Jason Varney
Tenaya (left) and André Darlington are plotting to get you tipsy while you learn more about groovy LPs.
Sibling tipplers Tenaya and André Darlington are at it again. The duo, who previously penned The New Cocktail Hour and Turner Classic Movies: Movie Night Menus, have a lavish new cocktail-meets-pop-culture browse-fest: Booze and Vinyl: A Spirited Guide to Great Music and Mixed Drinks (Running Press, $25). Ideas for album-listening theme parties abound. The book is as much a testament to the love of classic vinyl LPs as it is to creative cocktails.
In a recent interview with André (a former Isthmus food writer) and Tenaya (a former Isthmus editor), the two confess they picked the albums thinking “if you were going to collect great vinyl, what would you get?” says Tenaya. With the resurgence of the turntable, young people are often raiding their parents’ stash of records, so their list of greats “lend themselves to multi-generational listening,” she says.
As far as who did what in the process of creating the text, “we jumped all over the place with this one,” says André, who now lives in New York City. “We got to the point where we don’t remember who wrote what, which is good, because it means our [joint] voice is coming together.”
Tenaya, who lives in Philadelphia, says inspiration came sometimes through a “lot of furious texts back and forth, like, ‘I am in the middle of Carole King and I want to drink something smoky.’” (King’s great Tapestry is ultimately paired with a Martini made with the addition of Laphroaig, the fiery Scotch whiskey).
The process, compared to their previous books, was “more experiential and fun.” The great challenge was winnowing down which albums to include, but the most fun came from brainstorming the matching cocktails, once the list was settled.
To create an appropriately Madison-ish pairing, they have a couple of suggestions — Bon Iver, coupled with a drink called the Caribou, is a natural. “Or R.E.M. could really be great,” André says, referencing that band’s natural indie spirit. Or starting with the drink, they immediately land on the Old Fashioned, paired with Tom Waits’ Closing Time.
The April 17 release of the book is timed to coincide with “Record Store Day,” April 21. “We hope the book supports record stores, and also inspires people to listen,” says Tenaya.
