By: Jenny Castro
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 9/23/25
Newly released by author and cocktail expert André Darlington, “Booze & Vinyl Country,” (Published by Running Press) is a fun and lively book centered around country’s most beloved songs perfectly corresponding with boozy drink recipes to match. Darlington is no stranger to mixing and matching drinks, as he has previously authored over a dozen books depicting cocktail drinks paired with their subjects. A world traveler with a diverse palette for food and drink, Darlington takes country music to another level with this playful and spirited book. Music and cocktail lovers alike will revel in every page, savoring expertly crafted drink recipes paired with classic country anthems and contemporary hits, a true celebration of timeless tunes and spirited sips.
Discussing more of his book, Darlington elaborates, “This one strangely was really hard to narrow down. I guess there’s just so much country music that I love,” he said. Adding, “So the creative process was really trying to figure out what the landmark country albums are for a variety of different people. With this genre, it can be contentious where there’s classic versus new country, and I kind of grab from both. But, I want the book to represent all of your favorites and have them in there. And if you’re new to country, I want to make sure you get some classics and the new stuff too.” Darlington also admits he had plenty of creative fun while crafting the book, and as a country music fan, he especially enjoyed the research while listening to albums and songs from various eras, beginning with the 1950s.
In the book, Darlington offers fun suggestions for his pairings, “I have a divorce party in there for Tammy Wynette, birthday parties, New Year’s, and all those things. So I really do look for albums that correspond to those specific moments. But yes, it was a lot of listening to country music, and let me tell you it has an effect. There’s also a lot of songs in the book that touch on relationships, love, romance, and heartbreak,” he said. Readers will also indulge in entertaining and lively songs from the likes of Dwight Yoakam, George Strait, Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride, Dolly Parton, Kacey Musgraves, and even Beyonce. In gathering ideas, Darlington took inspiration by analyzing the artist’s ideas and lyrical content as he explains in more detail, “When I’m looking at an album, I ask myself, what did this artist like to drink or do they mention a drink in the song, or are there colors in the song.” In George Strait’s Amarillo by Morning for instance I’m doing a morning cocktail. I do something that’s yellow with some cream and it’s absolutely delicious. So there’s the sort of thematic, and then what the artist likes. I also have these occasions and kind of go by what I think the moment anticipates like a whiskey song or if it’s a whiskey or tequila album.”
One playful song to look out for is “Rain in Your Bedroom,” by Taylor Swift, a breakup song speaking on the high and low’s of love, “Life was all good and all of a sudden it’s raining in her bedroom,” Darlington notes. To go along with the song, Darlington pairs tequila, elderflower along with lime juice and club soda, “It’s super approachable and kind of reminiscent of rain,” he adds.
Takeaways for readers? Darlington wants people to fall in love with albums again as he reiterates, “I find that people haven’t for a long time, right? Because of Spotify and how our culture has just gone so fast as you can pull up any song you want. So I encourage people to listen to the full albums that they already love, and I think they’ll find new albums that they don’t know and that they will love. And that’s one of the fun and exciting things about these books. I think they’ll find cocktails that are really easy to make but that also taste sophisticated.”
Catch André Darlington on his book tour this fall as he heads to places including Wake Forest, NC, Kansas City, Mo, Dallas, Texas and more. Full tour schedule available below via his official webpage.
Official Website: http://www.andredarlington.com/
“Booze and Vinyl Country” is available on Amazon to purchase here.
Find on Hachette Book Group/Running Press.
Follow André on Instagram here.
