Cheers! movies and Books about Cocktails, Alcohol, Wine and Beer
Even if you’re not a drinker, you can recognize the global reach of alcohol; my liquor cabinet has: Wine from several countries, Whiskey from Ireland, Limoncello from Italy, Sake from Japan, Soju from Korea, Tequila from Mexico, Mamajuana from the Dominican Republic (don’t judge–it’s a souvenir!), and, of course, good ol’ American beer. (I would usually have beer from Germany, too, but it’s summertime and I *may* have finished all of that last week.)
If you’re a fan of the stuff (as I am) and a fan of traveling, the below books and movies will give you some interesting insight into that special drink’s history, culture, and how it ended up in your favorite cocktail or on your shelf.
I’ll be honest, though there were plenty of movies that involved booze, it was a little difficult to find movies that featured alcohol, travel, and maybe taught you a thing or two, but I still think we came up with a pretty good list.
We cover all versions of alcohol here, but if you’re looking for just wine, we have a special list for that, too. Check out Grapes to Glass: Ten Books About Wine from Around the World.
And while we like to focus on stories (not just guides and recipe books), we have to give a special shout-out to Gone with the Gin: Cocktails with a Hollywood Twist and Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist (check out our review) for their really fun way of pairing movies and books with cocktails.
If you have others for us to add, let us know! Cheers!
Ten Travel Books About Cocktails and Alcohol
Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer’s Tour of France
Author: Kermit Lynch
Genre: Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir, Food & Wine
Places Featured: France
Kermit Lynch is one of the most recognized names in the wine world. This book, published in 1988, is an adventure through France–bringing to life the beautiful lands that provide the beautiful wines. Although extremely knowledgeable with an experienced palate, Lynch manages to make it easy for even a novice wino to understand wine varietals and he’ll inspire you to want to explore your palate while exploring France: along with the info, there are also plenty of anecdotes about French culture and the French people he meets while on this adventure.
A History of the World in 6 Glasses
Author: Tom Standage
Genre: Nonfiction, Historical, Food & Wine
Places Featured: Several
This is a fun book that covers all of our favorite kinds of booze AND coffee, tea, and the perennial coca-cola. It really is a fascinating way to learn about world history–Standage is a great writer (An Edible History of Humanity is also fascinating) and he makes the history easy to understand and, since it’s themed around drinks we all know, it’s especially interesting. While the book isn’t so much about the specific history of each drink, it does cover how those drinks have influenced history…and vice versa. Great for history buffs.
And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails
Author: Wayne Curtis
Genre: Nonfiction, Historical, Food & Wine
Places Featured: Caribbean, Cuba, United States
Who knew that the history of the New World could be explored through a bottle of rum? Fortunately for us, Wayne Curtis, a frequent contributor to Imbibe Magazine did. By exploring the history of ten rum cocktails (the usual daiquiris and mojitos are there as well some lesser-known ones like grog and prune water), we’re taken on a journey that also explores linguistics, patriotism, and trade in the Caribbean and North America. Told with a sense of humor and keen writing style, it’s a fun read. (Note: there may or may not be some pirates included in the story.)
Around the World in Eighty Wines: Exploring Wine One Country at a Time
Author: Mike Veseth
Genre: Nonfiction, Food & Wine
Places Featured: Several
Mike Veseth is an economist that loves wine and specializes in global wine markets, so you know this book has some very interesting insights into wine around the world. I especially appreciated that although he covers the “expected” wines of South Africa, France, and California, he also teaches us about the special Madeira wine from Portugal, wine in Shangri-La, and he even goes to Northern Africa (Algeria has wine?!?). It’s a fun adventure around the world for fans of wine–you’ll definitely make some new discoveries along the way!
Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause
Author: Tom Gjelten
Genre: Nonfiction, Historical, Food & Wine
Places Featured: Cuba
Bacardi is a well-known brand of liquor, but I never really stopped to think about where it comes from or the family behind it. In this book, NPR journalist Tom Gjetlten shows just how closely the history of Bacardi rum is intertwined with the (complicated) history of Cuba. It’s captivating and very well-researched–perfect for anyone wanting to learn more about Cuba, rum, or the way the two influence each other. (This isn’t officially on my list of books set in Cuba, but it probably should be!)
