingly, great works of literature. And along with the recipe, and how to concoct it, is some rye, sorry, wry commentary on the relevant work of fiction. Sample some of the wares and you will undoubtedly be reading your favourites under the table!
  
  In the section 'Drink for Dames' - to which Dorothy Parker adds an amusing opening quote, 'I like to have a martini/Two at the very most./After three I'm under the table,/After four I'm under my host.' - there is such as 'A Midsummer Night's Beam', a cocktail that will 'keep you skimming all five acts before a proper fairy-blessed slumber' and 'Ethan Pom', which if tragic hero Ethan, tragic zero Zeena and merry mistress Mattie had imbibed they 'might have giggled their way into literature's first thrupple'. And there is the eponymous 'Tequila Mockingbird', which can be drunk as a toast to 'a sometimes sour justice system' as this shot is guilty of packing a dill pickle punch.
  
  'Gulp for Guys' includes 'Crime and Punish-mint', a mint that should 'calm your nerves before you do anything too crazy' and it has vodka and just enough caffeine to give you the shakes! There is also 'The Malted Falcon', which 'goes down as gritty and unsentimental as any good private eye'.
  
  There are also sections on 'Bevvies for Book Clubs', including 'The Pitcher of Dorian Grey Goose' and 'The Portrait of Pink Lady'; 'Refreshments for Recovering Readers', which has 'Rip Van Drinkle' and the non-alcoholic 'The Wonderful Blizzard of Oz', which, by following your heart and freezing your brain, will give you the courage to 'create a drink fit for a good witch: yellow as a brick road and swirly as a twister' and finally there is a section 'Bar Bites for Book Hounds'. This section presents us with 'Olives 'n' Twist', the lemon-twisted olives in which may well compel the hungriest guest to beg for more!
  
  Accompanying all this are tips on glassware, tools for the job, techniques, terms (useful for a non-drinker) and Games for Geeks plus some lively illustrations, which all add to the enjoyment, by Lauren Mortimer.
  
  It is definitely a great fun book, which not only adds to one's literary knowledge but presents the perfect drink to accompany the reading of the various works!
  
  Phew, please would you now pass the Vimto* and to paraphrase Mark Twain, 'Too much of anything is bad, but too much Vimto is just right.'
  
  * Vimto - a fruit cordial with grape, blackcurrant and raspberry developed by Noel Nichols in Manchester, England, in 1908 and still going strong. 'Combine the Vimto with still water over ice in a highball glass and drink to contentment.' Heavenly! NB: Not to be confused with the cocktail 'Cheeky Vimto' which has no Vimto cordial in its recipe but is made up of one or two shots of ruby port and a 275ml bottle of WKD. The resultant drink looks like Vimto, and, so I am told, tastes like it (I can't believe that) thus the derivation of the name!
• 
  Jackie

  I'm a bit surprised this is listed on Goodreads, since it's mostly a recipe book. That said, I've read the main introduction, general intros, and basically every part that's not a recipe so far (you read anything you can get your hands on on long metro rides). It's rather witty, although it skews a little bit to the "I'm pandering to a college crowd" side with its frequent mentions of red solo cups and freshman year. No reason you can't market this book to an older generation - they'd be more likely to have all the ingredients, anyway.
  
  Appreciated the helpful breakdown of things like different glasses/equipment, drink-making terms, and the basic types of alcohol. You learn a little about cocktails (ie, garnishes add color and flavor; garbage = food/fruit that's just for aesthetic purposes; and kitsch is anything non-food that's a little hokey... and has a strong correlation to being why I arbitrarily order certain drinks) and also about literature, or at least literary figures (Gin was Fitzgerald's go-to, Kerouac favored tequila, and Dorothy Parker was another whiskey-lovin' woman).
  
  This review, should it be added to, will likely be an evaluation of different recipes (for my future benefit and yours) - but for now I appreciate the knowledge that Federle pairs with his clear appreciation for both literature and puns.
  
  Recipe 1: The Rye in the Catcher
  Whipped up this drink at an adult sleepover - or attempted to: I actually forgot to pack my lemon juice. This paired very well with the appetizer that I forgot to add butter to (but thankfully, since it was my first time bringing that recipe to this group, nobody could tell and they all happily scarfed the significantly healthier treats!). The Rye was equally adored - we poured liberally with the pineapple juice, but kept adding more rye until we could taste a little bite. It was the drink of choice for the majority of our party, and there was only a cursory slosh of the pitcher left over the next morning. I'd never think of mixing pineapple juice with ginger beer on my own... and it's a good thing I occasionally buy books like this to crack out of my comfort zone! Excited to try the next one.
• 
  Kristina

  "An English major walks into a bar ..."
  
