How To Impress Your Friends at the Next Book Club Meeting

Tequila Mockingbird is a wonderful addition to any literature nerd’s bookshelf. Each cocktail is a belletristic play-on-words that will delight the ears and the tastebuds. If you belong to a book club and you’re looking to try something new, here’s how you can use Tequila Mockingbird to enhance your literary prowess as well as your cocktail-creating abilities.

Know the Basics

If you already have ample experience mixing delicious drinks, feel free to tear into the pages of Tequila Mockingbird to see what aptly named apéritifs are in store for you. However, if you are a novice at the art of cocktail-making, author Tim Federle has included three helpful sections at the beginning of the book, labeled, “Tools,” “Techniques,” and, “Terms.” Reading these sections before attempting to make any drinks will make it easier for you to follow the recipes.

Know Your Audience

It is important to make sure that all book club members are of legal drinking age or older. Doing so will help to keep them safe. If there are youngsters among the club’s attendees, you may want to consider making mocktails instead.

Mocktails are the nonalcoholic counterparts to cocktails, made with similar ingredients or with substitutes. You may be able to make mocktails out of some of the entries in Tequila Mockingbird, but this will require extra planning.

If the members of the book club are old enough to consume alcohol, find out what flavors and alcoholic beverages they enjoy, and be sure to ask about allergies. It is also important to let club members know ahead of time if you plan to bring alcohol to a future meeting. Furthermore, you should gauge everyone’s comfort level with the idea before proceeding.

Choose a Handful of Drinks  

Select the cocktails you want to make well ahead of time so that you can buy any missing ingredients. Though you may want to wow your friends with complicated concoctions, the drinks you choose should be appropriate for your experience level so that you can focus on your technique. Save the advanced drinks for a later time when your skills have improved.

Practice Makes Perfect

If you are new to the craft of mixing drinks, you should practice making your cocktails well in advance. Ask family and friends who are of age to give you feedback.

Think of your practice sessions as rough drafts and your chosen taste-testers as second readers. The more you make these beverages and the more constructive criticism you receive, the more refined your skills will become.

Using these helpful tips will add some literary flair to any book club meeting.