Beer Money: A Tale of the Iowa City Beer Mafia
Author: S.C. Sherman
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Places Featured: Iowa, United States
While Beer Money is fictional, it does contain a lot of fact. It’s the story of three large breweries in Iowa City, Iowa (one German, one Czech, and one Irish) in the mid-1800s just as Prohibition and the Temperance Union came to power in the United States. This book is about how the brewers and the teetotalers confronted each other in this small town. Prohibition was a big part of alcohol’s history in the United States and this is a fun way to learn about it.
Murder on the Bluegrass Bourbon Train
Author: Scarlett Dunn
Genre: Fiction, Crime/Mystery, Food & Wine
Places Featured: Kentucky, United States
One of the other things I enjoy is a good cozy mystery and Murder on the Bluegrass Bourbon Train is good choice because it’s all about a spunky heroine, Honey Howell, who has moved back to Kentucky to work with her father in his bourbon distillery. The small town is upended, though, when a master distiller is found dead on a dinner train. Honey, her loyal dog Elvis, and the city’s new (attractive) detective, Sam Gentry, work together to solve the murder.
The Mezcal Experience: A Field Guide to the World’s Best Mezcals and Agave Spirits
Author: Tom Bullock
Genre: Nonfiction, Historical, Food & Wine
Places Featured: Mexico
I feel like Mezcal is one of those drinks you either love or you hate. Personally, I’m not a fan, but I can recognize Mezcal’s influence on Mexico and the mixology scene around the world. This book has a lot in it (including recipes!); I appreciate its thoroughness as it covers the history, the people, the plant, and all the other parts that are bringing this drink to bars near you.
The Widow Cliquot
Author: Tilar J. Mazzeo
Genre: Biography/Memoir, Food & Wine, Historical, Nonfiction
Places Featured: Reims, France
Full disclosure: my go-to drink is sparkling wine (I generally prefer/can afford Cava, but I’ll partake in any of it), so I found this book really interesting. Veuve Clicquot champagne is known the world over as a symbol of glamour and luxury…but few know that a strong-willed woman with a vision is behind the well-known label. After her husband’s death, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin took control of the business and led the company to success. This book captures her story, the story of this famous drink, the story of France and one of its most successful products (lucky for us). Check out TBM’s Book Review on The Widow Clicquot.
Trappist Beer Travels: Inside the Breweries of the Monasteries
Author: Caroline Wallace, Sarah Wood, Jessica Deahl
Genre: Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir, Food & Wine, Historical
Places Featured: Several
While there’s a little bit of controversy in the definition, the simple definition says that Trappist beer is beer made by monks in an abbey. As you might be able to guess, there actually aren’t too many places in the world that make it. Lucky for us, three knowledgeable fun women (they had a great beer blog) decide to find these monasteries and share their adventures with us in this book. The book is a travelogue, a history lesson, an art history class, and a beer tasting guide all in one.
Bonus Children’s Books about Alcohol:
(Note: In case you weren’t sure, this isn’t really a children’s book, but I was surprised to find it, so felt I had to include it.)
- Goodnight Brew: A Parody for Beer People by Kalra Oceanak
Honorable Mention Books About Cocktails:
- Smuggler’s Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki by Martin Cate and Rebecca Cate
- Red, White and Drunk All Over by Natalie McLean
- Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey by Reid Mitenbuler
- Finding Mezcal: A Journey into the Liquid Soul of Mexico, with 40 Cocktails by Ron Cooper and Chantal Martineau
- Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent
- The Lager Queen of Minnesota: A Novel by J. Ryan Stradal
Ten Travel Movies that Feature Alcohol
The Lost Weekend (1945)
Rating: N/A
Genre: Drama
Places Featured: New York City, New York, United States
This movie is rather different than most of the others–it’s a deep dark look at the effect of alcoholism. The movie won four Academy Awards (including Best Picture) and is a powerful film. It’s about writer Don Birnam (played by Ray Milland) who is forced to face the control alcohol has over his life when a weekend goes terribly awry–all because of his drinking. There are several glimpses of New York City as he pieces together the weekend that changed everything.