  Gentle drinkers and readers, that's how this adorable, funny and practical little book begins. It's an enchanting tribute to the world's best stories.
  
  Reading it felt like chatting to a bookish friend and a bottle of wine. I wonder why that is. :D
  
  The book is organized in an exceptional way. The sections include glassware, equipment, techniques and terms. Also, not to mention the illustrations, fonts, and even the glassy paper is impressive. It is a pleasure for the senses.
  
  Tim Federle writes in a cheerful and playful tone, and his humour is infectious.
  
  When I saw this book for the first time, I thought that someone got a very clever idea and just wrote the book without thinking too much about it. But no, it's not like that at all. Tim Federle has refined all kind of details - the ingredients and the cocktail instructions are aligned perfectly to the books. It's fascinating how he did it also for the characters and for the plots.
  
  My favourites cocktail recipes from the book are:
  - One Flew Over the Cosmo's Nest
  - Gin Eyre
  - Tequila Mockingbird
  - The unbearable lightness of peeing
  - Crime and punish-mint
  - The last of the mojitos
  - Lord of the mai-tais
  - One hundred beers of solitude
  - Gone with the wine
  
  There are also games, hey! You know your friends are brave if they "take a shot every time Dickens introduces a new character in Great Expectations."
  
  I actually added some of the books to my to-read list. Those were books that I know from before but never bothered to check what they are about. So, it turns out it's different if you see them in a cocktail book. :)
  
  This book is a perfect gift for someone that likes reading. I enjoyed it a lot, although I'm not sure if the alcohol had a big saying in my appraisal. :D
  
  Cin-cin!
• 
  Diane Barnes

  1 star for combining books and drinks
  1 star for witty drink names
  1 star for VERY inventive puns and allusions
  1 final star for making me laugh out loud on every page
• 
  Colleen

  This is so great. And I'm not even drunk yet.
  
  I need to own a copy. So clever! And delicious! With a buzz - what better??
• 
  Cheri

  Neat idea - bad drinks
• 
  Carly Friedman

  Books and alcohol and glorious illustrations. What could be better?
• 
  David

  Another not-so-hidden diamond from Tim Federle. Concise, informative and always funny, I loved that the beginning included the tools you need, the equipment you need and the techniques for making a great drink. As much as I would like to, I will refrain from naming all of the 'literary' drinks that made me laugh out loud (that's LOL to anyone under 25) and just give a few of my favorite names and the resulting drink: "The Cooler Purple" made with blackberry liqueur was ca-razy good; "A Farewell to Amaretto" which is "best enjoyed after a stint overseas"; "The Pitcher of Dorian Grey Goose" which should be served to guests in "age before beauty" order, and he even includes drinking snacks like "The Deviled Egg Wears Prada" and "Olives 'n' Twist".
  
  Although we've never met, (Mr Federle is a friend of my nephews), his writing style and easy wit immediately made me feel as though he's a friend you don't see often, but each meeting takes up where the last one left off as if no time has passed at all.
  
  I look forward to reading more books from Mr Federle in the future and maybe meeting in person to possibly play quarters off an open "Canterbury Tales" while drinking "Lord of the Mai-Tais" if he ever finds himself in Bogota, New Jersey.
• 
  Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile

  What a hilarious, punny book! I only WISH I was this clever. Can't wait to make and try these!
• 
  Darlene

  I'm not much of a 'drinker'.. I have an occasional glass of wine in social situations and when I was much younger, perhaps a shot or two of Tennessee whiskey. However, I needed a couple of drink ideas for a social gathering I was attending and I came across this wonderful book, "Tequila Mockingbird"! This book is divided into sections.... drinks targeted to women'; drinks suggested for men, drinks for those who don't imbibe and even a section for snacks that can be made to accompany these very 'literate' drinks.
  
  Each drink recipe is assigned a clever name... a name associated with a particular book. Each recipe comes with a short satirical description of the book and all of the ingredients and measurements needed to prepare these unique concoctions. I ended up choosing two drink recipes fr my occasion.... "Love in the Time of Kahlua' (for "Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.. a book I actually have not yet read); and "Romeo and Julep" (for "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare). "Love in the Time of Kahlua' contains a little rum, coffee liqueur , cream and a dusting of cinnamon.... and tasted a bit like a frappe with a kick. The "Romeo and Julep" contained peach schnapps, bourbon, lemon-lime soda and some fresh mint... this had a very southern 'feel' and was very refreshing.
  
