Get geeky with these cocktail recipes inspired by fictional worlds.
Salut! I’m Kendall, the craft cocktail connoisseur and geeky drinks enthusiast behind Novel Nightcaps.
Over the years, I’ve taste-tested my way through an ever-growing library of cocktail books—exploring everything from timeless classics to modern riffs and seasonal creations. Somewhere along the way, I found my niche in geeky drinks: the ones inspired by fandoms, literature, pop culture, and fantasy that invite a bit of magic into the glass. Now, whether I’m recreating an author’s fictional concoction or unearthing a past bartender’s oddball experiment, my favorite part of bartending is diving into ingredient pairings with unique origin stories that make them fun to revisit again and again.
Here within my recipe archive, you’ll find hundreds of cocktails I’ve tried (and some originals I’ve developed myself), complete with tasting notes, techniques, and honest reviews—all written for fellow imbibers who appreciate a well-crafted drink and the history behind it too.
Cheers,
Before narrowing my focus to geeky drinks, I tried hundreds of seasonal cocktails. Check out a few of my highest-rated recipes.
A sparkling wine-based cocktail recipe created in 1948 by Giuseppe Cipriani at Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy
The Queen’s Park Swizzle is a rum-based cocktail recipe that was created in the early 1900s at the Queen’s Park Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad. This variation was adapted from The Essential Cocktail Book by the editors of PUNCH and Megan Krigbaum.
The Iron Ranger is a whiskey-based tiki cocktail recipe that was created by Erick Castro at Raised by Wolves in San Diego, California. This variation was adapted from Easy Tiki: A Modern Revival with 60 Recipes by Chloe Frechette.
The Hemingway Daiquiri is a rum-based cocktail recipe that was created by Constantino Ribalaigua at El Floridita Restaurant in Havana, Cuba. This variation was adapted from The Art of Vintage Cocktails by Stephanie Rosenbaum.
The Elephants Sometimes Forget is a gin-based cocktail recipe that was created by Crosby Gaige and included in Cocktail Guide & Ladies’ Companion in 1941. This variation was adapted from The Art of Vintage Cocktails by Stephanie Rosenbaum.
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