Famous Alcoholic Authors and the Delicious Drinks That Destroyed Them

You’re in a rut. You’ve lost your edge. You want a cocktail, but you’re bored with your typical gin and tonic, vodka cranberry, whiskey coke, etc. etc. etc. Have no fear, your favorite alcoholic authors are here for inspiration!

You know what’s not inspiring, though? Drinking yourself to death. Please drink responsibly, know your limits, and absolutely do not drink and drive.

1. Ernest Hemingway loved… a mojito!

^{Image via Felipe Parucci.}

Make your own mojito! (Via Epicurious)

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) fresh lime juice
2 heaping teaspoons superfine sugar
1 cup crushed ice
12 fresh mint leaves, plus 5 small sprigs for garnish
1/4 cup (2 ounces) white rum
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) club soda

Stir lime juice and sugar together until sugar dissolves. Add ice. Rub mint leaves over rim of glass, tear leaves in half, and add to glass. Stir, add rum, remaining ice, and club soda. Stir and garnish.

2. Hunter S. Thompson loved… Wild Turkey!

^{Images via the Never Company, Sycamore Hills Whiskey}

Thompson drank his bourbon straight, and in large quantities. Please enjoy responsibly.

3. Edgar Allan Poe loved… brandy eggnog!

^{Images via Wikipedia, My Gourmet Connection}

Make your own brandy eggnog! (Via Spruce)

6 large eggs, plus 2 yolks
1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup brandy, bourbon, or dark rum
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon grated nutmeg
1/4 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
Additional grated nutmeg for garnish

Combine eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a heavy pan, whisking until combined. Continue whisking while adding milk in a slow, steady stream. Place pan on burner on lowest setting, stirring continuously until 160 degrees F and the mixture thickens to coat the back of a spoon (25-30 minutes).

Strain mixture, add brandy, bourbon, or dark rum, vanilla extract, and nutmeg. Stir and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, though the mixture can be stored for up to 3 days. Once chilled, pour heavy cream into a bowl and whip until it forms soft peaks. Fold whipped cream into custard mixture and serve in chilled glasses with nutmeg garnish.

4. Truman Capote loved… a screwdriver!

^{Image via The Drinks Business}

Delicious, easy, and delicious. Mix vodka and orange juice to taste.

5. Jack Kerouac loved… a margarita!

^{Images via CMG Worldwide, Serious Eats}

Make your own margarita! (Via Liquor.com)

3/4 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice
Cointreau, triple sec, or your preferred orange liqueur
1 & 1/2 oz. tequila blanco
Kosher salt (optional, but is it really?)
Lime wedges
Ice

Add ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake. Strain into a chilled glass with ice. Garnish with lime wedge.

6. William Faulkner loved… mint juleps!

^{Images via Bio, Southern Fatty}

Make your own mint julep! (Via Alton Brown)

10 mint leaves, plus a sprig for garnish
1 & 1/2 teaspoons superfine sugar
Seltzer water
Crushed ice
2 & 1/2 ounces Kentucky bourbon whiskey

Place mint leaves in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass and top with sugar. Muddle until the leaves begin to break down. Add splash of seltzer water, fill glass 3/4 full with crushed ice, and add bourbon. Top with another splash of seltzer, stir, and garnish with mint.

7. F. Scott Fitzgerald loved…. Gin Rickeys!