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INSPIRATION POTION
06 Jul 2015 By Xin Hui Helder-Eng
Meet the whiskey sours, screwdrivers, and mojitos that inspired (and occasionally got the better of) writers like Truman Capote and Edgar Allan Poe.
Original Article by Micaela English
What 10 Famous Authors Loved to Drink
1. F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Gin Rickey
Life: September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940
Accomplishments: American author of classics likeThe Great Gatsby, This Side of Paradise, Tender is the Night, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Drink of Choice: The gin rickey. Fitzgerald reportedly favored gin because it was undetectable on his breath. Of his love for cocktails he famously said, “First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.”
2. Oscar Wilde: Absinthe
Life: October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900
Accomplishments: The Irish author and poet is best known for The Importance of Being Earnest andThe Picture of Dorian Gray.
Drink of Choice: Absinthe. Wilde loved absinthe, even though he notoriously said, “After the first glass of absinthe you see things as you wish they were. After the second you see them as they are not. Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.”
3. William Faulkner: Mint Julep
Life: September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962
Accomplishments include: Nobel Prize laureate. Author of The Sound and the Fury.
Drink of choice: A southern gentleman through and through, Faulkner loved his mint juleps.
4. Dorothy Parker: Whiskey Sour
Life: August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967
Accomplishments include: Witty American poet, short story writer, critic.
Drink of choice: Parker was known to favor whiskey sours. “I wish I could drink like a lady. I can take one or two at the most. Three and I’m under the table. Four and I’m under the host.”
5. Ernest Hemingway: Mojito
Life: July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961
Accomplishments: Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1954. He wrote masterpieces like The Old Man and the Sea, The Sun Also Rises,and A Farewell to Arms.
Drink of Choice: Mojitos were said to be Hemingway’s drink of choice. It is said that Hemingway made the bar La Bodeguita del Medioin Cuba famous as he became one of its regulars and wrote on the wall “My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita.”
6. Anne Sexton: Martini
Life: November 9, 1928 – October 4, 1974
Accomplishment include: Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967 for her book Live or Die.
Drink of choice: Martinis. Sylvia Plath and Anne reportedly visited the Ritz-Carlton in Boston for martinis after poetry class.
7. Edgar Allan Poe: Brandy Eggnog
Life: January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849
Accomplishments: American author and poet best known for his macabre stories and poems like The Raven.
Drink of Choice: It’s been reported that Poe lovedeggnog. There’s even a famous Poe family eggnog recipe HERE.
8. Truman Capote: Screwdriver
Life: September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984
Accomplishments: American author known forBreakfast at Tiffany’s and the novel In Cold Blood .
Drink of Choice: Capote loved screwdrivers, which he referred to as “my orange drink.”
9. Carson McCullers: Hot Tea and Sherry
Life: February 19, 1917 – September 29, 1967
Accomplishments: McCullers wrote novels, short stories, plays, essays, and poetry. One of her most famous was her first novel, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.
Drink of Choice: McCullers referred to her drink of choice as “Sonnie Boy.” It was a mix of hot tea and sherry.
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10. Jack Kerouac: Margarita
Life: March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969
Accomplishments: Beat Generation American author and poet. Best known for literary works such as: On the Road, The Town and the City, andBig Sur.
Drink of Choice: Kerouac reportedly fell in love with margaritas on one of his drunken journeys to Mexico.
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