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Happy Holidays!
Wishing you and yours a musical and boozy season. It’s been a ridiculously fun book tour so far for A Booze & Vinyl Christmas. THANK YOU to everyone who has ordered, talked about, reviewed, or otherwise supported this launch. The reviews out on the platform which shall not be named are incredible. Cheers. See them here.
I spent a few beautiful and food-filled days in New Orleans visiting friends at The Garden District Book Shop where we had a Q&A and book-signing. This is one of my favorite bookstores in the country, not least because they can serve drinks. They made Unite the Whole World, a punch paired with James Brown’s 1968 album A Soulful Christmas as well as a hot cider number called Cuddle Up and Cozy Down which I created for Side A of Dolly Parton’s 2020 album, A Holly Dolly Christmas. New Orleans is magical in November (perfect weather, not too touristy) so this stop was a treat.
Coming up, another sold out event with the Greensboro Bound Literary Festival and the Greensboro Public library. It will be a winter soirée at an amazing spot, the gorgeous Double Oaks B&B — where the city enjoys live jazz under the magnolia trees in summer. We’ll be inside spread around the grand piano and in the library by the roaring fire. Three drinks from the book will be served.
Then, I’m off to Asheville for a very special event with New York Times bestselling author Denise Kiernan for her series CRAFT: Authors in Conversation in conjunction with Malaprop’s Bookstore. Join us at Little Jumbo on Dec 7. I believe this will be recorded for YouTube as part of the series and will be available for viewing later.
Finally, I’m finishing the year at beloved Buxton Books in Charleston — another of my favorite national stops. Once again, I’ll be in conversation with the queen of the Charleston cocktail scene, Megan Deschaine. I am especially excited because since I moved to the Carolinas, I can drive down and further explore The Holy City by car.
As always, event listings are here. This tour is likely extending through next year in some form . . . that is, until the tour for Cowboy Cocktail begins April 2 and the Forbidden Cocktails tour begins May 7! More updates in the January newsletter.
In fun news, John Wayne: The Official Cocktail Book has been packaged as part of a gift set for the holidays. This set gives the book a mighty fine hip flask partner, perfect for fans of the Duke. So far, I’ve seen it available at Walmart and Amazon. Order it here.
A Big Lebowski Year
It isn’t normal to publish two books in a year, but it happened again with the publication of both A Booze & Vinyl Christmas and The Unofficial Big Lebowski Cocktail Book: Over 50 Mixed Drink Recipes Inspired by the Cult Classic in 2023. The Dude-based book is likely the funniest cocktail book I will ever write, and I hope you pick it up for that Lebowski fan in your life this holiday season. Purchase it here. Special gift note: I’ve been serving drinks from the book all year on mini area rugs. They make hilarious coasters. I’ve been using these and they really tie the room together.
Cocktail Recipe: Kissing Claus
I grew up with Stingers still in (albeit rare) circulation, the classic mix of brandy and crème de menthe. When I worked at a law firm, there was a spot nearby that did a brisk business over lunch — a holdover from the roaring ‘70s. I was thinking of those when I was listening to The Jackson 5 sing “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Klaus” on their 1970 Christmas album. Because, I thought, wouldn’t one want fresh breath for such an occasion?
This drink is a great one for the non-crème de menthe crowd as it uses the liqueur as a note in what is essentially a delightful gin sour. My reasoning here is that if you’re going to go mint, you also might as well also go frothy. Behold, Kissing Claus. As I say in the book, if you’re going to kiss Claus, a pro tip is: don’t get caught.
GIVEAWAY! THE BIG 1-0!
A big congrats to Sharon Germany for winning last month’s giveaway! (Sharon, send me an email or message!) If you commented before but didn’t win, simply comment again. This could be your month.
To celebrate my tenth book, and as a giant thank you to everyone who makes all my work possible (you), I am giving away a book every month through the end of the year. Just to newsletter readers. All you have to do is comment below. Let me know which book you want (they are listed here) and why, and you’ll be entered to win.
Comment on this newsletter to be entered to win one of 10 cocktail books. A winner will be announced next week.
ORDER A BOOZE & VINYL CHRISTMAS HERE
BVX IS AT ANTHROPOLOGIE!
BVX IS AT BARNES & NOBLE!
BVX IS AT TARGET!
IN STORES EVERYWHERE BOOKS ARE SOLD