Tea, Whiskey or Water?

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August is waning, but I’m still thinking about relaxing–how we do it, and how our characters do it. Wickeds, at the end of a long day, or at the conclusion of a case, is it time for tea, whiskey (or wine), or water to help you revive?

Jessie: Great question, Julie! Lately, I have been really enjoying a couple of different relaxing bevearages. I do love a treat! In the afternoons, throughout the summer, I have been making espresso tonics. I simply adore the snappy taste and the refreshing bubbles! I also splurged on a new bubbly water maker that will inject fizz into any sort of beverage that is not pulp-filled. Bubbled mint iced tea is a favorite now in the evenings! And I am always up for celebrating life’s successes with a glass of champagne! Not surprisingly, my characters end up enjoying bubbly beverages too. In the case of Beryl and Edwina, they tend towards gin fizzes!

Sherry: Jessie, you got me hooked on bubbly, flavored water years ago. I’ve been thinking about buying a bubbly water maker but haven’t taken the plunge yet. Like Jessie, I love a sparkling wine. My daughter works at a winery and they have a fabulous Blanc de Noir. Chloe loves the happy drinks that Joaquin makes her which usually include some kind of fruit and a paper umbrella. Sarah tends to drink wine.

Edith/Maddie: I love that when the Wickeds (used to) go out, Sherry always orders prosecco! Bubbly is good, especially for celebrating. I am partial to a spot of bourbon in the evenings – oddly enough, so is Robbie Jordan, although hers is always Four Roses from over the border in Kentucky. Mac Almeida loves a nice glass of wine, and of course Rose Carroll sticks to tea.

Barb: Julia drinks at Crowley’s, Busman’s Harbor’s noisiest. most touristy bar, where she orders the house red or white, or occasionally, a local beer. As to coffee and tea, she drinks at her mother’s kitchen table, across the street at the Snuggles Inn, where the china cups, painted with pink roses, are painfully small, and in her favorite place, Gus’s restaurant. Lately, she’s been sitting alone at the end of the counter.

Julie: The Garden Squad eats at the Star a lot, and Ernie is always in charge of ordering the wine and appetizers for the table. Roddy waits to see what they are eating before he commits to a drink. In WREATHING HAVOC they celebrate Thanksgiving, and Tamara’s son tops off Lilly’s wine glass with a different white, but she doesn’t care. They are all coffee drinkers, but when they need support or restoration, Lilly makes tea. As for myself–I love flavored water these days. I’m doing my best to drink more H2O, and a squeeze of lemon or line, or even cucumber, really helps.

Readers, what is your restorative or relaxing beverage of choice?

Published by Julie Hennrikus aka Julia Henry

One woman, three names, many books. As Julia Henry she writes the Garden Squad series for Kensington. As J.A. Hennrikus she writes the Theater Cop series, and as Julianne Holmes she wrote the Clock Shop series. Click on my profile picture to connect with me on Facebook and Instagram! @JHAuthors

37 Thoughts

  1. Tea, for me, is my calming go-to drink. My parents were both tea drinkers, so it’s kind of ingrained. But if I’m working outside or relaxing with hubby or friends, it’s Michelob Ultra Gold, ice cold. The series I’m reading now, the main character prefers bourbon, which I’ve never tasted, but she sure seems to like it, especially when sleuthing!

  2. I’m a big lemonade, (nothing better than to pucker up and be sweet at the same time) Diet Pepsi and diet citrus green tea gal.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

  3. If I’m stressed, chamomile tea is my go-to. Mostly though, I just drink water, although ginger ale satisfies my occasional craving for something fizzy. I might need to invest in one of those bubbly gadgets! Pete and Zoe both relax with a beer, which is amusing considering I don’t really like the stuff!

