Author Scott Deitche has written several books on organized crime, gangsters and the heyday of the mafia in America during the first half of the 20th century. His latest book, Cocktail Noir, investigates the intertwining of alcohol and the underworld, from real-life gangsters and the empires they built around alcohol during Prohibition to crime authors and the drinking habits of their often liquor-soaked characters.

We’ll have copies of Cocktail Noir on sale from our friends at Salt & Sundry, and Deitche will be there to talk mobsters and booze, from Al Capone’s favorite drink to the cocktails sipped by characters in Raymond Chandler novels. We’ll be stirring up Deitche’s own “Cocktail Noir,” a rye whiskey cocktail of his own creation inspired by the book, as well as a sherry punch for those looking for something a touch softer than your average bootlegger’s cargo.