Francis Scott Fitzgerald‘s favorite drink? The author of The Great Gatsby, drew a lot of inspiration from gin, his favorite drink…
It is not a coincidence, if the character of the Great Gatsby Ginevra King is named like that… gin was Scott Fitzgerald’s favorite drink. Apparently, he was a heavy drinker, like many of his contemporaries…. An era that lent itself to excess.
And his wife Zelda didn’t help much in moderating the alcohol, with whom Fitzgerald was madly in love. Their boozy adventures, one of the most famous, they say, was when Scott and Zelda jumped fully clothed in the fountain of the Plaza Hotel.
Scott Fitzgerald sampled his gin in every corner of France, starting at the Côte d’Azur. “When I am fasting, I cannot stand the world, when I have drunk, it is the world that cannot stand me.” F. Scott Fitzgerald was convinced that gin was the way to go (he thought its smell would be undetectable on the breath).
So his hangovers were transformed into his works: Gatbsy of 1925, is a good example, cites Le Figaro regarding Fitzgerald’s literature and its relationship with gin. In fact the mysterious Gatsby was an alcohol smuggler. Champagne, Highball cocktails (whiskey and tonic). The rest of the protagonists also join in the celebration of alcohol, such as the Buchanans, who bring the cocktails… Red Bordeaux wine… the hype has a name and it’s Prohibition.
Between “cold drinks”, “shots”, “gin rickey*”… Gatsby’s book fills its pages with a feast of alcohol.
*A Gin Rickey is a cocktail with 60 ml of gin, 22.5 ml of lemon juice, top of sparkling water and a slice of lime…all in a Highball glass filled with cubes. Stir with a spoon. ice A successful result.
Photo by Sebastian Coman Photography from Pexels
In Paris, Fitzgerald was said to walk around with a flask of whiskey. He served whiskey-soda at the Closerie des Lilas. Other places where he liked to enjoy good drinks were Café Select, Dingo Bar, and the famous Les Deux Magots.
When he frequented Hemingway in Mâcon, he drank white wine, “dry and very light”. The two writers met in Paris at the Dingo Bar in 1925.
Back in the United States, Fitzgerald frequented the Commodore Hotel and the University Club in his hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota.
And so on to those who revive him in their works with a very Fitzgeraldian genre, such as James Salter in “A Perfect Happiness”. A couple keeps their gin in the freezer, something of a tribute. At the end of his Hollywood days, Scott was content to just drink coke. He dies at age 44 of a heart attack.
Don’t drink and drive. Enjoy responsibly.