C&C 83: Now Pouring A HELL OF A DRINK
News about the next book, which has turned me into a horror guy
In my last missive, basically a month ago, I alluded to a new project. All has since been revealed, courtesy of one of those sought-after Publishers Marketplace announcements. (OK, fine, yes: seeing it was a thrill.)
Belly up to the bar while I tell you about A Hell of a Drink, coming in time for Halloween 2027.
I’ve mentioned my friend Chris Elford here before. He’s a world-class bartender, hospitality maestro, and all-around lovely fellow. He plied his trade in New York (where he invented the contemporary classic the Sharpie Mustache at Amor y Amargo) before coming to Seattle, where he now primarily hangs his hat at Here Today Brewery & Kitchen. He’s also one of the founders of Navy Strength, named best new American cocktail bar in 2018, and among his signature accomplishments is the annual October transformation of that tiki paradise into Nightmare on Wall Street, boasting a menu of original cocktails inspired by horror movies. A Hell of a Drink collects fifty of those malevolent mixtures, along with a bonanza of bonus material we’re not yet ready to discuss. It will be coming from Sasquatch Books, whose every publication is gorgeous, so our effort has found its ideal home.
Chris isolates elements from the movies that he loves, translates them into ingredients, then combines them in unexpected and satisfying ways. It’s an intensive approach I can’t wait to explore on the page. His personal journey to becoming a master mixologist and discerning horror fan is fascinating, one he’ll share in the book.
I’ve talked about how, like Chris, I came to cocktails late in life in Down the Hatch. As for horror movies, I’ve always been a fan, since my mother took me to see Alien (1979) when I was far, far too young.1 I grew up watching Chiller Theater on WPIX in New York2 and horror host Dr. Paul Bearer in south Florida. Still, every year when I rolled into Nightmare on Wall Street there’d be a few films I didn’t know, thanks to Chris’s deep love of the genre. I’ve been on quite the learning curve, catching up with titles like the grueling New French Extreme entry Frontier(s) (2007) and When Evil Lurks (2023), maybe the most harrowing film I’ve ever seen. Each movie becomes its own rabbit hole, leading to more movies. That difference in perspective—hardcore horror hound and curious casual appreciator—will only work to our collaboration’s advantage. Over the course of the last year, I’ve become the kind of person who turns up for Bring Her Back (2025) on opening weekend. I am a changed man, and the book hasn’t even been written yet.
Expect regular updates as Chris and I bring A Hell of a Drink to fruition. This is gonna be fun.
What I’m Drinking
The calendar says October, so obviously I’ve been at Nightmare on Wall Street, drinking my way through this year’s menu. For work, you understand. Consider if you will the Death’s Head Moth, Chris’s cocktail in honor of The Silence of the Lambs (1991), which manages to incorporate both fava and chianti while acknowledging Hannibal Lecter’s status as an aesthete (cognac and Armagnac) and an erstwhile member of Baltimore society (a dusting of Old Bay seasoning). The Candyman naturally features honey along with Malört, Chicago’s favorite libation, and each glass comes with its own mirror. But Chris’s garnish game may have reached its peak with the Room 237, named of course for The Shining (1980).
The full menu is available through Halloween if you’re anywhere near the Pacific Northwest. Or you can wait for A Hell of a Drink.
On a related note, this weekend Chris will be running the Detroit marathon, the course taking him back to his birthplace of Windsor, Ontario. He’s using the marathon, his first, to raise money for the Chris Patino Hero Fund helping bartenders in need. If you can, please make a donation.
What I’m Watching
Relay (US 2025) received a blink-and-you-missed-it theatrical release in August. It’s worth catching up with now, because the latest film from David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water) is so far my favorite thriller of the year. Riz Ahmed stars as Ash, a freelance operative assisting whistleblowers who rue their decisions, brokering deals with the corporations these would-be crusaders once aimed to take down. He acts as an intermediary for both sides, maintaining his anonymity by exploiting technology, loopholes, and inherent biases. His approach is exemplified in the most ingenious aspect of Justin Piasecki’s script, Ash’s use of a relay service for the hearing impaired as his own personal cutout. It makes for a compelling dramatic exercise as the strangers employed by the service briefly become protagonists, delivering instructions and information without comprehending them, Ash pulling every string while remaining at a remove. The slow-burn suspense and the surface pleasures, including first-rate location shooting in New York City, blind you to the ethics of the situation until you realize that the film has been subtly addressing them all along.
What I’m Reading
It’s impossible to summarize Clown Town (2025), the latest in Mick Herron’s Slough House series, thanks to Herron’s cheerfully brutal approach to his characters’ morality and mortality.3 It’s a good bit darker than usual, possibly heralding a shift in the books’ trajectory. But it’s still funny, Herron effortlessly firing off descriptions like “The other Dog was reaching into his jacket for something, far more quickly than those words suggest.” Or this question from slovenly spymaster Jackson Lamb that draws considerable blood: “What, you think people make bombs without learning how first? Like it’s bungee jumping, or writing a novel?”
She really wanted to go and, figuring that it was like Star Wars, assumed I’d enjoy it. Not to get overly Freudian, but to this day I’m convinced that my exposure to Sigourney Weaver in that movie when I was at a tender age is why I married a tall woman.
The intro still gives me nightmares. That gnarled tree! The extra finger!
The fifth season of Apple TV’s Slow Horses, based on Herron’s London Rules (2018)—maybe my pick for the best of the books—is up to the show’s usual high standards, anchored by the peerless comic performance of Gary Oldman.
I'm so happy for you both that the book finally found a home. Big mazel!
Congratulations on the new book!