Book Review: Gone with the Gin – Cocktails with a Hollywood Twist

People blame a lot of things on drinking: crime, divorce, being broke, but I might be the first person to give credit to alcohol for making them a better and more frequent book reader. Since 2005 I’ve probably read more cocktail books than I did any type of book in the previous 21 years of my life and that might not be something to brag about but I’ll do it anyway. I’m a big fan of recipe books. I’m always looking for new drinks to try and more often we’ve been getting requests from our subscribers to suggest cocktail books they should keep handy. Fate landed at our door steps a couple of weeks ago when we received a copy of Gone with the Gin: Cocktails with a Hollywood Twist”

Gone with the Gin is the latest book from Tim Federle, author of Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist and Hickory Daiquiri Dock: Cocktails with a Nursery Rhyme Twist. Do you see a theme here? Gone with the Gin is essentially what you get when a bartender and a movie buff have a kid and it’s pretty much everything a cocktail/movie nerd like me could ever want. 

Inside you’ll find 50 cocktail recipes, each of which is tied into some of the best films in history. He doesn’t mail it in either. We’ve seen some pretty sad attempts at “themed drinks” come across our desk from some not so enthusiastic brand managers, but you can tell he really enjoys what he does here. A perfect example is his page on the Big Lebowski, a cult classic that we all know is famous for highlighting the White Russian. Sure Tim could have featured the classic White Russian, given it a funny name, added a bit of commentary and called it a day but in a unique twist he shared The Big Le-Brewski, what I would describe as a distant and exotic cousin of the white Russian featuring cold brewed coffee and cream of coconut.  Yes we tried it and yea it’s pretty good. In between cocktails there’s some hilarious commentary you really just have to read to understand. I’m not gonna lie I laughed out lout more than a few times throughout the 132 pages of recipes.

Oh and as a bonus did I mention there’s drinking game suggestions and movie munchies in the back half? Do you know how many times I’ve rushed to the computer before a party searching for drinking games so we don’t end up playing the same old “Never have I ever”? At 32 that game starts to ruin lives. In all seriousness though, if comedy, cocktails and drinking games was all there was to this book I’d probably say it was “pretty good” but he completes it by including must have sections for any good recipe book including drink-ware, bar tools, bar terminology, measurement charts, and even techniques to help you make a better drink.

Price: $12.64 (Hardcover on Amazon)

Grade: A

Final Word: I have 27 cocktail books on my shelf right now. This is now in my top 3. Am I both a cocktail and movie nerd? Yes. Does that probably boost this book higher up on my list. Yes. I have no shame in admitting that. With Xmas right around the corner, this makes a perfect gift exchange pickup or stocking stuffer at just under $15 on amazon. It’s the perfect gift for a person like me, or as he puts it; for the Star Wars fan who’s seen it so many times, they’re basically half-Jedi. Adding this book to your collection will make movie nights and game nights pretty interesting

For more on the Author, visit his website at TimFederle.com. If you’re interested in purchasing a copy you can order Gone with the Gin: Cocktails with a Hollywood Twist on Amazon by clicking the link. Our copy of Gone with the Gin was provided courtesy of representatives of the book.

Cheers,

Alex

Disclosure: We have a serious drinking problem around here We drink the good and the bad so you can know which is which! The affiliate links in this post help support our habit. Thanks for your support!