Romance Cocktails
with Katey Hawthorne
It’s almost GRL time—the most wonderful time of the year! Well, close, anyhow. GRL means celebrating LGBTQ romance, obviously, but let’s not even pretend: it also means parties. Parties do not require alcohol, clearly… but there’s a lot around. And I’m planning on packing some of my own just to have in the room, since running out when the bar closes is totally not an option.
In this spirit (ha! Sorry, punny…), I’ve decided to put together a list of drinks that can apply to different romance sub-genres. I hope it’s as useful to you as I plan on it being for me at in Chicago this year. These were glaned from all over the net.
Adventure
When I think adventure, I think high seas—okay maybe it’s a little outdated, but come on. What better answer than Black Privateer Punch? To make a small bowl of it:
7.5 oz 100 proof spiced rum
10 oz red wine
7.5 oz cherry juice
10 oz cola
10 pieces each of orange, lemon, and lime
A mess of cherries
Pour that into a wine glass over some ice and… yep. Sounds like an adventure to me.
Contemporary
Ah, the old staple, but always with a new twist. For just such an occasion we require a revamped classic, I’m thinking the gin and tonic’s cousin, the Gin Rickey. Start with a Collins glass full of crushed ice, then add…
Half a lime, squeezed
2 oz dry gin
Chilled club soda
For some options, try a splash of simple syrup or—my favorite, and great for those who want a little kick—garnish with a green chili with one end cut off to let the spice out. Had it like that once in Pondicherry, and lemme tell you, it’s to die for.
Erotic
Speaking of spicy, yeah. We’re doing this. I found this recipe for a blood orange and jalapeno whiskey cocktail and… y’all. I need it. Check it out. This will be the only one on this list I have not actually already tried, if only because blood oranges are not in season right now but. Man. Need. Mighty need.
Fantasy
You know how it is. You’re hanging out in a tavern with your buddies and along comes an elven princess who needs you to go on a quest. You fall in love with one of your buddies. You fight dragons. You fight each other. You make up. You screw. You live happily ever after. And what’s the best thing to drink while you’re having your fantasy romance?
Ale, clearly. Or stout. Or—wait. Both! Go for the Black and Tan, my friends:
Fill a glass halfway with pale ale (I like Bass, as is traditional), then gently—over an upside-down tablespoon if you want to get really safe—pour the stout (I like Guinness—again, traditional!) on top for a layered treat that’ll fuel all your dragon-fighting needs.
Gothic
All right, look, I’m not gonna lie, I love absinthe. This cocktail comes from a long ago recommendation by my friend Zoe E. Whitten, and I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s exceptional. And utterly perfect for curling up with a Gothic romance and feeling all, you know, Cathy in Northanger Abbey swoony.
I like to use an absinthe glass because it has the bubble in the bottom, but you can use whatever you like. Add…
2 oz Absinthe
4-6 oz Chinotto soda
Ice to taste
If you can’t find chinotto soda, try your local import shop—I used to get the San Pelligrino brand at an Italian deli in DC, and I’m looking for a place to get it in Ohio now I’ve moved! (Please email me if you know a place, oh man…)
Historical
My friends, I have tried many, many different versions of the mint julep in my time. I recommend this one. Yeah, I know, it’s a very American-style historical, but hey. Simple, elegant, fresh, and man, bourbon is the best.
Mystery
Curling up with a romance-meets-mystery is one of life’s greatest pleasures. You know what else is? Dumping some whiskey (or whisky, but I tend toward Bushmills so we’re using the ‘e’) in your hot chocolate.
So yep. That. That’s what I’m going with. Mmmmm, fall cocktails for the win.
Paranormal
Cream-based cocktails are difficult. They’re great when you’re just having one or two, but if you want to pull an all-nighter, probably not the best decision you’ll ever make. Then again, when is pulling an all-nighter ever a good choice? What the hell, let’s go for it!
Count on HGTV to bring us the Liquefied Ghost cocktail. Personally, I think you can just use vanilla vodka and plain simple syrup, to make life easier, but what do I know? (No really tho, I tried it, it was amazing.)
Sci-Fi
As a lifelong sci-fi fan, raised on Star Trek and Dune, the moment I discovered my very first sci-fi cocktail is etched in my mind forever. No, don’t worry, I’m not trying to bring you all the Klingon Blood Wine to totally mess you up while you go and read those fabulous intergalactic stowaway romances. Instead, I bring you the delightfully blue Andorian Ale:
2oz raspberry vodka
1oz blue curacao
Mint sprig
Optional: top off with some Sprite
… if not for the mint thing, which I can’t really imagine will make it safely up to Chicago, this would be the one I’d have in my room at the ready during GRL. I don’t even write sci-fi, technically, though I guess superpowers could be considered as much? I could pretend it was an electric cocktail? Whatever, it’s amazing!
So I hope this has inspired you like it’s inspired me, y’all. See you next month, with the appropriate drinks!
