Sip & Read: Nightcap Pairings for the Perfect Evening Escape

Instead of scrolling on your phone or watching TV before you fall asleep, take some time to unwind and decompress from your day. Historically, if you wanted a little bit of help falling asleep you would treat yourself to an after dinner nightcap.

Like a good book, these drinks have the warmth and taste you need to shrug off your problems and relax into the evening. What’s more, there is a wide variety of both drinks and books that are best enjoyed before going to sleep.

So, we’ve paired some of our favorite nightcap drinks with a perfect companion read. Take out the search and decision fatigue with picking a book to read. Enjoy sipping on one (or two 😉 )of your favorite cocktails below and we will pair the book!

Manhattan
White Russian
Hotty Toddy
Irish Coffee
Dirty Martini
Old Fashion
Amaretto Sour
Hot Chocolate

Whether you prefer the richness of a whiskey with a contemporary novel or a hot chocolate with a cozy romance, there is a perfect pairing for your taste. Who knows, nightcap novels could be the key to the best sleep you’ve ever had.

Alcoholic Nightcaps

Manhattan:

The Manhattan is a stylish and storied nightcap with the subtle sweet notes and warmth from a rich and delectable whiskey so we paired it with Orbital, by Samantha Harvey. The storyline has a rich and eloquent life on Earth and their time in space.

Orbital: A Novel

by Samantha Harvey

WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024 - A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A slender novel of epic power and the winner of the Booker Prize 2024, Orbital deftly snapshots one day in the lives of six women and men traveling through space. Selected for one of the last space station missions of its kind before the program is dismantled, these astronauts and cosmonauts--from America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan--have left their lives behind to travel at a speed of over seventeen thousand miles an hour as the earth reels below. We glimpse moments of their earthly lives through brief communications with family, their photos and talismans; we watch them whip up dehydrated meals, float in gravity-free sleep, and exercise in regimented routines to prevent atrophying muscles; we witness them form bonds that will stand between them and utter solitude. Most of all, we are with them as they behold and record their silent blue planet.

White Russian:

A White Russian is sweet and strong drink with a rich velvet texture and a kick of whimsey with a subtle nod to a classic milkshake so we paired Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Enjoy a mysterious and dreamlike novel set in a hypnotic labyrinthine house that is both comforting and bold.

Piranesi

by Susanna Clarke

An award-winning, New York Times bestselling fantasy sensation!

Piranesi's house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls lined with thousands upon thousands of statues. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; and waves thunder up staircases, while rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.

Hot Toddy / Hot Whiskey:

Often enjoyed for “medicinal use,” this warm and soothing hot toddy nightcap is a sweet and surprising cure for whatever ails you. So then we have We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat by Syou Ishida - The perfect prescription of self-actualization and humor for those who need something out of the ordinary.

We'll Prescribe You Another Cat

by Syou Ishida - E Madison Shimoda

The Kokoro Clinic for the Soul reopens in this delightful follow-up to the award-winning, bestselling Japanese novel We'll Prescribe You a Cat.

It's time to revisit the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul.

Though it's a mysteriously located clinic with an uncertain address, it can always be found by those who need it. And the clinic has proven time after time that a prescribed cat has the power to heal the emotional wounds of its patients. This charming sequel introduces a new lovable cast of healing cats, from Kotetsu, a four-month-old Bengal who unleashes his boundless energy by demolishing bed linens and curtains, to tenacious and curious Shasha, who doesn't let her small size stop her from anything, and the most lovable yet lazy cat Ms. Michiko, who is as soft and comforting as mochi.

Irish Coffee:

A drink of opposites pairing the bitterness of coffee with the sweetness of whiskey, as well as a cool cream and hot liquid, for a perfect evening match. (make it a decaf if your evening needs a little less caffeine and more of a soothing warm beverage) You can enjoy The Enchanted Greenhouse, by Sarah Beth Durst with this. It's a cozy book with low, but important stakes and the opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine trope of a romantic comedy.

The Enchanted Greenhouse

by Sarah Beth Durst

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY AND INDIE BESTSELLER!

Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and hidden away.

This should have been the end of her story... but one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She's starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To Terlu's surprise, he offers her a warm refuge--until she's ready to sail home.

Dirty Martini:

A popular take on a classic drink, with a savory and salty taste with a touch of sweetness to tamper down the bite of bitterness from the brine.

Circe, by Madeline Miller - A new take on a classic tale of epic family rivalry, the bitterness of abandonment, and the sweetness of finding ones true self.

Circe

by Madeline Miller

#1 New York Times bestseller!

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child -- not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power -- the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

Old Fashioned:

A drink of perfect balance between the sweetness of sugar, heat of whiskey, and bite of bitters that allows you to enjoy all three flavors.

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson - A book with the perfect balance of science, adventure, entertainment and humor.

A Short History of Nearly Everything

by Bill Bryson

THE #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER

In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson trekked the Appalachian Trail--well, most of it. In A Sunburned Country, he confronted some of the most lethal wildlife Australia has to offer. Now, in his biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand--and, if possible, answer--the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us.

To that end, he has attached himself to a host of the world's most advanced (and often obsessed) archaeologists, anthropologists, and mathematicians, travelling to their offices, laboratories, and field camps.

Amaretto Sour:

A sweet and sour nightcap that offers numerous variations to appeal to almost any palette like a popular story with a bit of a twist.

We Solve Murders, by Richard Osman - Funny and suspenseful, this entertaining novel offers a delightful twist on a classic amateur sleuth story from a bestselling mystery series author.

We Solve Murders

by Richard Osman

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He still does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him at home. His days of adventure are over. Adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy's job now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. Working in private security, every day is dangerous. She's currently on a remote island protecting mega-bestselling author Rosie D'Antonio, until a dead body and a bag of money mean trouble in paradise. So she sends an SOS to the only person she trusts . . .

As a thrilling race around the world begins, can Amy and Steve outrun and outsmart a killer?

Non-Alcoholic Nightcaps

Warm Milk:

A warm and nostalgic nightcap from childhood that will easily lull you into a dreamy slumber. Do not count this out if you haven't had it in a while!

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub - A tale of time travel back to the nostalgic days of being a teenager and finally seeing what might have been missed the first time.

This Time Tomorrow

by Emma Straub

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER

What if you could take a vacation to your past?

On the eve of her fortieth birthday, Alice's life isn't terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn't exactly the one she expected. She's happy with her apartment, her romantic status, and her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But her father is ailing, and it feels to her as if something is missing. When she wakes up the next morning, she finds herself back in 1996, reliving her sixteenth birthday. But it isn't just her adolescent body that shocks her, or seeing her high school crush--it's her dad, the vital, charming, forty-something version of her father with whom she is reunited. Now armed with a new perspective on her own life and his, some past events take on new meaning. Is there anything that she would change if she could?

Hot Chocolate:

A sweet treat you’ve had a million times and always come back to when you want something classic, familiar, and joyful.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - A beloved novel you’ve read a million times and always come back to when you want something classic, familiar, and joyful.

Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen - Anna Bond

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - Jane Austen x Puffin in Bloom with a gorgeous illustrated cover by Anna Bond, the artist behind the renowned lifestyle brand Rifle Paper Co.

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet live with their five daughters. Jane, the eldest daughter, falls in love with Charles Bingley, a rich bachelor who moves into a house nearby with his two sisters and friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy. Darcy is attracted to the second daughter, Elizabeth, but she finds him arrogant and self-centered. When Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, she refuses. But perhaps there is more to Darcy than meets the eye.

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