Booze and Books for the Holiday Season
by Mark Sampson
Whenever I imagine pairing booze and books, I can’t help but think of that New Yorker cartoon from a few years back, the one that shows a group of friends sitting around a restaurant table and one of them says, “This wine pairs really nicely with the other three glasses I’ve had.” If there’s a time to go overboard with your reading and imbibing, it’s the second half of December. Here are a few of my own recommended couplings (including a mocktail for the nondrinkers):
The Irish Maid
Few concoctions are as refreshing as this one. You’ll marvel at its complexity even as you wonder how this drink hides its boozy base so well.
To make:
Muddle four cucumber wheels in the base of your cocktail shaker
Add two shots of Irish whiskey (preferably Writers Tears, natch)
Add half a shot of St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur
Add .75 shot of fresh lemon juice
Add .75 of simple syrup
Add ice and shake, then double strain into a Martini glass.
Garnish with a cucumber wheel
Pair it with:
Flak Jacket by Gerald Arthur Moore (Now or Never Publishing, 2024). I’m a bit biased, because Art is my best friend and I helped edit this book, but Flak Jacket is an astounding collection of poetry from the hardscrabble streets of Moncton, New Brunswick. Topics include at-risk youth, the humanitarian crisis in Haiti and problematic dads.
The Boulevardier
This is basically a modified Negroni, where you substitute the gin for bourbon. I cut mine with tonic water, as I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes to Campari, but I’ve been told that’s sacrilege among serious drinkers.
To make:
Put some ice in a rocks glass
Add one shot of your favourite bourbon
Add one shot of sweet vermouth
add one shot of Campari
Stir lightly and then garnish with an orange peel and a cherry on a stick
Pair it with:
On Community by Casey Plett (Biblioasis, 2023). I was heartened to see that this book-length essay on the increasingly tricky term “community” had an image of a pitchfork on the cover. Plett, who is both transgender and from a deeply religious Mennonite community, knows her stuff when it comes to belonging and not belonging.
The Nicky Finn
I discovered this drink one Christmas and liked it so much I put it into regular rotation for the rest of the year. It’s also a good excuse to keep Pernod in the house.
To make:
Put ice in your cocktail shaker
Add one shot of cognac
Add one shot of Cointreau
Add a half shot of fresh lemon juice
Add a quarter shot of Pernod
Shake and double strain into a Martini glass
Garnish with a lemon wedge
Pair it with:
Wave Forms and Doom Scrolls by Daniel Scott Tysdal (Buckrider Books, 2021). I love this twisty, timely collection of short stories that walk a fine balance between the dark and the hilarious. A fan of Tysdal’s poetry for a long time, I was pleased to discover that he’s equally adept at short fiction.
The Chelsea Sidecar
Replacing cognac with gin in the traditional Sidecar, this drink is one I keep coming back to. It’s tart as hell and no nonsense, so I offer it to those of who exhibit similar qualities.
To make:
Add ice to your cocktail shaker
Add one and a half shots of your favourite gin
Add one shot of Cointreau
Add one shot of fresh lemon juice
Add one-quarter shot of simple syrup
Shake and double strain into a Martini glass, then garnish with a lemon wedge
Pair it with:
Exhibitionist by Molly Cross-Blanchard (Coach House Books, 2021). I’ve never met Cross-Blanchard but I imagine she’s exactly the sort of person I’d want to make a Chelsea Sidecar for. Her poems are funny and vulnerable, yet have a spine of steel.
The Sampson Lime Soda (mocktail)
This is a concoction of my own devising, which I mix for my wife, fellow author Rebecca Rosenblum, who doesn’t drink.
To make:
Add some ice to a tall glass
Add one shot of fresh lime juice
Add one shot of Rose’s Lime Cordial
Add one shot of simple syrup
Top with soda water, stir, and garnish with a lime wedge
Pair it with:
The Most Precious Substance on Earth, by Shashi Bhat (M&S, 2021). Few novels (technically a novel in stories) capture the atmosphere of Halifax in the 1990s (I too lived there during that time) like Bhat’s. Her prose is an absolute delight. If you’re not reading her stuff, start immediately.
Mark Sampson is the author of seven books: the novels All the Animals on Earth (Wolsak & Wynn, 2020), The Slip (Dundurn, 2017), Sad Peninsula (Dundurn, 2014), and Off Book (Norwood Publishing, 2007); the short story collection The Secrets Men Keep (Now or Never Publishing, 2015); the poetry collection Weathervane (Palimpsest Press, 2016); and the poetry chapbook Big Wilson (Emergency Flash Mob Press, 2023). His new novel, Lowfield, is forthcoming from Now or Never Publishing in 2025. Originally from Prince Edward Island, Mark now lives and writes in Toronto.
