Gone with the Gin: Cocktails with a Hollywood Twist

by Tim Federle

Here’s drinking with you, kid
We know your type. You love the smell of napalm in the morning, you see dead people, and you’re the king (or queen!) of the world. You’ve basically logged more hours at the local megaplex than the projectionist—and you deserve a drink!
A perfect gift for film buffs and a terrific twist on movie nights, Gone with the Gin is the ultimate cocktail book for die-hard silver screen aficionados who prefer to be shaken, not stirred. Included within are 50 delicious drinks—paired with winking commentary on history’s most quotable films—plus an all-star lineup of drinking games, movie-themed munchies, and illustrations throughout.
So go ahead, make my drink. Even if you don’t know every line from every movie, tonight you’re gonna drink like you do.
Coming attractions include: A Sidecar Named Desire, Whiskey Business, No Country for Old Fashioneds, Taxi Screw-Driver, Bonnie and Mudslide, A Clockwork Orange Julius, and more!

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Humor, Cooking, Food and Drink, Reference, Cocktails

152 pages, Hardcover

First published October 27, 2015

About the author

Tim Federle is the showrunner and executive producer of "High School Musical: the Musical: the Series," which he created for Disney+. His novels include the New York Times Notable Book "Better Nate Than Ever" and its Lambda Literature Award–winning sequel—which Lin-Manuel Miranda called “a wonderful evocation of what it’s like to be a theater kid” (New York Times). A film adaptation of Nate, written and directed by Federle, premiered on Disney+ on April 1, 2022. The film stars Aria Brooks, Joshua Bassett, Lisa Kudrow, and Rueby Wood as Nate.

Tim’s hit series of cocktail recipe books, including "Tequila Mockingbird," have sold over half a million copies worldwide. He cowrote the Broadway musical adaptation of "Tuck Everlasting," and won the Humanitas Prize for cowriting the Golden Globe and Academy Award–nominated Best Animated Feature "Ferdinand," starring John Cena and Kate McKinnon.

A former Broadway dancer, Tim was born in San Francisco, grew up in Pittsburgh, and now divides his time between Los Angeles and the internet.

Reviews

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 5 out of 5]

An effervescent drink guide that pairs cleverly named potables with classic films. It's a winner!

Last year (or was it the year before), I named Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist, also by Tim Federle, as one of my favorite reads in my annual book review. It's similar to Gone with the Gin, except that Tequila Mockingbird uses classic literary works instead of film.

Federle has a way with puns and summarizing complex plots in three sentences or less without devolving into the unbearably cheesy. My favorites from Gone with the Gin include the "Ben-Hurricane" and "The Empire likes Jack".

And, like Tequila Mockingbird, I think I'm going to have to purchase a copy of this book to keep at the house. Like the majority of my reading material, I borrowed it from the library. But it's going to be a sad day when I have to give it back...

Lest you think that Federle is a one-note author, please take a moment to consider another of his books: Life Is Like a Musical: How to Live, Love, and Lead Like a Star. It gives some hard-won lessons from Federle's days dancing and singing his way across the stage. I enjoyed it too.

I think it's fair to say that I highly recommend most anything Federle has written, so far. Keep 'em coming, Tim!

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

At some point in each of Tim Federle's cocktail books, one of the puns makes me burst out laughing. This time I didn't make it further than the Introduction: "Close Encounters of the Slurred Kind" - THAT is funny. Plus it could be the title of my autobiography, circa 1987-1994.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this is actually a recipe book the commentary on the movies each drink is based on is what makes this worth reading. Like his other book, Tequila Mockingbird, Federle is quick-witted and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny with his comments. I read this like a regular book from cover to cover.

[Kim Novak (The Reading Rx) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy a good pun for cocktail mix. Fun read with movie tidbits and tasty recipes.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worthwhile for the drink puns alone. The Muppets Make Manhattans, Sloppy in Seattle, Mrs. Stout-Fire, Bloody Mary Poppins-yay!

[Farah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, with an introduction that includes descriptions of glassware, equipment, techniques and describes different types of alcohol. The names are all based on movie names and are very fun! It also includes a short description of the movie. Instructions for making the drink are detailed. Includes all the basic cocktails plus some I haven't seen before. There is also a short section on snack recipes (also based on movie titles) as well as some drinking games. This is a great book to have on hand to make some great cocktails with a fun name twist! Would highly recommend.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book for my husband a few years ago because I absolutely loved the concept. However, we never really got around to read it, let alone try any of the recipes out.
But after our recent move, I found it and figured now would be the time!

Gone With the Gin is such a cool drink book! It's made for any movie fans, and honestly, aren't we all movie fans?
All recipes are inspired by classics and are cleverly named thereafter.
With recipes like;
The Empire Likes Jack, Sloppy in Seattle, Titonic and Whiskey Business, the book really takes the extra step!
On top of that, the book is entertaining to read. The puns and the humor in the introductions are so well thought out, you can't help but enjoy reading through it.
Each movie got a little introduction before the recipe, and it is just a joy.

Besides the drinks, the book contains a few recipes for Movie Munchies, of course, also inspired by different movies like Life of Pie and The Silence of the Lamb Burgers.

At the end of the book, there is added the formulas for metric conversions, which is just perfect for anyone like me, living outside of the US. There really is thought about details in this book!

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a neat idea for the drink book! I love the names & ingredients for the drinks and the little quips about them all. I am giving this to a fella who lives in Vegas and I am sure that it will become messed up from the mixing of the drinks.

