Sometimes a delicious beverage is just the thing to liven up a reading group discussion. It just so happens that the characters of Erin Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea also love a good cocktail. From “Hemingway Daiquiris” to “Drowning Ophelias,” the drinks of The Starless Sea sound both bookish and delectable, and we couldn’t resist compiling them into a cocktail guide. Just remember, when it comes to Zachary’s favorite drink (the sidecar) hold the sugar!
Sidecar: “Zachary takes a sip of his sidecar. It is quite possibly the most perfect sidecar that he has ever tasted and he wonders how perfection can be so disconcerting.” (p. 287)
Ingredients
Directions
Recipe source: https://www.liquor.com/recipes/sidecar/
Drowning Ophelia: “He orders one of the literary cocktail creations at the bar, a Drowning Ophelia made with gin and lemon and fennel syrup, served with a sprig of rosemary and a napkin with an appropriate Hamlet quote printed on it.” (p.78)
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Directions
Recipe source: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
“Hemingway Daiquiris”: “Other guests sip Hemingway Daiquiris . . . ..” (p. 78)
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Directions
Recipe source: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/hemingway-daiquiri-cocktails-2009
“Vespers”: “Other guests sip . . . Vespers garnished with complicated curls of lemon.” (p. 78)
Ingredients
Directions
Recipe source: https://www.liquor.com/recipes/vesper/
Bee’s Knees: “Out of curiosity, Zachary picks up the glass and takes a tiny sip, expecting it to taste like honey and it does but it also tastes familiarly of gin and lemon. A bee’s knees. Of course.” (p. 532)
Ingredients
Directions
Directions for Honey Simple Syrup
Recipe source: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/geoffrey-zakarian/bees-knees-2420111