Five Star Cocktail: Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade

Once or twice a year, my mood reader heart craves a book that will rip me apart and leave me changed. On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel took that as a challenge and grabbed ahold of my heart without mercy. 

This book deserves to have a drink poured in its honor, to celebrate the power of McDaniel’s writing, and reflect with those who deeply relate to this story. I’ve chosen to pair it with a Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade. I took inspiration from this blog post when looking for the perfect drink to honor this book and I’m excited to share it with you today.

Just like On the Savage Side, the Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade has an impactful depth and a levity of sweetness that keeps you coming back for more! This is the easy warm weather drink you’ll be making all summer!

Before I dive into my recipe, check out my review of On the Savage Side here.

You can order this book and all of my other favorites from the Books list in my Amazon Storefront

I get compliments on these glasses all the time, so I’m linking them here along with the other barware I use regularly! These make incredible wedding and housewarming gifts!

Hobnail Glasses

Crystal Shaker Set

You can find more of my favorite glasses and barware here.

Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade

Ingredients:

8-10 blackberries

8-10 mint leaves

2 oz bourbon

4 oz lemonade

Ice

Directions:

  1. Combine blackberries, mint leaves, and bourbon into a shaker and muddle until the berries have been crushed and the mint leaves have released their oils. 
  2. Pour the mixture into a glass filled with ice. *You may choose to strain the liquid into the glass, but personally I like the added fruit!
  3. Top with lemonade.
  4. Garnish and enjoy!

Send me a “cheers” if you make a Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade! You can find all of my thoughts on current reads on my Instagram page!

Want to see more Five Star Cocktails? Below are some of my favorite books paired with a cocktail to match!

Strawberry Basil Margarita for The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand

Strawberry Bourbon Smash for Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Spice Pineapple Margarita for I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

French 75 for Atomic Habits by James Clear

Spicy Passion Fruit Margarita for The Reunion

Large Batch Strawberry Margaritas for Maame by Jessica George

Will you try the Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade? What book would you like to see paired next? Looking forward to On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel?

Leave a comment below and let’s chat! 

Five Star Cocktail: The Garden City

Katherine Center’s books are known for bringing all of the warm fuzzies and her 2023 release, Hello Stranger, is a contender for her sweetest love story yet! It’s my latest read to earn a Five Star Cocktail celebration!

In a recent Instagram Reel, Center shared her perspective on love stories. She spoke about the concept of hope within a love story. That knowing there will be a happily ever after isn’t a spoiler or predictable, but rather allows the reader to experience a rare emotional bliss of something to look forward to, hope. You can check out that reel right here.

Center is a master at creating stories that evoke hope.

This book exudes kindness, sweetness, and levity, which all come as a breath of fresh air in such a stressful time. 

I knew I wanted to celebrate it with a cocktail to match! So, off I went to Pinterest, in search of a drink that felt light, floral, balanced, and welcoming. I found this article from Empress Gin and knew it was what I was looking for! I made a couple of slight adjustments (add a little more gin, simple syrup instead of lychee syrup), but still honored the original recipe. And, that presentation! Let me tell you, this one truly tastes as good as it looks! 

Before I share the recipe and instructions for the Garden City, check out my review of Hello Stranger.

You can order this book and all of my other favorites from the Books list in my Amazon Storefront

The Garden City by Empress Gin

Ingredients:

2 oz Empress Gin

1 oz grapefruit juice

½ oz lemon juice

½ oz simple syrup

Directions:

  1. Shake grapefruit juice, lemon juice, and simple syrup on ice. 
  2. Pour mixture and ice into a coupe glass.
  3. Top with Empress gin.
  4. Garnish with a pansy and grapefruit and enjoy! 

Send me a “cheers” if you make the Garden City! You can find all of my thoughts on current reads on my Instagram page!

Want more Five Star Cocktails?

Strawberry Basil Margarita for The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand

Strawberry Bourbon Smash for Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Spice Pineapple Margarita for I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

French 75 for Atomic Habits by James Clear

Spicy Passion Fruit Margarita for The Reunion

Large Batch Strawberry Margaritas for Maame by Jessica George

Will you try the Garden City? What book would you like to see paired next? Looking forward to Hello Stranger by Katherine Center? 

Leave a comment below and let’s chat! 

