Podcast Summary:
Drink Me A Story blends tales (today about Hunter S. Thompson and Key Lime Pie), fiction, and real-world exploration. Here’s the rundown:
Epic Rippers: Stories that f*&k. Raw, adventure travel stories. These non-fiction audio journals offer life lessons and stirring thoughts.
Sips and Shorts: Stories and interviews about drinks from around the world that have shaped culture and society.
The Library: Dive into “The Coin Chronicles,” an exclusive fantasy audiobook series. Each episode reveals a chapter of this epic saga of Gods, humans, and the coin that rules them.
Episode 85 Notes: The Best Breakfast In the World
Today we’re talking about sin and success, how the punishments we endure ultimately lead to the successes we find in life. We all make mistakes but it’s how we handle these screw ups that determines the course of our lives. In our story today, Juan knows this better than anyone else.
Summary of Podcast:
*Note – This is a summary of the full episode and containers spoilers. You can always listen to the podcast above.
A Morning of Indulgence on a Puerto Rican Beach
On a pristine, untouched white sand beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico, before the age of sprawling hotels and bustling tourism, Hunter S. Thompson began his day with a breakfast that was anything but ordinary. Alone under the blazing Caribbean sun, he carefully prepared six perfect lines of cocaine, a ritual requiring precision to avoid the warm breeze scattering his indulgence. This wasn’t just a random act—it was a calculated moment, planned with the meticulous care Thompson applied to every detail of his life. For him, this breakfast, featuring key lime pie as its crown jewel, was an anchor for his chaotic existence.
Key Lime Pie and Cocaine: The Ultimate Breakfast Combo
Thompson’s breakfast wasn’t about sustenance—it was about excess. On a weathered wooden table, faded by salt spray and ringed with water stains, sat a feast that defied restraint. A Spanish omelette, thick as a frisbee and stuffed with golden potatoes and thinly sliced onions, claimed one chipped plastic plate. Beside it, another plate held a half-pound of wavy, crispy bacon, pushed to the edges to make room for three homemade flour tortillas—crepes tied with green onion stems in a childlike knot. These were filled with a decadent mix of green onions, red peppers, crab meat, cream cheese, and a touch of salt and pepper, baked until the filling oozed out.
Two plump grapefruits, glistening like polished gems, sat prominently on the table, their bright yellow skins catching the sun. In the shade, to preserve their chill, were two margaritas, salted and brimming with tequila, triple sec, lime, and simple syrup. A pitcher of Bloody Marys—spiked with vodka, tomato juice, celery, and seasonings—promised four glasses of boozy refreshment. A pot of coffee, a quart of sweating milk, and a coffee mug sat within easy reach, reserved for later when Thompson would dive into his stack of newspapers, notebook, and mail.
But the true star was the dessert: a wide slice of key lime pie, sharing a plate with half a lemon used for seasoning the meal. The pie, paired with the four remaining lines of cocaine, was Thompson’s ultimate indulgence—a perfect cap to a breakfast that started after noon.
The Setting: A Pre-Tourism Caribbean Paradise
This was Puerto Rico before the developers arrived, before the beaches were dotted with tourists like dimples on a golf ball. The white sand stretched endlessly, broken only by the rare footprints of a local. The rhythmic crash of waves, a low whistle followed by a whoosh, carried away the world’s worries, leaving Thompson to bask in the solitude of his two-room wooden shack. Tilted slightly as if sinking into the sand, the shack was his haven, a place where he could escape the chaos of his life and embrace the excess of this moment.
Key Lime Pie as a Symbol of Excess
For Thompson, known as Paul Kemp in his novel inspired by this period, this breakfast was more than a meal—it was a ritual of grand excess. The hot Puerto Rican sun, the empty beach, the steady rhythm of the Atlantic Ocean—all contributed to a moment that felt too perfect, too indulgent. The key lime pie, paired with cocaine and washed down with coffee, epitomized this decadence. It wasn’t just dessert; it was a statement, a way to ground his frayed life in something tangible, something extraordinary.
Planning the Perfect Key Lime Pie Moment
Thompson’s indulgence wasn’t haphazard. The two lines of cocaine he snorted to kickstart the morning—after a night of heavy drinking—were an exception to his rule of saving the drug for dessert. The remaining four lines waited in a tiny bag, reserved for after the key lime pie. Every element of this breakfast, from the placement of the coffee mug to the shaded margaritas, was deliberate. Even the stack of newspapers, notebook, and pen—tools of his trade as a journalist working at a local bowling alley—were part of the ritual, waiting for the moment when planning would begin.
Why Key Lime Pie Defined Thompson’s Puerto Rican Days
This breakfast wasn’t just about food or drugs; it was about creating an experience that transcended the ordinary. The key lime pie, with its tart sweetness, was the culmination of a meal designed to anchor Thompson’s chaotic life. Naked under the Puerto Rican sun, sweating out the sins of yesterday, he savored every bite and sip, letting the excesses of this moment ground him. It was a ritual he observed whenever possible, a way to find meaning in the indulgence.
The Legacy of Thompson’s Key Lime Pie Breakfast
Hunter S. Thompson’s breakfast on that Puerto Rican beach, with key lime pie as its centerpiece, remains a vivid snapshot of his larger-than-life persona. In a time before tourism transformed San Juan, he crafted a moment of pure, unapologetic excess—a testament to his ability to find beauty and purpose in the chaos. For Thompson, the key lime pie wasn’t just dessert; it was a symbol of a life lived on his own terms, under the hot sun, with the waves crashing and the world far away.