Anthony Burgess drank heavily throughout most of his life. Here is his recipe for ‘Hangman’s Blood’, a cocktail he invented in the 1966 and described in the pages of the Guardian:

Into a pint glass doubles of the following are poured: gin, whisky, rum, port, and brandy. A small bottle of stout is added, and the whole topped up with champagne or champagne surrogate. It tastes very smooth, induces a somehow metaphysical elation, and rarely leaves a hangover … I recommend this for a quick, though expensive, lift.

From The Real Life of Anthony Burgess by Andrew Biswell (Picador, 2005).

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