Every drink in every Pynchon novel.
After a couple of moody European spirits (oude jenever and absinthe), it seems about time we have something more frivolous. This one definitely fits that bill. It’s pink and light and sweet and … Continue reading Gallo wine with ice
Now we’re getting somewhere. The beaten track just slipped out of sight. Oude Genever.It’s totally obscure to me, but gets a couple of runs in Pynchon, making a grand debut … Continue reading Oude Genever
From Hemingway’s Papa Doble, on to another drink with a great literary/artistic pedigree: absinthe. We’re all familiar with its green fairy aura of inspired madness and creative self-annihilation. The stuff’s been … Continue reading Absinthe with water
I stepped off my bus this afternoon halfway through Mason & Dixon‘s last chapter. No way could I have gone home and socialised with people at that point. I sat … Continue reading Madeira
Early in Bleeding Edge, Maxine pays a visit to the VC (which I’m assuming is venture capitalist) who’d supported hwgaahwgh.com (which address now conveniently directs one to the book’s wiki). The … Continue reading Nero d’Avola
A week or so ago, I had the unexpectedly excellent experience of visiting the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St Louis. The brewery complex was opened in 1852, and it has some terrific architecture … Continue reading Rolling Rock
Of all the bars in Pynchon, Kahuna Airlines’ airborne tiki bar must be one of the most colourful: Each 747 in the Kahuna Airlines fleet had been gutted and refitted as a … Continue reading Inexpensive (airborne) vodka
Seeing as our friend Tyrone Slothrop’s Pilsner Urquell was such a good idea, we’d better see what else he can recommend us. Or actually–he gets through some classy girlfriends, some of them … Continue reading Brandy
King Kong? Pynchon helpfully explains that it’s “Crown Royal plus banana liqueur.” (Banana for the monkey, Crown for the King–a little poem in itself.) The internet helpfully elaborates that you can down … Continue reading King Kong
Whiskey and Alement hides its vast whisky stores and careful beer selection behind a curtained door in a dead pocket of the Melbourne CBD. It’s a Pynchonesque place, in its … Continue reading Boilermaker
CORRECTION: On my recent rereading of Gravity’s Rainbow I discovered that this post from back in 2014 is gravely in error. There I am down below rattling on about Slothrop drinking Pilsner … Continue reading Pilsner Urquell
Bleeding Edge is the book that inspired this project. According to my (very work in progress) list, it mentions 32 different specific drinks, crushing V.’s paltry 17. Benny Profane and the Whole Sick Crew in V. … Continue reading Tequila Sunrise
