Cocktail Builder
Tips, tricks, and advice for mastering mixology.
3 Shakespeare-Inspired Cocktails to Get You Drunk on Drama

In the history play Henry V, Shakespeare wrote, “I would give all my fame for a pot of ale.” It certainly wasn’t the only reference he made to alcohol during his extensive career. In fact, you could say the Bard and the bar went closely hand-in-hand. In honor of the birth (and death) of England’s national poet, we bring you three recipes from Shakespeare, Not Stirred. The book, written by Shakespeare professors Michelle Ephraim and Caroline Bicks, will help you get tipsy while making you laugh… and maybe even teach you some things in the process. Juliet’s Emoji-to Teens today are all about gushing their emotions on social media. But as a lovestruck 13-year-old living in Shakespeare’s time, Juliet couldn’t exactly post a bunch of kissy faces on Instagram. In an effort to bring poor Jules into the modern age, the authors created Juliet’s Emoji-to, a spin on a mojito with freshly muddled cherries. Perhaps if Juliet downed one or two of these cocktails, parental disapproval wouldn’t have stung quite so bad. See recipe Richard’s Gimme-let While we’re on the topic of dysfunctional families, we’d be remiss not to mention Richard III. Homeboy scored big in the War of the Roses, but all his family cared about was his dead little brother. To them, he was just some single hunchback with a withered arm and messed up legs. If you also feel like you’ve been snubbed by your family, don’t copy Dick and have a bunch of people killed just to get what you want. Instead, sit back and relax with a Richard’s Gimme-let, a tangy gimlet with a habanero kick. See recipe The Drowning Ophelia If you’ve ever read or seen Hamlet, then you know how sketchy the drowning of Ophelia was. While Gertrude made it sound like an accident, so many others considered it suicide. Did she kill herself because she was sad about the murder of her father? Maybe it was Hamlet acting like a jerk that finally did her in. Or perhaps she was just a total klutz who wore a dress that was way too heavy. We’ll never really know what went down in those final moments, but we do know we want this cocktail: an aqua-hued concoction of vodka, blue curacao, and St. Germain, garnished with edible flowers. See recipe For more amazing recipes, as well as info on Shakespeare’s life and times, pick up your own copy of Shakespeare, Not Stirred.