  5. Well, I don’t like hot drinks so tea is out.

    I don’t drink alcohol, so there goes whiskey too. (Although if I did drink, it would be my drink of choice)

    I drink water all day long at work. So when I’m having dinner I like to have something with taste to it. So I’m having a soda or some kind of fruit drink like lemonade or fruit punch. After dinner it is back to water.

    Yes, I am redefining what it means to be dull and boring.

    2. I like a good water with frozen fruit like blackberries or raspberries, also water with a slice of cucumber is very refreshing.

  6. I drink coffee in the morning and have to have another cup or two around 3pm. In between it’s usually water. We recently discovered a flavored water called Sparkling Ice. It’s fizzy and a little sweet but zero calories. In the evenings it’s a good craft beer or my homemade hard cider (which I’ve finally perfected!).

    Max from my Brewing Trouble series drinks beer, of course. Irene from my new Homefront News series drinks black coffee (unsweetened because of sugar rationing) during the day and if she goes out with her friends, it’s usually a rum and Coke.

      1. Right now, there’s peach bottled in the fridge and blueberry in the fermenter. I’m gonna run out of room soon, lol.

  7. Tea to relax, coffee to get up and go, and water throughout the day. Champagne to celebrate – the very best and driest I can afford. It’s a secret vice from when I more or less lived in the Caribbean and even the finest brands were less than $50. Catherine doesn’t drink. Hayden is a wine drinker, and Hank, whom you’ve yet to meet, is tea and red wine drinker. Everyone guzzles coffee in the morning.

  8. I recently learned from a video series by Dr William Li that green tea can combat disease! specifically Japanese sencha and jasmine teas, best if mixed together. I love green tea with a little milk, maybe a bit honey. So I’m experimenting with the sencha/jasmine duo at the moment- so far so good!

  9. Personally, I kick back with tea – hot or iced. Jim Duncan likes a dark beer or whiskey (which I do not like), Sally drinks red wine, and Betty (being in the midst of rationing) drinks water – but likes a cup of real coffee when she can get one.

    1. The rationing issues made things we take for granted so challenging. My grandmother used to tell me stories about adding coloring to oleo to make it look like butter, and needing to get enough fat in a diet.

      1. Julie, my mother also spoke about coloring the oleo. Don’t remember the details, but it had to do with keeping the oleo (full name “oleo margarine”) distinct from butter. As a child, I thought it would have been fun to squish the color in.

  10. One cup of coffee in the morning (my hubby’s special blend of 100% whole bean Costa Rican organic coffee with the addition of cinnamon and ground up hazelnuts) and water the rest of the day are my drinks of choice. I do find it interesting to read what your book characters (and you) are drinking, thanks!

    2. I like a good water with frozen fruit like blackberries or raspberries, also water with a slice of cucumber is very refreshing.

  11. I’m very boring. Outside of a glass of juice with breakfast, I just drink water. Once a month or so, I’ll have a soda. That’s about it.

  12. My brother bought this bubbly water machine, used it a couple of times, and then let it waste away in his cabinet. I’m still on Team Tea! In fact, right now I’m drinking a nice cup of milk tea.

  14. A great post for a thirsty day. Interesting that your characters share drink favorites with you. Edith, help please. You didn’t mention Lauren Rousseau’s favorite. I can’t remember and my books are packed away for a major home renovation. So I can’t look it up. This same renovation has the espresso maker in storage — no afternoon iced mocha lattes — and red wine (screw top) the only available adult beverage.
    Cheers to all.

      1. Thinking that it will be HOT mocha lattes by the time the renovation is done. Thank you for the good wishes, Julia.

  15. I love my sweet tea, or I will have a wine cooler sometimes. my husband makes me a very good wine cooler, he will put red or white wine in a glass and then he will add mountain dew , it is usually half wine and half mountain dew, he will also add a cherry to it sometimes and it is delicious. Have a great rest of the week and stay safe.

  16. I like to drink a Seagrams Escapes like Jamaican Me Happy for example, a glass of wine, preferably white or blush, or occasionally a Longboard.

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