About In Distress
Book 6 in the Superpowered Love Series
Hopeless romantic Eddie Kim acts out his favorite ‘rescued by the white knight’ fantasies through weekly D&D campaigns, but had almost given up hope of ever getting a real one. Then Callum, a mysterious red-head with freezing superpowers and a memorable kiss, saves him from a house but disappears without a trace. Taking pity on him, Eddie’s friends look to craiglist to relocate his hero.
Unfortunately, the publicity brings down the kind of attention Callum Race been trying to avoid; he’s in town to try and clear his family name, and now the dangerous superpowered organization he needs to thwart know he’s come home again. Still, he can’t help following up with Eddie.
The heat between Callum and Eddie flares instantly, and Eddie insists on helping to undo the damage his romantic notions have done. The problem: that will mean becoming embroiled in a nefarious plot, not to mention a superpowered world Eddie didn’t even know existed a week ago. The ‘bad guys’ will try to trick and use him, and in the meantime he has to convince Cal to trust him enough to be the white knight for once–and for real–instead of the perpetual damsel in distress.
Available at: Loose Id, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and All Romance eBooks
About Katey Hawthorne
Katey Hawthorne is an avid reader and writer of superpowered romance, even though the only degree she holds is in the history of art. (Or, possibly, because the only degree she holds is in the history of art.) Originally from the Appalachian foothills of West Virginia, she currently lives in Ohio. In her spare time she enjoys comic books, B-movies, loud music, Epiphones, and Bushmills. You can find her at kateyhawthorne.com, or on twitter and tumblr.
As part of her GRL stop, Katey is offering up a chance to win an eBook from her Superpowered Love series! The giveaway starts now and will end next Thursday, September 11, 2014, at 11:59 pm EST. After which the lucky winner will be randomly picked. To enter, just click the link below!
Rafflecopter Giveaway
Please be aware that the only way to enter the giveaway is to click the Rafflecopter link above. Any comments on this post will not count towards entering the giveaway, except to verify your Rafflecopter entry.
Good luck!
The toughest ride of his life is all in his head. 
Basil is not looking for a man. Four years ago, his lover left him without so much as a note. Just like that. Never came home from work. From that fateful day, Basil becomes a recluse, until he meets the Swimmer, a young Olympian who will change his life forever. Swimmer is a beautiful love story of loss, tragic circumstance, and hope. It will leave you applauding for more.![photo-11940[1]](https://thebloggergirls.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/photo-119401.jpg?w=90&h=90)
Louis’ first book, Revival, published in 2006 by the South African Short Story Publishing Association, introduced South Africa to her first Gay Literary detective, Rain Godart. He now self publishes his M/M Romance stories under the Coooldudes Publishing banner, a publishing company started up to distribute his own works. in 2008 he won the Marion Scher award for writing, and heads up the editing program for gayauthors.org. He is also an affiliate member of PEG (Professional Editing Group) of South Africa. He has a full time job as a despatch manager and at night turns into a wordsmith almost magically. He currently edits for many writers abroad, and also acts as a literary agent for many of his clients. He lives in Germiston, South Africa, 6000 feet above sea level where no Tsunami can touch him or his family. He is married to his best friend, has a son, and two damned naughty Yorkshire Terriers named Bobby and Caesar.
Twenty-three year old Jasper Jones fell in love with Dean McQueen at fourteen, but after a disastrous relationship, Jazz would like nothing better than to see the rock star choke on his own vomit.
The mutual attraction between Jesse and Will is a bonus for Melusine when her enemies close in and she needs to rebuild her war band—starting with Jesse, Will, and Greymalkin.
(This story contains characters from previously published novel ‘Nothing Special‘ but Embracing His Syn is a stand-alone novel.)
A.E. Via is a best-selling author in the beautiful gay erotic genre. She’s been reading gay romance exclusively for ten years before she decided to submit one of her own stories for publication. Her writing embodies everything from spicy to scandalous. Her novels often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.
In AD 107, after a grueling campaign against Rome’s fierce enemy, the kingdom of Dacia, Gaius Fabius returns home in triumph. With the bloody battles over, the commander of the Lucky IV Legion now craves life’s simple pleasures: leisurely soaks in fragrant baths, over-flowing cups of wine, and a long holiday at his seaside villa to savor his pleasure slaves. On a whim, he purchases a spirited young Dacian captive and unwittingly sparks a fresh outbreak of the Dacian war; an intimate struggle between two sworn enemies with love and honor at stake. 
Misaki “Aki” Itou is a psi—a person with mutated DNA granting him psychic abilities. He’s also a contracted companion—a whore. It may not be the perfect profession, but having a roof over his head, food to eat, and not being subjected to torture is a dream come true. He is the top companion at the Hidden Gem, and it makes him enough money to buy the prettiest, most sparkly shoes he can find.
Five years undone in just five days. 
When wolf shifter Robin agreed to cover for his older brother Tim and Tim’s lover Jay, he never imagined feeling so stifled. Tim’s overprotective attitude suffocates him. Pressure from within—the urge to find his own mate—mounts daily. With a little help from Jay, Robin finally convinces Tim to let him go for a run alone, but he has no inkling that his life will change forever as a result.
The Blogger Girls 