Cocktail (1988)
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Romance
Places Featured: New York City, New York, United States, Jamaica
A Tom Cruise/80s classic–mostly because of the soundtrack–Cocktail is about a struggling college student who discovers a talent for bartending (thanks to his mentor/coworker, Doug). They have a falling out, though, so Tom Cruise’s character moves to Jamaica so he can continue to make money and eventually open his own bar. Of course, he falls in love with someone he shouldn’t, then his mentor seeks him out to reconcile, and drama ensues. It’s not really a movie you watch for the acting or the story…but it’s still worth watching.
Sideways (2004)
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Places Featured: California, United States
Two men, Miles and Jack (played by the underrated Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church), are on a boy-bonding road trip in wine country California to celebrate Jack’s upcoming marriage. While the focus should be on the wine, Jack also wants to have some fun before his nuptials…soon two women have joined them (Sandra Oh and Virginia Madsen), but things become a bit tense when the women realize this is a bachelor party with one of the men about to be married. There’s a lot of beautiful wine country scenery in this one, and if you listen to MIles, you’ll learn a thing or two about wine, too.
A Good Year (2006)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Food & Wine
Places Featured: Provence, France
Loosely based on Peter Mayle’s memoir, also called A Good Year, this romantic comedy follows Max Skinner (played by Russell Crowe) as he inherits a vineyard estate in Provence. Max travels to the estate, expecting to make a quick sale, but a series of misfortunes keeps him in Provence longer than anticipated. His connection to the vineyard and the people that work there grows, forcing him to take a deeper look at what he really wants out of life. You will want to buy a vineyard in France after watching this. (This was also included in our list of 20 Books and 20 Travel Movies about Self-Discovery and Personal Change.)
Beerfest (2006)
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Places Featured: Munich, Germany, Colorado, United States
Okay, this movie is not for everyone. And this is not one where you will learn anything (in fact, you might actually feel like you’ve lost some brain cells watching it). But, there’s beer in it and it’s full of stereotypes about Germany, so it fits, okay? It’s the story of some American…idiots…who travel to Oktoberfest and end up in a beer competition. And that’s about all there is to say about it.
Great Scotch Whisky (2006)
Rating: N/A
Genre: Documentary
Places Featured: Scotland
This documentary (which can be watched in its entirety on YouTube!) takes you to the Scottish countryside to learn about the famous Scottish whiskys like Glenfiddich, Bowmore, Lagavulin, and more. It’s beautiful and you’ll learn a lot, so it’s a solid choice for a whisky fan. (Something for you to learn right now: Scots spell whisky without the e, Irish and American spell it whiskey.)
Bottle Shock (2008)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Historical, Food & Wine
Places Featured: Napa Valley, California, United States, Paris, France
Based on the true story of the 1976 wine competition “Judgment of Paris” when a California wine defeated a French wine in a blind taste test, this movie is a sweet way to kill a couple hours. It isn’t particularly accurate and the characters are a little stilted (even though it does star some favorites such as Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman and Freddy Rodriguez–well, he’s one of my favorites), but there is some great scenery and some great discussions on wine.
The Angels’ Share (2012)
Rating: N/A
Genre:Drama, Comedy
Places Featured: Glasgow, Scotland
Robbie has had a troubled life–he’s recently escaped a prison sentence and he must find work, especially since he has a new family to support. He wants to change things–which is difficult–so he finds a job working at a distillery and starts to face his past. He learns he loves whisky (and he has the nose for it) and he begins to make the changes he needs to…even when there’s a threat to his new life.
A Year in Burgundy (2013)
Rating: N/A
Genre: Documentary, Historical
Places Featured: Burgundy, France
A fascinating documentary for wine lovers, A Year in Burgundy follows seven wine-making families in Burgundy throughout a year of winemaking. You will learn a lot about wine, France, nature, and how they all come together to create a bottle of something special. It’s beautifully shot.
The Birth of Saké (2015)
Rating: N/A
Genre: Documentary
Places Featured: Ishikawa, Japan
Sake is a unique fermented rice wine from Japan. The Birth of Saké takes us into a sake brewery in Ishikawa and shows us the difficult process of creating an intricate nuanced drink. It’s a beautiful film about slowing down and taking pride in a sometimes forgotten craft.
Bonus TV Shows about Alcohol:
Honorable Mention Movies About Cocktails:
- Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
- Swingers (1996)
- Blood into Wine (2010)
- The World’s End (2013)
