York Literature Festival at The Ivy

Every Spring, for nearly two full weeks the Literature Festival takes over York with readings, workshops and other literary events. Not to be left out, the Ivy in York has come up with some literary themed cocktails that tie in to the literature festival.

The first cocktail that I tried was the Golden Goose by the Brothers Grimm. It consisted of Grey Goose L’Orange vodka, Patron Citronge liqueur, cranberry juice topped with Prosecco and served in a gold-sprayed coupe glass. (£10.95) I really enjoyed the drama of the gold coupe, however, be wary of it. It ended up all over my hands and face. This was a fairly lethal cocktail – you certainly couldn’t drink too many of them.

The next literary cocktail was the Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. It was Grey Goose vodka, Patron coffee liqueur, jalapeno syrup, an espresso shot and finished off with some double cream. (£9.95) Sam said this cocktail tasted of Christmas and I think that it’s a pretty fair assessment. I found the jalapeno syrup a delightfully surprising and spicy endnote.

We then took a brief break for some starters. Otherwise the cocktails would have gone too much to my head. We had a starter of arancini and some absolutely incredible zucchini fritters. And the portion size of the zucchini fritters was amazing.

But then we were back on to the literary cocktails. I next went for the Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It was made with Bombay Saphire gin, St Germain elderflower liqueur, The Ivy 1917 breakfast tea blend and then it was topped with elderflower tonic, and a grapefruit and lime leaf garnish. (£9.95) This was my favourite drink of the evening. It was most closely aligned to something I would order on a regular basis. Sour, not too sweet and very refreshing.

Last but certainly not least was the On the Road by Jack Kerouac. It was Jack Daniels whiskey (what else would it be), ginger juice and topped with ginger-ale and an orange slice garnish. (£10.95) This drink tasted like the love child of a ginger-beer and a whiskey sour. Again, another refreshing and not too heavy cocktail.

I’d definitely recommend visiting the Ivy in York to sample their themed cocktails over the next few weeks. Turn it into a whole literary day and visit before or after a reading.

The Ivy York is located at 2 St. Helen’s Square, York YO1 8QP

You can find the literary cocktails until the end of the month.

***I was a guest of The Ivy, but all thoughts and opinions are forever my own. ***

Have you visited one of The Ivy locations before? What was the best thing that you ate or drank?