Demon Copperhead Five Star Cocktail

Where do I even start? I’m not even sure…I guess I’ll start with my deep love for Barbara Kingsolver’s writing. She wrote one of my all-time favorite books, The Poisonwood Bible. I’ve read it multiple times and if you’ve been around for a while, you’ve probably seen it pop up in recommendation stacks!

When I found out about Demon Copperhead, I could hardly contain my excitement. If you’ve never read Barbara’s writing (Barbara, because obviously I’m deeply and personally connected to her and we’re on a first name basis), it’s work that will swoop you up and place you within the mindset of the characters, as if you’re one in the same. She has such a unique ability to write with such a balance of raw clarity and beauty.

Demon Copperhead was the deep dive read I needed this year. I equate it with “the greats” of my reading history: 11/22/63, Betty, Pachinko, Shadows of Pecan Hollow, and, of course, The Poisonwood Bible. It’s a heavy-hitter and one you’ll sink down into.

The style of writing slowed me down more than I was expecting, as most of the dialogue between characters is being recalled to you by Demon. Most of the conversations are within the paragraphs, so there’s no skimming this one. All the better, honestly, it forced me to slow down and soak it all in.

It was perfect and painful and tender and honest. I just loved it all.

To celebrate my admiration of this book, I’ve paired it with one of my most-loved cold weather drinks, Austin’s Old Fashioned.

A few years ago, we discovered a speakeasy bar in downtown Fort Worth and started frequenting the establishment because of its calm atmosphere and absolutely phenomenal drinks. Our favorite was The Old Fashioned. The perfect balance between whiskey, bitters, and syrup. An Old Fashioned that’s too heavy on the bitters is… garbage.

Austin set on a mission to replicate this drink at home! After many attempts, he finally found the ratios he was looking for. It’s my favorite choice to cozy up with on a cold night!

Other Five Star Cocktail Recipes can be found here:

The Strawberry Basil Margarita

The Slow Burn

Other Five Star Recommendations can be found here:

Five Books To Read This Fall

Five Summer Romance Reads

Austin’s Old Fashioned

You’ll need:

  • 2 oz  Kentucky Straight Bourbon (we often use Buffalo Trace or Old Forester)
  • ½ oz simple syrup
  • 3 drops of Angostura bitters
  • Orange peel
  • Luxardo cherry + 1/2 tsp syrup

Directions:

  1. Pour the bourbon, simple syrup, and three drops of bitters into a glass and stir for at least 30 seconds. You want it to be smooooooooth.
  2. Rim the inside of the glass with the inside of the orange peel.
  3. Squeeze the orange peel inside of the glass, releasing the oils into the drink. 
  4. Twist the orange peel and drop it in!
  5. Garnish with a Luxardo cherry + 1 tsp cherry syrup

The Old Fashioned is traditionally served at room temperature, which is why you want to use a quality bourbon. If you prefer yours chilled, add 1-2 ice cubes after preparing the drink.

I hope you love Demon Copperhead as much as I did! It was also Oprah’s Book Club pick for November!

Read it, make a drink, and send me a cheers! I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of the above!

This post contains affiliate links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work!

Atomic Habits Five Star Review and Cocktail

Atomic Habits by James Clear is the first book I’ve ever read twice in the same year! 

I first read this book in February and it was like fireworks going off in my brain. There were logical pieces of advice and applicable examples on every page. I was just in awe of the breakdown of thinking about your goals and working to accomplish them. 

You can follow along with all the books I read on my Instagram, Facebook, and Goodreads pages!

The idea is to become 1% better at something each day. 1% doesn’t sound particularly noteworthy, but this small, incremental progress is compounding. It will continue to build until you have no choice but to acknowledge that you have, in fact, grown at a skill or habit.

You don’t have to go for the all or nothing approach! This was an instrumental read for me, as I charted out goals for this year.

I read it again in September *WITH MY HUSBAND* – big deal! He’s not a reader. Podcasts? Loves them. Online articles? All about it.

Until this moment he had absolutely no interest in books – physical or audio. 

Well…

I had wanted to listen to the book again, just to refresh my mind on these ideas and keep a clear process. I couldn’t help but notice the audiobook length was about the same time it takes to drive to Abilene, TX (his hometown) and back. We took a weekend trip and *gasp* he was open to the idea of listening to the book together in the car.

He was enthralled! I could tell because, while he usually has a heavy foot, he slowed down the drive. 

