Secret #8 of the 44 Secrets of Mixology. Name your children well. And it’s not such an outrageous idea to think of your cocktails as children: both start as a crazy idea, you give them a name, spend a lot of time trying to make them perfect, then finally you throw up your hands and say, “A little prison time is probably just what he needs!”
It’s a very good idea to name your cocktails after deceased literary figures, especially if he or she was known to be a bit of a souse. This adds instant pedigree and prestige to your creation and also gives you excellent cover because writers, like most heavy drinkers, will gulp down anything that will make them drunk, so your critics can hardly expect your cocktail to taste like dew-kissed ambrosia.
