Feminists, cocktail enthusiasts and pun appreciators — this is the book for you.
“Women’s Libation! Cocktails to Celebrate a Woman’s Right to Booze,” by Bushwick bartender and illustrator Merrily Grashin, features more than 75 recipes that pay homage to both classic cocktails and significant women and movements in history.
The punny spins on recipes (like the Frida Kahl-ada piña colada and the Florence Nightcap-ingale an after-dinner drink) are accompanied by Grashin’s hand-drawn ink illustrations and a bio on the subject.
The timely book ($16, Plume) — a comic addition to the current feminist movement — came out this past fall and is seeing continued interest thanks to Women’s History Month, celebrated in March. As part of the festivities, Grashin is holding a reading and cocktail demo in Brooklyn later this month.
When not behind the bar at Marco’s or Three Diamond Door, both in Bushwick, Grashin, a “compulsive doodler,” also runs her greeting card company, Greet ’N’ Potatoes.
amNewYork spoke with Grashin, 31.
What was your approach for the cocktails?
Mostly they’re spins on classics. I wanted to highlight classic cocktails that create the backbone of a bar. Most are drinks you could make at your home bar with a bare-bones liquor shelf. I wanted to honor those classics and do a twist on each recipe that was a nod to whatever woman or movement it was honoring. So Emma Gold-Manhattan was a classic Manhattan, but the only change I made to it was I garnished it with a golden cherry, for Goldman.
How did you get into bartending?
I was a server for a long time, that’s how I really got into the food world. And then I started learning more about wine and then lastly came into spirits. I found that I felt the most comfortable behind a bar and not serving. I learned to make a lot of these cocktails or twists on these at Roberta’s, when I bartended there. They really encouraged the bartenders to get really creative. That’s really when I started getting excited about variations on classics.
What resources did you use for research?
I have some friends who are history buffs. I have friends who are super active in their communities and know a lot about the more feminist-centered issues, and they helped me with research and ideas. I had friends that are just super punny like me and we would just riff and come up with funny names and bad jokes for the book. And for the cocktails I would have a huge list of people I could call on and be like, Hey can I come by the bar and can we play around with these? I basically used all the bars around me to do quality control.
Did you think of the drinks you wanted to include first, or the women first?
There was a list of basic cocktails I knew I had to make. And then coming up with names — sometimes it came super quickly and naturally. Like, OK, how am I going to come up with a mai tai — whose name is on this list? It became kind of like a flow chart on my wall.
Is there anyone who didn’t make it in?
There were so many that I had to cut that would have been great to be in. Maria Abramovic — she’s an inspiring artist to me. I had Harriet Tubman. I actually almost put Oprah in there, it would have been pretty cool if I did. There were just hundreds. There’s unlimited material.
The book can appeal to home cocktail enthusiasts, history buffs and activists. What kind of response have you gotten?
It’s been such a pleasant surprise. Obviously there’s a target audience — young women mostly, with a history in activism. Also a lot of people who work in food and beverage hospitality. I had people who aren’t even drinkers say, I love this idea. I had men reach out to me and say, “I bought this for my guy friends because it’s so informational.” It’s definitely not exclusive. I’ve gotten just a tremendous outpouring of support from people I wouldn’t necessarily expect to like it, and that’s just been awesome.
Whatever reason people pick it up, whether it’s for the drinks or the puns, what do you hope they take away?
It can be timely, but it can make a good gift year-round. I just love the idea of it being passed around. And if you learn something, that’s awesome. Or if you just want to learn how to make a drink from it, that’s awesome, too.
IF YOU GO
For Women’s History Month, Space Ninety 8 will host Merrily Grashin for a night of cocktail demos, trivia, a reading, giveaways and more on March 20 from 7-9 p.m. | 98 N. Sixth St., Williamsburg, uospaces.com/ninety8/williamsburg-ny
