The holiday season is quickly approaching and with it, festive fetes, open houses and seasonal celebrations. Stumped for a stellar gift for your host or hostess? Enter Book Girl’s Guide to Cocktails for Books Lovers (Source Books, 2014, $11.99 US) by award-winning author (turned literary mixologist), Tessa Smith McGovern.
Originally hailing from England and currently Westport-based, Smith McGovern has always had a penchant for books, and a fascination with interesting cocktails fancied by her father. She successfully coupled literature and libations in a pint-sized, handy hardcover that doubles as the perfect party -- and conversation -- starter for book lovers and cocktail enthusiasts alike. Cocktails for Booklovers is part drink guide, part behind-the-scenes look at bestselling and local authors: a mini-history lesson is blended with a related cocktail, 50 unique recipies to be exact. Recipients will relish fun facts, while sipping spins on time honored drinks or crafting a Smith McGovern original.
Readers can experiment with ‘Mr. MiCawber’s Hot Gin Punch’ (suited for the fictional character in Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield), taste a ‘Pimm’s No. 1 Classic,’ which the author assigns to local writer and fellow Westporter, Jane Green, for her novel, Another Piece of My Heart, or indulge in a ‘Salted Caramel and Bourbon Milkshake’ that ties into Flannery O’Conner’s short story, Wise Blood. Despite your fiction favorite or choice of beverage, Cocktails for Booklovers delivers on both levels.
Tessa Smith McGovern is also the Co-founder of Fairfield County Writers’ Studio (fcwritersstudio.com), host of the popular internet talk show, Book Girl TV, a writing instructor at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, and author of the digital collection of short stories, London Road: Linked Stories.
So this holiday season, don’t show up with that same, tired bottle of wine: add some panache and wrap Cocktails for Book Lovers with a top shelf vodka, aged whiskey or rum for the sweeter drink afficianado. For a more significant holiday present, fashion a gift basket of bestsellers and bar accessories. Any combination makes for an unmatched gesture that will, no doubt, prove memorable. Cheers!