  Whether you enjoy experimenting with a variety of spirits or liqueurs.. or even if you're just a fruit punch lover, I think you will enjoy this book. I very much enjoyed looking at the illustrations, the recipes and reading the very witty commentaries about each title.... a really FUN book!
• 
  Lindsay

  Normally I wouldn't count anything in the 'recipe' category as a book read for the year. However, this little gem has over one hundred drinks each with a paragraph or two on the namesake book or its author. And it's very funny. So if I'm reading over one hundred paragraphs, laughing, and learning, I'm counting it.
  
  As an additional delight, illustrator Lauren Mortimer pairs most of the drinks with beautiful and clever pencil drawings that stole the show.
  
  I'm eager to try most of the drinks (except with Kahlua or coconut, ick) and seriously considering buying a copy for every literary liquor lover in my life.
• 
  Kirsten

  A unique take on cocktails. I enjoyed this book more for the descriptions of the books (and the illustrations) than the cocktail recipes. He described them with humor and dry wit. Some of the recipes were intriguing, but I may just stay with hard apple cider.
• 
  Bekah

  The puns are just hilarious. I was pleased to see non-alcoholic drinks included, and pleasantly surprised that there were a few recipes for snacks as well. A fun book to read for the jokes alone, but I am actually really excited to give a lot of them a try.
• 
  Melissa (Way Behind Again!)

  Such a fun book, have been collecting cocktail books and this one is perfect--cocktails and books! I would love to find a group of people to read through the books and drink the corresponding cocktail while discussing.
• 
  Amanda

  Definitely best purchase of this year. I REGRET NOTHING.
• 
  Lisa

  Received this gem of a book as a gift from a friend, who obviously knows me well.
• 
  Jill

  This is so cheesy and so amazing. The art, in particular, is fantastic -- sometimes hilarious, sometimes genuinely beautiful mashups of drinks with famous titles. If you like books or booze or puns or are doing a lit degree, get on it. And I may actually make some of these...
• 
  Cait

  everything about this is amazing
• 
  Kristina Simon

  I haven't tried any of the drinks or food, but it was an extremely entertaining read!
• 
  Amy Ingalls

  My daughter and I bought this book back in April and immediately decided we needed to form a book club based on it. Reading Under the Influence was born. We rounded up some members, everyone picked a classic from this book, and voila! The themed cocktails are a blast, and I make themed food to go along with the books. We also do a themed craft. We have read
  Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea,
  To Kill a Mockingbird,
  Bridget Jones's Diary,
  Fahrenheit 451, and
  The Handmaid's Tale, with more books picked out for upcoming meetings. This book is perfect! We are having such a blast! (I would post pics of crafts or food but I don't know how.)
  
  
• 
  Melissa

  I'm not sure this is technically "reading" since it is more like a recipe book, but it did motivate me to create a new shelf on my Goodreads account and add quite a few of these "classics". I've already decided to order a copy for my English major daughter for a Christmas gift!
  
  "Congrats. You fought through War and Peace, burned through Fahrenheit 451, and sailed through Moby-Dick. All right, you nearly drowned in Moby-Dick, but you made it to shore—and you deserve a drink! A fun gift for barflies and a terrific treat for book clubs, Tequila Mockingbird is the ultimate cocktail book for the literary obsessed. Featuring 65 delicious drink recipes—paired with wry commentary on history's most beloved novels—the book also includes bar bites, drinking games, and whimsical illustrations throughout."
• 
  Tara

  A fun little tome for anyone who likes something stronger than a cup of tea in their library. It includes drinks for guys and gals, teetotalers, and can even quench the thirst of a crowd. Top that off with some literary themed nibbles, and you've got a perfect cocktail book. Don't let the puns scare you away, these are excellent recipes, and I am keen to try them all (although not at the same time.)
• 
  Michael

  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.
• 
  Carolina

  Managed the difficult balance of both being clear and easily understandable for everyone but also not patronising to anyone. The names of the cocktails were so fun to read (favourites were Bridget Jones' Daiquiri and Gin Eyre) and the drinking games at the end were brilliant - the final sentence in particular was a great end (first person to cry at the Bell Jar has to drink, then you should gently rock them.)
• 
  Herb

  My proficiency in alcoholism is ever increasing.