Drinking with Hemingway

One of the best things I learned from Ernest Hemingway was how to drink.

He taught me a lot about writing too. His prose is some of the best. He's one of the writers that all subsequent writers try to imitate, and to which all the readers compare, either consciously or subconsciously.

He wrote a lot about war and hunting. That shit's good if you like violence and death and men doing manly, patriarchal things. He also wrote books about young artists in Paris that were thinly veiled stories about him and his friends.

I got lost in these books when I was 20. These books are about the Lost Generation and I felt, and still do to a certain extent, that 100 years later we're living through another generation like his.

Drinking plays a major part in these books and Hemingway spends a lot of time writing about people making and drinking drinks as well as describing the flavors and smells and colors of cocktails, wines, beers, and straight liquors.

One of the lessons about drinking that Hemingway's characters taught me is that there's an alcoholic drink for every occasion. Not only that, but drinks can themselves be the occasion.

I love savoring the moment while I'm decanting the golden liquid from bottle to glass, cracking ice cubes out of their trays, mixing in bitters and syrups, slicing juicy lemons and limes. I love having a different glass for different drinks and a whole bar full of shining bottles.

Hemingway, the Fitzgeralds, Gertrude Stein and the other badasses living in Paris in the 20s saw the best and the worst in drink. Most of them died alcoholics.

I used to think I needed to drink like the characters in Hemingway's books. That's a stupid idea cause they're cynical drunks. But they're fun, pretty, and interesting to look at.

Part of that prettiness, a lot of it, in fact, comes from their appreciation of the moment. The drinks they are drinking mark an occasion, the occasion of being here now. They're all rich and lazy, so wasting time is their job and their hobby and they've made it into an art.

Next time you want a drink, pick up The Sun Also Rises or A Moveable Feast by Hemingway and learn how to drink like a pro.