First you take a drink...

On this day in 1925, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was first published. The characters in it were endlessly partying and endlessly drunk and perhaps still the most quoted Fitzgerald line remains  "First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you."

F. Scott Fitzgerald's struggle with alcohol was widely documented, with none better than his own short story "The Crack Up" in which I believe contains some of the best opening lines of any short story written. You can view it here:  http://www.esquire.com/features/the-crack-up

For Fitzgerald, there was only one drink -

The Historical Inebriant:  The Gin Rickey
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6624971



Ingredients:

• 2 oz  Gin
• 3/4 oz Lime Juice
• Club Soda

Pour gin and lime juice into a chilled highball glass filled with ice cubes. Top with club soda, and stir gently. Garnish with lime wheel. Serve with two straws.

___________________________________________

On a side note, on this day in 1912, the unsinkable Titanic left England on her first and only voyage.