Episode 154: John Peyton Cooke's Out for Blood

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The two Mikes visit old haunts in Chicago and Madison, as they learn the ropes of vampirism and the club scene with new creature of the night.

It's Cocktail Time!

Kroba

1 shot calvados

1 shot vodka

1/2 shot kirsch

1/2 shot maple syrup

shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Enjoy with herring. Lots and lots of herring.

Episode 153: My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris

 

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The Mikes trip on hippie brownies and head into the 1960s and Chicago's Westside in Emil Ferrris's My Favorite Thing is Monsters.  Are monsters real?  Take a look in a reflective storefront window and find out for your damn self.

It Is Cocktail Time!

Monster Mash

Take fruits that can represent monsters. For example:

Kiwi= The Wolf Man

Strawberry = Dracula

Blueberry = Booberry

Lime = Frankenstein

Muddle fruits with a little sugar in the bottom of a glass. Add ice and pour in as much corn mash whiskey as needed  and top with soda water. Stir and enjoy. Chin Chin.

Episode 152: Carmen Maria Machado's Her Body and Other Parties

 

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Two Mikes and a Linda put on their dancing shoes and head to a party, where all, it seems, is not well. We try to solve the mystery of the crime solvers, learn to say "yes" to the dress (and hear what it has to say in return), and finally pull the ribbon on the whole thing.

It's Cocktail Time!

Difficult at Parties Punch

Freeze ice in a ring, like in a Bundt pan.

Slice a blood orange for garnish.

Then, in a punch bowl, mix:

    3 cups sweet vermouth

    3 cups campari    

Add 1 cup assorted fruit (like Buddah's hand, duryan, ugli, … kidding: just some berries and such)

Pour in 2-3/4 cups prosecco. Stir gently.

Settle ice ring in bowl.

Ladle into those fancy punch cups your grandma left you; garnish with blood orange slice. Commence party.

    

Episode 151: Flannery O'Connor's "Good County People"

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The Two Mikes travel to the Deep South with Flannery O'Connor and her short story "Good Country People. Bless their hearts, it isn't all fried chicken and sweet tea.

It's Cocktail Time!

Hooch in the Bible

1 shot Campari

1 shot good Bourbon

1 shot ginger liqueur

Place in a tumbler of ice, shake and decant into a martini glass. Garnish with a shaving of ginger. Chin Chin.

Episode 150: J. G. Ballard's Crash

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The Two Mikes go for a drive and end up in an awkward new relationship with their car. It's hard to explain.

It's Cocktail Time!

Bodily Fluids

1/2 shot each of 

• Irish Cream
• Amaretto
• Kirsch
• Galliano

Pour together into a double shot glass, but don't stir. Toss across the dash of your car and lick it off. Eww.

Episode 149: Brian Evenson's Last Days

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The Two Mikes don't lose their heads or any other parts, but still enjoy Brian Evenson's Last Days.  The hero gets out mostly intact but the Mikes will remain Zeroes thank you very much.


Cocktail Time! 🍸

The Self-Cauterizer

Get a pint beer glass and fill half way with a dark beer like a Stout or a Porter.  Take 150 Proof Rum and float on the top by pouring on the back of the spoon. Ignite the rum, at your own peril, and when tired of the fire, extinguish by filling up the rest of pint glass with more dark beer.

Yes, this is a lazy drink. Chin Chin.

Episode 148: Paul Tremblay's Cabin at the End of the World

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The Two Mikes finish their reading of Paul Tremblay's breakout books with a trip to the woods. There are grasshoppers and a messages from "God" and bunch of decent people at brutal cross purposes. Kinda like driving the family to the lake on a Sunday in July.

It's Cocktail Time!

Seven Grasshoppers

In a mason jar, combine

• 6 oz crème de menthe
• 6 oz crème de cacao
• 3 oz heavy creme
• ice

shake and strain into seven chilled cocktail glasses.

Chin chin!