These winter nights can get quite boring. A mixture of lockdown and those long dark nights make you yearn for some form of escape. Luckily, I have found some distraction in the pages of ‘Booze & Vinyl‘ a book that combines two passions – cocktails and music.
Originally published in 2018, Booze & Vinyl curates a selection of cocktails, matching them to iconic records. For each album there are at least two cocktail recipes, occasional munchies, and some back story to the connection. I didn’t know, for example, that Mick Jagger had his first taste of a Tequila Sunrise on what became known as ‘The Cocaine and Tequila Sunrise Tour’ of 1972, or that Keith Richards became acquainted with Jack Daniels during record sessions down in Muscle Shoals.
For a novice like me, the book also contains handy tips on the types of glass you need, an easy guide of how to make and present the cocktails. Some of the recipes required elements I’d never heard of like Maraschino Liquer ( liqueur obtained from the distillation of Marasca cherries) so I had to plan my cocktails to ensure I had the right ingredients.
The book, written by André and Tenaya Darlington covers a wide range of albums and musical styles. From Disintegration to OK Computer, Isaac Haye’s Hot Buttered Soul to Joni Mitchell’s Blue. There are nods to the Ramones, The Beach Boys, Talking Heads, Robert Johnson, Wilco, Amy Winehouse, Interpol, The Doors, and the Eagles to name just a few. The recommendations for Hotel California, for example are a Beachcomber Cocktail or a Mojito.
As a Christmas present from my daughter, this book is almost the ideal inspiration for this blog – wine, travel and song!
We set up a cocktail and records night to try out some of these collaborations. The Tequila Sunrise & Sticky Fingers was easy, and slipped down far too well. I’m not usually a fan of Whiskey so the Gold Rush (listening to Neil Young’s After the Goldrush) took some getting used to. We finished the night with some Beachcomber Cocktails listening to Hotel California.
With over seventy albums covered, and roughly two cocktails per album, this book is going to be a go-to for listening and imbibing for a long time to come.