Commonwealth + Ideal Cocktail
“Commonwealth” by Ann Patchett is a domestic trickster. It opens with a gin and orange juice fueled christening party that results in a stolen kiss that ends families and starts new ones. Commonwealth lulls the reader into the mundane nature of uninspiring domesticity, but flips the script and presents so much more than a family saga. The fashion in which this storyline seamlessly jumps points of view and time-frames makes you think that this is a basic story about how families are putting back together the broken pieces of their lives. However, as you delve deeper into this novel, you realize that it is really so much more than that. It is an illustration of responsibility and love. It is a laser focus on the ties that bind people together, the complex natures of families, and their relationships as mothers, fathers, siblings, and step-siblings age, mature, and change over time. (Published by Harper Perennial)
Ideal Cocktail
(as seen on Instagram via @ericbas)
The gin soaked opening of this novel almost requires a gin based cocktail to partner with these pages. In fact, gin drinks are a thread that runs throughout the entirety of the novel and tend to appear when big changes or realizations are occurring in the book. And while these moments were not always for the best, you get the feeling that everyone was just looking for the best possible version of themselves and their relationships. Try this nice gin and citrus pair in the Ideal Cocktail because it too is just the best possible version. Shake this baby up and get bookish + boozy.
Ideal Cocktail
- 1oz Dry Gin
- 1oz Dry Vermouth (Dolin Dry is a nice choice for this)
- 1/4oz Luxardo Maraschino
- 1/4oz Grapefruit Juice
Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled coupe. Add a cherry for garnish.
“Because while Leo Posen appeared to be perfectly sober… he seemed that way regardless of how much he had drunk. Some men were like that. They went from sober to more or less dead without intermediate steps.”
