The best books on culture and booze

Michael P. Foley Author Of Drinking with the Saints: The Sinner's Guide to a Holy Happy Hour
By Michael P. Foley

Who am I?

One of my fondest childhood memories is the holiday parties that my parents threw. Lying in bed I could hear roars of laughter crash the silence and gently ebb as the grownups shared stories and made merry. Later in life, I came to realize how different that kind of drinking is from the frat-boy binging of college and the anxious bracers at singles’ bars. As an adult, I became a Catholic theologian, got married, and had a family of my own. My wife Alexandra and I have relished an evening cocktail together in order to unwind and catch up on each other’s day (Alexandra has homeschooled all six of our children, which is itself a compelling reason to drink daily).

I wrote...

Drinking with the Saints: The Sinner's Guide to a Holy Happy Hour

By Michael P. Foley,

Book cover of Drinking with the Saints: The Sinner's Guide to a Holy Happy Hour

What is my book about?

Drinking with the Saints pairs beer, wine, and cocktail suggestions with the feast days of the Church year: you look up a date, read a brief sketch of the saint whose feast is being celebrated that day, and make a drink in his or her honor. The book contains over 350 cocktail recipes (38 of them original), and it even includes drinks for Lent. Besides all the tasty beverage ideas, Drinking with the Saints encourages a culture of Christian merriment and festivity. Christianity and alcohol have had a long and illustrious history together, from Chartreuse (made by Carthusian monks) to Trappist beer to Franciscan missionaries literally planting the seeds of the California wine industry.


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The books I picked & why

Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis

By Kingsley Amis,

Book cover of Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis

Why this book?

The first book I read by British novelist Kingsley Amis was Lucky Jim, one of the greatest satires on academic life ever written (I do not, however, recommend reading it when you are applying for a teaching position as I foolishly did, since it will mess, mess, mess with your head). Amis enjoyed the drink far more than he should have, earning him the reputation, as he put it, “of being one of the great drinkers, if not one of the great drunks, of our time.” His extensive familiarity with the bottom of a glass bore at least one good fruit. Everyday Drinking is a painfully witty, laugh-out-loud collection of essays and even quizzes on different kinds of alcohol from around the world. 

Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis

By Kingsley Amis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Everyday Drinking as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Kingsley Amis was one of the great masters of comic prose, and no subject was dearer to him than the art and practice of imbibing. This new volume brings together the best of his three out-of-print works on the subject: Kingsley Amis in Drink, Everyday Drinking and How's Your Glass? In one handsome package, the book covers a full shelf of the master's riotous and erudite thoughts on the drinking arts: Along with a series of well-tested recipes (including a cocktail called the Lucky Jim) are Amis's musings on The Hangover, The Boozing Man's Diet, The Mean Sod's Guide, and…

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Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt: The Complete History of Presidential Drinking

By Mark Will-Weber,

Book cover of Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt: The Complete History of Presidential Drinking

Why this book?

Will-Weber extensively researched the drinking habits of every U.S. president from George Washington to Barack Obama to compose this outstanding volume. Mint Juleps is brimming with fascinating facts. Did you know that the Carters, who were Southern Baptists, were much heavier drinkers than the Reagans? (Ronald Reagan, who effectively imposed the twenty-one-year drinking age on all fifty states, was the son of an alcoholic and wary of alcohol abuse). I think that I enjoyed the profile of George Washington the most, who not only plotted American independence over a pint or two but distilled his own applejack brandy as well.

Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt: The Complete History of Presidential Drinking

By Mark Will-Weber,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Stroll through our country’s memorable moments—from George Washington at Mount Vernon to the days of Prohibition, from impeachment hearings to nuclear weapons negotiations—and discover the role that alcohol played in all of them with Mark Will-Weber’s Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt: The Complete History of Presidential Drinking.

