Lit & Liquor

WARNING: Downton Abbey spoilers ahead.

What does that have to do with Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express"? We have no idea, but Lit & Liquor still went there. This week we talk mustaches, Dan Stevens' sexy French accent, and all things Hercule Poirot. Grab a hot Avalanche cocktail for the 2010 BBC TV series with David Suchet and then chase it with a Sparkling Cyanide for the new 2017 version with Kenneth Branagh. Warm or cold, one of these is sure to tickle your fancy and get you thinking for our in-depth and completely intellectual discussion.

Don your boxing gloves and jump into the ring--or just grab a Kernel of Truth cocktail--because it’s time for another romance novel face off. Our three time champion, a Native American hero, faces off this week with a brawny pirate. Or maybe not so brawny. You’ll have to listen to find out our thoughts on the matter as we pit Cynthia Wright’s “Silver Storm” against “Walk Into the Night” by Beverly Bird. No matter who you’re rooting for, our Pineapple Mint Mojito will fortify you against a win or a loss.

Find all our book pictures, drinks, and recipes on LitandLiquor.com! Next week tune in for our book-to-movie-comparison of "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie!

Psycho killers abound in this week's Halloween episode--so be sure to check over your shoulder. No murderers? Good. Grab yourself a Bitch's Brew cocktail and sit with your back to the wall for our first book, "Gone Girl", by Gillian Flynn. We talk book and movie with our latest guest star, Momma Kush, before moving on to "The Kind Worth Killing" by Peter Swanson. Both feature unreliable narrators and crazy female killers, and we can promise our Gin Martini won't clarify the plot at all. Don't worry--the goal is just to make it out alive, not sober!

Pirates.
Scottish Pirates?
Irish Pirates?
Leprechaun Pirates?
In this week's episode, you dissect our (terrible) accents and decide! Over a beverage of the liquor variety, of course. We crack open our first anthology, "Shiver Me Timbers," by a variety of independently published authors. The ratings are all over the place for the eight stories we discuss, but our Arghh Matey Mojito, Vanilla Dark and Stormy, and Bushwacker cocktails are easily five-shot ratings all around.

Tonight we close the hallowed chapter (see what I did there?) on Harry Potter with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"--at least until our Harry Potter fan fiction episode, where we can all read our preferred couple ships. Until then, however, make do with today's episode comparing the book to movie and the closing of Harry Potter's tale. If you need some emotional support to get you through this, look no further than our Bourbon Butterbeer cocktail. Or, if you need something stronger or just want to live on the edge, try our original cosmopolitan variation, The Dark Lord. Tears will be shed, final romance couples hotly debated, and a thrilling series will come to end for Lit & Liquor.

Find all our drink recipes and pictures on our website, LitandLiquor.com and join us next week for a pirate anthology episode--you don't want to miss our attempts at pirate accents, matey!

Join us as Kassandra plays Georgie Denbrough's death dirge--just to get you in the mood for his death within the first 16 pages of our book-- and we venture into unknown territory for at least one of our trio. Perhaps you've heard of It--by which we mean "It" by Stephen King. We travel to Derry (if you're smart, you'll skip right over and wait for next week because you know the perils of this small town) to investigate both this 1986 book, the mini-series in 1990, and the 2017 movie. If death makes you anxious, we have Apothic Inferno wine or, if you need something stronger, a Bloody Old Fashioned to get you through the night. Recording. Whatever tickles your fancy.

Join us for childhood nostalgia, clowns, and as always, some good old fashioned (excuse the pun) liquor tonight as we explore the world of the exalted Stephen King!

In our penultimate Potter book, emotions run high; luckily, the liquor was there to save the day and keep us all calm. In an homage to the title, Sam presents a Half Blood Daiquiri--beware the jumping pineapples as garnish--as well as his thoughts on the saga thus far. Our second drink, the Felix Felicis, sadly didn't bring any winning lottery tickets, but still tasted lucky indeed. Grab your own drink and gather round as we close in on the end of Harry's tale.

Rump Shaking. The Terrors of a Haunted Funhouse Mirror Maze. Groping by a Ten Year Old Boy. Classic Films, Classic Literature—Bashed. Songs That Make You Sob.

We cover a lot of bases in our first liquor-only episode in several months, so whether you favor the Grapefruit Martini, Peppermint Espresso Martini, or Strawmelon-Kiwi Surprise while listening, you’re sure to be entertained.

BOOK DOWN!
This week, find out who committed the sin of dropping a book and very nearing destroying it (no drama here, we assure you!) while we discuss the books of Janet B. Taylor, a local Arkansas author. Her books focus on Hope Walton, a time traveling teenager with an eidetic memory. "Into the Dim" features a trip to the grimy and grim London of 1155, filled with Henry the II's courtly political intrigue--though sadly not our delicious Earl Grey Fizz cocktail. It's sequel, "Sparks of Light", centers on the journey through 1890's Manhattan, parts of which are equally unclean but an accompanying drink, a Svedka of Light martini, that is no less delicious. Join us in a race of rescue, magic stones, and a collection of highly recognizable historical icons all without leaving your own home.

Find all our recipes, pictures, and blog posts at Lit & Liquor.com, and join us next week for the next round of Harry Potter, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"!

It's Lit & Liquor, back at it again with the white...hillbilly accents. Join us in Ancient Rome this week, and whether you arrive via the Martial Empire or spaceship, you'll still fit right in. Sabaa Tahir's "An Ember in the Ashes" is up first, exploring the horrors of war and young (but totally hunky) soldiers in a thrilling adventure tale. We've paired it with an original drink by the same name, using our Liquor of the Week, Bayou Satsuma Rum. Second on the agenda is the critically acclaimed (by us, anyway) sci-fi novel "Killer" by David Drake and Karl Edward Wagner. In a bizarre pairing, we see alien forces clash with the gladiators of Ancient Rome, all while enjoying some Killer Sangria like the civilized book club we truly are.

Join us next week for our next Harry Potter installment, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and find all our recipes and pictures at litandliquor.com