To Have and Have Another

Often the off the wall things turn out to be the most fun, and that's exactly what the new book To Have and Have Another, A Hemingway Cocktail Companion by Philip Greene is.

Anyone who reads Ernest Hemingway knows the man loved his beverages, and this book brings all of that front and center.  The author went through all the Hemingway writings and did a chapter on each cocktail that appeared in a Hemingway book or in his letters.  Want to know how many times and where a daiquiri is mentioned?  That's all here and so is at least one Ernest original recipe for the cocktail in question.  Greene is kind enough to list the book and chapters in which each cocktail appears.  Want to have a brandy and soda?  Pull out your copy of The Sun Also Rises and head to chapters one and ten and drink along with the characters.

Unique, fascinating, and unlike most modern cocktails one doesn't need  exotic spirits and strange ingredients to make most of these drinks.

Almost 4:00 PM here so it's time for a Martini and Chapter 19 of The Sun Also Rises.

Total fun and an excuse to reread some good books.

To Have and Have Another, A Hemingway Cocktail Companion.  Philip Greene.  2012.  Perigee Books.  $24 for 293 pages of fun.