2010 Mar 14 Take 5: Literary Boozing
Many a writer finds his muse at the bottom of an empty bottle. Sometimes the third bottle. With so many scribes in town for the Bookworm's Literary Festival, we consider where some of history’s famously tipsy scribblers might get inspired in Beijing?
Ernest Hemingway
Mojito
Very macho, that Hemingway. Shooting, fishing, bullfighting, womanizing … but drinking a minty highball? Centro is a long way from Papa’s more adventurous moments, but it’s unlikely the bearded one would object to their quality mojitos.
Centro. Daily 24hrs. 1/F, Shangri-La’s Kerry Centre Hotel, 1 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District (6561 8833)
朝阳区光华路1号嘉里中心饭店1层
Anthony Burgess
Hangman’s Blood
Imagine a pint glass filled with double shots of gin, whiskey, rum, port and brandy, a small bottle of stout, and then topped up with champagne. This could easily happen at 4am in The Den, where life is often reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange. Horrorshow.
The Den. Daily 24hrs. 4 Gongti Donglu (next to City Hotel’s main entrance), Chaoyang District (6592 6290)
朝阳区工体东路4号城市宾馆正门旁边
Dorothy Parker
Champagne cocktails
Parker could have drunk the men on this list under the table. Not that the chaps would be allowed into Club Decollete without a date. Ms. Parker would slip effortlessly into the glitz, aided by Decollete’s bubbly cocktails.
Club Decollete. Daily 5pm-2.30am. 1949 – The Hidden City, Courtyard 4, Gongti Beilu (behind Pacific Century Place), Chaoyang District (133 1126 1949)
朝阳区工体北路4号院(盈科中心背面)
William Faulkner
Mint Julep
Faulkner loved his whiskey, and was particularly fond of a good mint julep (albeit one made with Jack Daniels). The writer of The Sound and the Fury would surely approve of Apothecary, where his drink of choice is virtually a trademark.
Apothecary. Tue-Sun 7pm-late. 3/F, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Beilu, Chaoyang District (5208 6040)
朝阳区三里屯北路81号那里花园3层
Arthur Rimbaud
Absinthe
By the age of 16, young Arthur had developed tastes for both anarchism and drink. In absinthe, Rimbaud found a perfect harmony of both his passions. He also enjoyed a glass or two of the Green Fairy of an evening with his lover (and fellow writer) Paul Verlaine. The pair would surely have enjoyed sipping Obiwan’s new absinthe cocktails while looking out over Xihai.
Obiwan. Weekdays 1pm-2am, weekends 1pm-late. 4 Xihai Xiyan (300m from Jishuitan subway station), Dongcheng District (6617 3231)
西城区西海西沿4号
You might also be interested in :
Is This Beijing's Brainiest Bartender? Kenn Bermel
“Mastermind” is a regular magazine column in which we quiz Beijing’s barkeeps on general knowledge as well as on a subject in which they consider themselves to be a specialist.
Contestant : Kenn Bermel , Brussels Bar and Restaurant
Specialist Subject : Whiskey
On the Eje: Good Beers on a Budget
With neighbors Temple and Jam already dealing in live music and cocktails respectively, Eje brings a good selection of beer to the table. The choice isn’t as large as at El Nido, but with a focus on Belgian and German brews (Paulaner, Erdinger, Maredsous, Westmalle), there’s enough quality to keep purists amused until they pass out.
Carlos Ottery: A Stand-up Kind of Guy
Carlos Ottery is the main man behind Comedy Club China, who are on a mission to bring English-language laughs to Beijing crowds starved of regular stand-up comedy. We asked Carlos about using the capital as inspiration and the “difficult” Beijing crowd.
Andreas Ceelen: Teutonic Trivia
Andreas Ceelen hosts The Green Cap’s monthly German-language quiz, the capital’s only English-free trivia night.
Playlist: Max Harman of The On Fires
“Love of My Life” by Queen.
I love the live version – nothing like thousands of voices singing a great song to make me cry.