The conversations that followed were great! We set some goals to work on together and some personal goals we’re taking on.

All of that to say, if you haven’t read this book yet, buy it now! I’m typically not a big fan of self-help books, but I highly recommend this one.

It would be the perfect book to read around the time you’re setting goals for the new year. I like to start brainstorming goals in November and December, so I can hit the ground running in January!

This celebratory book deserves a celebratory moment, so I chose to pair it with the classic French 75!

It’s sparkly and strong and clean and fresh – just like Atomic Habits!

Other Five Star Cocktail Recipes can be found here:

The Strawberry Basil Margarita

The Slow Burn

Other Five Star Recommendations can be found here:

Five Books To Read This Fall

Five Summer Romance Reads

The Classic French 75

You’re going to need a cocktail shaker and champagne flutes for this recipe. You can check out bar tools and other party essentials at my Amazon Storefront!

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 oz gin
  • ½ oz simple syrup
  • 1 oz freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 oz chilled dry champagne
  • Lemon twist for garnish

Directions:

  1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add gin, simple syrup, and lemon juice
  2. Shake vigorously for at least 20 seconds. You want these ingredients evenly blended!
  3. Strain into a champagne flute
  4. Top with prosecco
  5. Garnish with a lemon twist and enjoy!

This boozy take on the traditional champagne toast is the perfect pairing for celebrating the new year and setting new goals. 

Read it, make a drink, and send me a cheers! I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of the above!

This post contains affiliate links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work!

I’m Glad My Mom Died Five Star Cocktail Recipe

I recently read I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy and it was a grand slam five-star read! It will be one that’s added to the stack of Five Star Reads of 2022!

I read this memoir in August, along with 12 others. You can check out this post to see the ratings on the other books I read and connect with me on Goodreads to stay up to date on what I’m reading!

A title like this took me by surprise! As a self-proclaimed “Nickelodeon kid,” I was first excited to hear Jennette had a memoir about her years as a childhood actor. The excitement quickly drained when I realized it wasn’t good.

Then, my need to read it really hit. Like, what was going on in your life?! You seemed so happy and fun to young me. Goes to show that just because it looks beautiful and glossy doesn’t mean it is.

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.

The audio narration is a must for this book, although I immediately bought a physical copy because I just needed it. I know you’ll understand. Especially with the babysitters club vibe like this, a must.

Jennette narrated her own book and my earbuds were glued to my head. I couldn’t take in her story fast enough. It was shocking and sad and infuriating- and, I hope, cathartic that she finally chose to share.

A must read for any millennial who grew up watching Nickelodeon, fans of memoirs, and those interested in learning more about the dark sides of Hollywood and acting.

Check out my review on Instagram for more!

You can purchase I’m Glad My Mom Died on Amazon, Bookshop.org, and Libro.fm!

You can also browse all of my favorite books in my Amazon Storefront.

It took me a while to identify a cocktail that accurately suited this dynamic memoir. I finally settled on The Slow Burn. This is a recreation of one of my favorite drinks from a new bar here in Fort Worth, Birdie’s Social Club.

It’s sweet and full, but packs a spicy punch. It satiates the need for a strong drink and compliments both happy times and melancholy ones. Perfectly made for the complexities of this book.

Did you think I could get that deep on a margarita recipe?!

THE SLOW BURN

You’ll need:

  • 1 part tequila
  • 2 parts pineapple juice
  • 1/2 part ginger juice
  • Juice from 1/2 lime
  • 1/2 part agave
  • Jalapeno slices
  • Pineapple slice
  • Tajin

Here’s how to make it:

  1. Rim glass with pineapple juice, followed by tajin and fill with ice
  2. Shake pineapple juice, jalapeno slices, ginger juice, lime juice, tequila, and agave in ice and strain into glass
  3. Garnish with pineapple and jalapenos as desired! I like to press a pineapple slice into tajin for added flair!

Tip: You’re going to want more than one of these and they make fantastic drinks when hosting, so prepare the pineapple juice + jalapenos ahead of time! Use a large mason jar and fill with pineapple juice and jalapeno slices. Pour from this when preparing cocktails. The jalapenos will spice up the juice and you won’t be stuck cutting up jalapenos every time you want this drink!

Have you read I’m Glad My Mom Died? Leave me a comment below and let me know your thoughts!

I’d love to know if you make The Slow Burn!

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