Booktok Cocktails Novels & Stories

The hostess handed us menus, thick, leather-bound, no prices listed, and disappeared. Clara opened hers immediately, scanning the specials with interest. Adrian leans to my side and says , “what will my lady be having?” voice low and teasing. I reached for the heavy, menu , leather-bound menus in front of us, each one embossed with the single gold word Lumen in the lower right corner. I opened mine slowly, almost reluctantly, fingers brushing the thick cream paper inside. The first page listed cocktails, handcrafted, seasonal, with ingredients I’d never heard pronounced the same way twice: yuzu kosho-infused gin, black truffle vermouth, smoked lapsang souchong bitters. Prices started at $28.

For now, all I cared about was the fact that I had a job — one that didn't involve bowing my head to some spoiled Alpha's brother. "So that's two Cosmopolitans, one Vodka Martini, three Piña Coladas, one Mai Tai, and one Aperol Spritz," I recited, balancing the tray on my hip like Natalie, another server, showed me. The girls at the bachelorette party whooped and squealed, clinking their plastic tiaras together like they were princesses in a fairy tale.

All the cocktails were strong, but that’s what I wanted to start with. “Miss, you came with Mr. Volkov. You can have anything I make,” the bartender chuckled. I laughed too, but there was no hiding how uneasy it sounded. Thankfully, the music helped to cover it up. In no time at all, he was sliding a purple-colored cocktail across the bar and into my hands. “Wow, this is good.” It was fruity with hints of coconut rum, and only the hint of alcohol hit the back of my tongue as the drink went down. This was definitely one of the dangerously strong drinks.

It’s cooked rare, seasoned ever-so-slightly to appease each cat’s personal tastes. “All right,” I tell them once their dishes are filled. “I’ll be back in a few hours.” * The bartender hands me my drink. It’s pink, smells like cucumbers, and is being served in a dainty little wine glass. The drink had some sort of stupid, trying-too-hard-to-be-hip name, but it’s made with vodka and that’s all I care about.

She wasted absolutely no time. “Let loose Kiss, it’s fun. I promise” Kylie tries to ease my uncomfort. I try and do as told, suddenly feeling very nervous and overheated. Daniel and Brooks soon find us, drinks in their hands. “I brought you your drink” Daniel smiles, handing me the Strawberry Daiquiri. “Thank you” I kiss his cheek, thankful for the frozen drink. “What are you drinking?” I ask, observing the pink liquid over the ice cubes. “It’s called a Paloma. I wanted to try something different. Its tequila, lime juice and grapefruit soda” He nods.

She wasted absolutely no time. “Let loose Kiss, it’s fun. I promise” Kylie tries to ease my uncomfort. I try and do as told, suddenly feeling very nervous and overheated. Daniel and Brooks soon find us, drinks in their hands. “I brought you your drink” Daniel smiles, handing me the Strawberry Daiquiri. “Thank you” I kiss his cheek, thankful for the frozen drink. “What are you drinking?” I ask, observing the pink liquid over the ice cubes. “It’s called a Paloma. I wanted to try something different. Its tequila, lime juice and grapefruit soda” He nods.

Forty eight hours earlier, if he'd brushed against me naked, I probably would have bolted; but now it was natural, and right. Jill called out to me, "What have you got on tap for us tonight, Alex?" I went to the cabinet shelf I'd commandeered, and brought down three bottles. "I've got an excellent sipping rum, Cruzan Single Barrel, for those who would like to try that, and if you'll give me a minute," I displayed the bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, and the 1/2 bottle of Tequila left from the previous night. I poured half the Bailey's slowly into the Tequila bottle. "We've got a concoction that goes by a few different names, including the 'Naked Orgasm'."

In another corner, a small stage hosted a variety of erotic sensual performances at regular intervals, each more enthralling than the last. Opposite the lounge, an expansive bar counter showcased an impressive array of spirits, each bottle meticulously arranged within glass cabinets. The bartenders, skilled in the art of flairtending, flipped bottles and executed fire tricks with practiced ease, drawing cheers from onlookers. The cocktail menu boasted a thousand unique concoctions, each more enticing than the last.

"Can I get you a glass of water?" I pointed toward the highboy across the room. "There's water over there." Dr. Beck held the pills captive as he went to the highboy, no doubt assessing the bottles of alcohol. It was, after all, the place where as of late Alton had decided to prepare his evening cocktails. After filling a glass with water from a bottle, he lifted a re-corked bottle of Montague Private Collection. "Have you had any of this today?" "No. I just woke." Exasperation and desperation were evident in my voice.

Elisha replied “What's a filth cocktail?” Candace asked. “It’s a drug that is made from boiled down fermented fruit mixed with whatever chemicals we could swipe off of the staff typically would be drunk like one would shoot alcohol and its effect varied from pretty much just being drunk to full blown hallucinations pending on the batch that was circulating. It has been known to kill people before it almost claimed Ebony a couple of times if I hadn’t found her when I did and forced her to throw it all up.” Elisha replied