Can You Identify These Literary Cocktails?
Welcome to Lit Trivia, the Book Review’s multiple-choice quiz designed to test your knowledge of literature. This week’s installment asks you to identify specific mixed drinks named in five popular novels. After the last question, you’ll find links to the books for further reading — as well as links to the recipes for each cocktail from the NYT Cooking archives. Cheers!
1 of 5
Which classic cocktail is a favorite of certain characters in “A Time to Be Born,” Dawn Powell’s 1942 novel about cynical New Yorkers right before America’s entry into World War II? (Hint: A variation of the drink makes an appearance in “Casino Royale,” by Ian Fleming.)
2 of 5
This pre-Prohibition cocktail, usually made with Calvados or applejack, is mentioned twice in Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises” — including once when the narrator Jake Barnes orders it while waiting for Lady Brett Ashley at a Paris hotel bar.
3 of 5
Not everyone drinks, including the eponymous heroine of Terry McMillan’s 1996 novel “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.” When Stella vacations in Jamaica, she orders the alcohol-free version of which cocktail?
4 of 5
In “Love in the Ruins,” Walker Percy’s 1971 novel of speculative fiction about a fragmented United States, the main character drinks several of these cocktails — despite having a serious allergy to the egg whites that are sometimes part of the drink’s recipe. Which cocktail is it?
5 of 5
This tangy cocktail — considered the national drink of Chile and Peru — is mentioned in Isabel Allende’s 2011 novel “Maya’s Notebook.” What is it?