[Mary Kinietz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. Great ides for movie night. We went to do this with friends - pick a movie and cocktail each month and work our way through the book. My husband said, "...but we don't have friends who like cocktails, they like to drink the same thing over and over." I said, "We need new friends!"

[Julie H. Ernstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gone with the Gin: Cocktails with a Hollywood Twist is the perfect read for anyone who loves cocktails and/or movies. The book opens with introductory sections on tools, techniques, and terminology, graduates to movie-themed cocktails (arranged by genres), onward to movie-related munchies, and even drinking games (Danger! Danger! The Pulp Fiction one will get you snookered in no time.). There's something here for virtually everyone. We plan to work our way through many of them along with their cinematic accompaniment.

[Jenny T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a humorous recipe book for cocktails with a movie theme. I enjoyed how the author tried to match the ingredients of each drink to the movie's storyline. I read this book before giving to my friend, Ann, for her birthday. A great gift for drinking & movie watching buddies.

[Kristen (belles_bookshelves) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Here's drinking at you, kid."

Adorable.

[Melissa Riggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my 2nd Time Federle book and again maybe not technically reading. This time Tim takes on movies and pairs them with signature cocktails or "Movie Munchies" along with a little background information and a synopsis of the plot line.

"We know your type. You love the smell of napalm in the morning, you see dead people, and you’re the king (or queen!) of the world. You’ve basically logged more hours at the local megaplex than the projectionist—and you deserve a drink!
A perfect gift for film buffs and a terrific twist on movie nights, Gone with the Gin is the ultimate cocktail book for die-hard silver screen aficionados who prefer to be shaken, not stirred. Included within are 50 delicious drinks—paired with winking commentary on history’s most quotable films—plus an all-star lineup of drinking games, movie-themed munchies, and illustrations throughout.
So go ahead, make my drink. Even if you don’t know every line from every movie, tonight you’re gonna drink like you do.
Coming attractions include: A Sidecar Named Desire, Whiskey Business, No Country for Old Fashioneds, Taxi Screw-Driver, Bonnie and Mudslide, A Clockwork Orange Julius, and more!"

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun! This is a "cookbook" of mixed drinks that all tie to classic movies! Every Friday night is Date Night at our house. Most of the time the frugal Harris' stay in and watch a movie together. HOW FUN to drink cocktails that match the movie! One was for a drink to match The Big Lebowski, which we watch (probably way too) often. (It actually wasn't all that stellar. But it was still fun to make and try!) I also tried the "Bloody Mary Poppins" and "The Gimlet of Fire." The Mary Poppins one was downright undrinkable, so I think that I probably didn't follow the instructions well enough, but the Harry Potter one was so good it's become a regular drink of mine! (Kinda. The whole drink calls for lighting a stick of cinnamon like a stick of incense and wave it over the drink. A cool effect that actually does give the drink a slightly smoky flavor, but a step too much for a regular night.)

Overall, a great cookbook! (I also recommend the companion mixology book, Tequila Mockingbird!)

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun--the punny titles made me giggle every time. He had a nice mix of eras in his selections of movie inspiration, and the write up for each drink was cleverly amusing. I made quite a few of the recipes, and for the most part they were quite tasty. (I highly recommend cutting the spices in half on the Bloody Mary Poppins, though.) Several still featured odd ingredients to meet their theme, but I didn't feel like they were as awkwardly forced as some of those in Are You There God? It's Me, Margarita: More Cocktails with a Literary Twist.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lauren Mortimer does an exquisite job with what look to my untrained eye to be pencil drawings at catching the drinks, the puns, and the recognizable visuals from the movies in her work. I prefer how this book breaks down the recipes into groups. I still have a few weeks left on my library checkouts for these so I’m planning to keep it and possibly try some of the options once I’m able to get more supplies. Which should be easy to do, as the index is set up both by title and ingredient.

full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable read that brings together historical information about movies and cocktails- and the information is funny and engaging. The puns that play around with drink and movie names are hilarious. But I could not find one recipe that I had ALL the ingredients at home, so, call me “old fashioned” but I like a cocktail book with cocktail recipes in to!

[Amanda Jorgensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The puns in this book are fantastic, even if the drinks require some ingredients that aren’t always readily available. Overall, this book makes me want to break out the cocktail shaker and enjoy a good movie!

[Gina Zappa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another big time winner in this series. As long as they keep making these books, I will keep reading, and drinking my way through them folks! Cheers!

[Gina Pickering Hutchison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book with lots of drink recipes and a bit of movie trivia. I doubt I would actually make more than 5 or 6 of the drinks as many unusual (to me anyway) ingredients are called for. I got it for a birthday present, and appreciated the humor and thought!

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

"This book is intended for people 21 and over who know the difference between Robert De Niro and Al Pacino."

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book in the series! As always, a mix of riffs on traditional drinks and some pretty out there combos I'd neber even imagined. The snack mix sounds yummy too.

[Troy Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

now Im thirsty 🍻🥂🥃🍸🍹

[Barb Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many delicious sounding options in this book. Accompanied by humorous plays on words. I enjoyed.

[Kai Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as interesting or entertaing as Tequila Mockingbird.

[Tiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliantly witty.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty and a fun remembrance of the many movies I’ve actually seen in the movie theatre 🍿

Now it’s time to drink 🍹

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good overview of the movies but the drinks didn’t look good.

[Ashley Goffinet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read and inspiring for new and experienced bartenders alike

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have loved themed cocktails from Grease Pretty in Pink, Dirty Dancing etc.
But still a fun book for movie lovers.