As America transformed from fledgling nation to world power, one element remained constant: alcohol. The eighteenth century saw the Father of His Country distilling whiskey in his backyard. The nineteenth century witnessed the lavish expenses on wine by the Sage of Monticello, Honest Abe’s inclination toward temperance, and the slurred speech of the…

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Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist

By Tim Federle,

Book cover of Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist

Why this book?

It’s hard not to relish a clever pun, especially when it involves an allusion to good literature, and it’s even harder not to relish an entire book of them. Tim Federle combines the Great Books and great drinks with cocktails such as Brave New Swirled, The Cooler Purple, Paradise Sauced, Moby-Drink, The Sound and the Slurry, and The Last of the Mojitos.

Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist

By Tim Federle,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tequila Mockingbird as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

December 2013: Goodreads Choice Award (Food & Cookbooks)December 2013: Entertainment Weekly Great Gifts for Book LoversDecember 2013: BookPage Best of 2013October 2014: Clue on Jeopardy 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…

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To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion

By Philip Greene,

Book cover of To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion

Why this book?

Philip Greene is probably the world’s greatest living cocktail historian (how cool is that?). I am personally grateful to him for correcting and guiding my own work. Greene has written several excellent cocktail books. In To Have and Have Another, he canvases Hemingway’s personal preferences as well as the drinks featured in his writings. I hope that Greene one day does something similar with Evelyn Waugh and his novels, though it may fill several volumes.

To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion

By Philip Greene,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked To Have and Have Another as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ernest Hemingway is nearly as famous for his drinking as he is for his writing. Throughout his collected works, Papa's sensuous explorations of the delights of imbibing engaged both his characters and his readers.

In To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion, Philip Greene, cocktail historian, spirits consultant, and cofounder of the Museum of the American Cocktail, offers us a view of Papa through the lens Papa himself preferred—the bottom of a glass.

A bartender’s manual for Hemingway enthusiasts, this revised and expanded volume offers a unique take on Hemingway’s oeuvre that privileges the tastes, smells, and colors…

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The Bad Catholic's Guide to Wine, Whiskey, & Song: A Spirited Look at Catholic Life & Lore from the Apocalypse to Zinfandel

By John Zmirak, Denise Matychowiak,

Book cover of The Bad Catholic's Guide to Wine, Whiskey, & Song: A Spirited Look at Catholic Life & Lore from the Apocalypse to Zinfandel

Why this book?

This could be the most bizarre monograph you will ever have on your bookshelf. The subtitle is no lie: for every letter of the alphabet, Zmirak has assembled an entertaining assortment of food recipes, drinking songs, history lessons, wine suggestions, or one of the Ten Commandments impishly explained. In the dedication, Zmirak and contributing author Denise Matychowiak list as their inspirations Pope Benedict XVI, food authors Paula Wolfert and M.F.K. Fisher, and Weird Al Yankovic. Need I say more?

The Bad Catholic's Guide to Wine, Whiskey, & Song: A Spirited Look at Catholic Life & Lore from the Apocalypse to Zinfandel

By John Zmirak, Denise Matychowiak,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Bad Catholic's Guide to Wine, Whiskey, & Song as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This sequel to the highly-praised Bad Catholic's Guide to Good Living allows you to view Catholic life from a unique perspective. Starting with the wines, beers, and liquors made around the world by monks, the authors explore everything from Irish history to the secrets of the Knights Templar, with drinking games, food, and cocktail recipes, and rollicking drinking songs.

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5 book lists we think you will like!

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Interested in cocktails, the history of alcoholic drinks, and Ernest Hemingway?

8,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about cocktails, the history of alcoholic drinks, and Ernest Hemingway.

Cocktails Explore 38 books about cocktails
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And, 3 books we think you will enjoy!

We think you will like The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, Cocktail Boothby's American Bartender, and The Cocktail Lab if you like this list.

Book cover of The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails Book cover of Cocktail Boothby's American Bartender Book cover of The Cocktail Lab: Unraveling the Mysteries of Flavor and Aroma in Drink, with Recipes