Booze and Books: An Exclusive Guest Post from Natalka Burian, Author of The Night Shift

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Working in bars and working on books are not as different as you might think. Both require focus and, at the best of times, flow. But my favorite similarity between these two types of work is the confluence of personal and public space. In fiction writing, this is pretty self-explanatory. Deeply personal thoughts and imaginary people and scenarios become public as soon as your essay or tweet or book is published. The great hope is that you write something meaningful enough that it then becomes personal to the reader, a living installment in their mind and imagination.  

Working in hospitality requires a similar dance. There’s a specific pressure in welcoming strangers into a space that is public, but also personal—a lot of people’s home away from home. Our most important job in hospitality is creating and sustaining that mystical intersection of public and private life, and this process contains as much nuance and as many complex moving parts as the most perfect novel.   

When you start your shift at any bar or restaurant, you are at the beginning of a fresh story. It doesn’t matter where you are in the room—whether you are a dishwasher, a server, a host, a bartender, or even a guest—you are part of that night’s story. It’s a living, breathing collaborative project. Everyone in that room is part of someone’s love story, break-up story, birthday celebration, or life-changing job offer. I’m always amazed by how much every shift can contain, and by how many different people can co-exist in one room with this kind of vulnerability and joy. I’m never happier than when I am immersed in a whirlpool of stories, and there is no denying that it nurtures my creative life. 

So, in the spirit of immersing yourself in the story, please enjoy the drink recipes I’ve matched with five books I can’t stop thinking about. Hopefully you will feel as surrounded by these stories as I do. 

(I know not all books are for everyone, so please check first to see if any of the themes or issues in these books might make them a difficult read for you.) 

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub meets an Aperol Spritz

Nothing has the ability to stretch time like a good Aperol spritz. One of these vibrantly colored cocktails can make a Saturday afternoon feel like forever (in the best way!) The perfect spritz is as bittersweet and balanced as This Time Tomorrow.  

1/2 oz Aperol 

2 oz prosecco, or other sparkling wine 

1 oz soda water 

orange zest (optional) 

Fill a wineglass with ice and add the Aperol. Slowly pour in the prosecco and then top with soda. Garnish with a bright strip of orange zest. 

Summer Will Show by Sylvia Townsend Warner meets an Italian Iced Tea 

I’m always surprised more people haven’t read this book! It definitely deserves a place among the Classics, as does this recipe that I cheekily call an Italian Iced Tea. This sophisticated riff on a Long Island iced tea is the perfect drink to send Sophia, the novel’s protagonist, off on a European adventure filled with all kinds of twists and turns. 

1/2 oz amaro (I like Montenegro) 

1/2 oz freshly squeezed lime juice 

1/2 oz simple syrup 

Prosecco (or other sparkling wine)  

fresh mint (optional) 

Fill your cocktail shaker with 5-7 ice cubes. Add the amaro, lime juice and simple syrup and shake for 15-30 seconds (or until your shaker is frosted enough to write your initials in.) Strain over ice into a rocks glass filled with ice and top with prosecco. Garnish with a verdant sprig of mint. 

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami meets a Champagne Cocktail 

I will read anything Mieko Kawakami writes. She is a genius like no other—one of my all-time favorite authors. Because she is my favorite, I paired this short, devastatingly perfect book with my favorite drink of all time, the champagne cocktail. For me this drink is as transcendent as the feeling Kawakami’s young protagonists chase at the art museum they visit. 

1 lump of sugar 

2-4 dashes angostura bitters 

Champagne or sparkling wine of your choice 

lemon twist (optional) 

Drop the sugar cube in the bottom of a champagne glass or coupe. In a pinch you can use a sugar packet or a teaspoon of white sugar. Douse the sugar with a few hits of angostura bitters. Give the sugar a few moments to soften and absorb the bitters. Slowly add the sparkling wine and garnish with a bright twist of lemon. 

The Possessed by Elif Batuman meets a White Russian  

Everybody loves The Idiot (and Either/Or!) for very good reason. Elif Batuman’s protagonist, Selin, is easy to fall in love with. I always recommend The Possessed, Batuman’s debut, because it is just as tender and smart as her later work but offers us glimpses of Selin before she becomes the Selin we know and love in The Idiot. It’s like seeing the elementary school photos of a beloved friend you met in adulthood. And, because The Possessed is all about studying Russian literature, I couldn’t help but pair it with a White Russian. 

2 oz vodka 

1 oz kahlua 

1 oz heavy cream (or milk alternative) 

½ oz cold brew 

Add 5-7 ice cubes to a cocktail shaker. Pour in the vodka, Kahlua, and that dash of coffee. Shake vigorously for 15-30 seconds and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Top with the cream for a dynamic visual effect before serving (but make sure to mix the layers before that first sip!) 

Post-Traumatic by Chantal V. Johnson meets a Mezcal Jalapeno Margarita 

Post-Traumatic is probably my favorite book I’ve read this year. I don’t know how Chantal Johnson does it, but in this book she has created something hilarious, brilliant, and horribly dark all at the same time. I’ve paired Post-Traumatic with a this jalapeno mezcal cocktail because a sweet, spicy, smokey margarita can be many contradictory and wonderful things at once. 

2 oz mezcal 

1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice 

¾ oz agave syrup 

2 lime wedges 

2-¼ in jalapeno wheels  

salt (optional) 

Prepare your rocks glass by running a wedge of lime around the rim. Gently tap the rim in a shallow dish of salt and set the glass aside. Fill a cocktail shaker with 5-7 ice cubes and pour in the mezcal, lime, and agave syrup. Toss in the jalapeno wheels (add more or less for your preferred level of spice) and the remaining lime wedge. Shake vigorously for 15-30 seconds and strain, over ice, into your prepared glass. Garnish with an additional wheel of lime or jalapeno and enjoy!