We all fell hard for Elizabeth Graeber’s whimsical illustrations last August, and my “artist crush” just grew exponentially. Elizabeth and her pal Orr Shtuhl recently published “An Illustrated Guide to Cocktails,” this fabulous book combining cocktail histories and recipes with Elizabeth’s colorful interpretations. It’s amazingly cool, and doesn’t really need any hype, but here’s my tale anyways:

Two weeks ago, my roommate Krys and I stopped by the Passenger for a nightcap, and stumbled upon Elizabeth and Orr’s final book launch event. We settled in, had some DELICIOUS drinks, and perused the book. Krys was so inspired by the accessibility of “Illustrated Guide”‘s recipes, she cooked up a batch of simple syrup the next day. Our whole house developed a completely new drinking philosophy. In the past, we were a strictly wine/vodka soda household. Serviceable drinks with dinner, but artlessly simple. Since viewing “Illustrated Guide to Cocktails,” Krys has been concocting different creations every other night. We’ve had bourbon with grapefruit and fresh mint, peach bellinis, gin with tons of lime and simple syrup…  the list goes on and on.

In summary- thank you Elizabeth Graeber! You’ve beautified my walls with your art, my wardrobe with your hand painted purses, and now you’ve made summer evenings on the patio that much more enjoyable. You’re my hero!!!!