The saying goes “write drunk, edit sober” and many of our favourite authors weren’t shy in admitting they’d throw one or two back to get the creative juices flowing. Their love for cocktails went beyond their own consumption and onto the pages of their literary work where they were more than just a drink, they were an expression; of the character, their taste and the time in which they lived. Many novels indeed showed the trend between the popularity of spirits (and wines) through the decades. Where gin was once the most popular spirit in the early 20th century, novelists like F. Scott Fitzgerald showered his characters in concoctions of the spirit, only fueling it’s popularity and it wasn’t until after the Second Wold War that vodka and other spirits became the chosen poison, with Ian Flemming’s James Bond series being among the most famous to feature any cocktail, and we all know what that has done to the martini. Made famous by their novels, these are the cocktails of some of our most treasured characters and the great minds who wrote them.

While Fitzgerald didn’t create the mint julep he certainly helped popularise the drink in the roaring 20s thanks to The Great Gatsby. Made with bourbon whiskey (or hooch as it was sold for medicinal purposes then), fresh mint, sugar and ice, the drink was a favourite of Daisy Buchanan, the southerner from Kentucky, wife of Tom Buchanan and love interest of our doomed Jay Gatsby. Famous Line: From the scene at the Plaza Hotel, the perfect “place to have a mint julep.” “Open the whiskey, Tom,” she ordered, “and I’ll make you a mint julep. Then you won’t seem so stupid to yourself.Look at the mint!”

The origin of the brandy alexander isn’t known for sure but when Evelyn Waugh published his magnum opus, Brideshead Revisited, in 1945 the cocktail gained considerable momentum even if it was short lived. The cocktail ordered by Anthony Blanche during a night out on the town with Charles Ryder, is a variation on the Alexander cocktail made with cognac, crème de cacao and fresh cream. Famous line: “Four Alexandra cocktails, please” “I expect you would prefer sherry, but, my dear Charles, you are not going to have sherry. Isn’t this a delicious concoction?”

Made with three measures of Gordon’s gin, one measure of vodka and half a measure of Kina Lillet, the Vesper as invented and named by our favourite British secret agent, James Bond, in Ian Flemming’s Casino Royale, packs a punch even at it’s best when served ice cold. Garnish with a lemon twist and serve as Bond suggested in a deep Champagne goblet. Famous line: “A dry martini,” [Bond] said. “One. In a deep champagne goblet.” “Oui, monsieur.” “Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?” “Certainly, monsieur.” The barman seemed pleased with the idea. “Gosh, that’s certainly a drink,” said Leiter. Bond laughed. “When I’m…er…concentrating,” he explained, “I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink’s my own invention. I’m going to patent it when I can think of a good name.”

While Raymond Chandler can’t take the credit for creating the Gimlet. He certainly made it one of the more popular cocktails of his time though by giving the definitive recipe in his novel The Long Goodbye as “half gin and half Rose’s lime juice and nothing else” that makes for a sweet and fragrant cocktail. Famous line: We sat in a corner of the bar at Victor’s and drank gimlets. “They. don’t know how to make them here,” he said. “What they call a gimlet is just some lime or lemon juice and gin with a dash of sugar and bitters. A real gimlet is half gin and half Rose’s Lime Juice and nothing else. It beats martinis hollow.”

Holden Caufield from J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye was famed for knowing his drinks despite only being a teenager, so much so that when his companions order a Tom Collins he’s absolutely shocked someone would order it during the middle of December. Famous line: She had a sterling sense of humor. She and old Marty were drinking Tom Collinses – in the middle of December, for God’s sake. They didn’t know any better.

F. Scott Fitzgerald strikes again in The Great Gatsby with gin rickeys, a cocktail of gin, lime and carbonated water with a sprinkling of sugar. It’s the last drink everyone shares in East Egg before heading into the city where the tragic events begin to unfold that will see the demise of their beloved world. Famous line: “preceding four gin rickeys that clicked full of ice. Gatsby took up his drink. ‘They certainly look cool,’ Gatsby said with visible tension. We drank in long, greedy swallows.”

Dickens wasn’t one to shy away from a drink and even includes the popular Victorian tipple of his time, the smoking bishop, in the festive classic A Christmas Carol. More of a mulled wine than cocktail, the drink includes red wine, port, oranges, lemon peel, spices and sugar to make a concoction that’s sure to warm the hearts any Scrooges come Christmas. Famous line: “we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob!”

In the opening pages of what is perhaps Capote’s most famous work of fiction, Paul Varjak returns to his old bar where he and the unforgettable Holly Golightly are said to have visited “six or seven times a day.” Upon his return, the owner decides to make him something new, called a white angel, made from one half gin and one half vodka. Certainly one not for the light hearted. Famous line: Let me build you a drink. Something new. They call it a White Angel,’ he said, mixing one-half vodka, one-half gin, no vermouth. While I drank the result, Joe Bell stood sucking on a Tums and turning over in his mind what he had to tell me.

He’s infamous for his love of the drink and in the 1967 novel Diamonds are Forever, Flemming makes no exception when British agent James Bond and Tiffany Case enjoy a stinger each, a cocktail made from half brandy, half white crème de menthe. Famous line: They got into the lift for the Promenade Deck. “And now what, James?” said Tiffany. “I’d like some more coffee, and a Stinger made with white Crème de Menthe, while we listen to the Auction Pool.

Perhaps the most versed man on drinks, Kingsley Amis is notorious for his writing on the subject including the dreaded hangover. Having written three books dedicated entirely on the topic, his other works including the fictional Lucky Jim were welcomed with high praises upon being published. In a new release of Everyday Drinking, that brings together his three pieces of work on drinks, he reveals his favourite cocktail, a concoction of his own, the Lucky Jim. Recipe: 12 to 15 parks vodka, 1 part dry vermouth, 2 parts cucumber juice.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s characters certainly had their fair share of drinks through out his novels. In This Side of Paradise the main characters order double daiquiris (and then some) only to realise that by the end of the night, not all is as it seems when they leave the bar. Cue: drunken haze. Famous line: “Here’s the old jitney waiter. If you ask me, I want a double Daiquiri.”

This is perhaps the most famous cocktail in the literary world, referenced in everything from Flemming to Capote and almost every author has their own version from gin to vodka, shaken to stirred and olive to lemon twist. We recommend you stick to gin, and as a rule of thumb; stir, always stir a martini.