History has no shortage of interesting and inspiring people, but sometimes the most inspiring people to step out of the pages of history do it by living in them forever. Hi, my name is Gabe Bauer and this is Top Shelf History, where we combine great stories with great drinks.

This is the Noble Finch. It is the cocktail I have made for you based on Atticus Finch, the famous literary character introduced in Harper Lee’s iconic book To Kill a Mockingbird.

If you’re like me, you remember one of the most famous books in American Literature very well, since you most likely had to write a paper on it—but you really didn’t mind that much because even your teen attitude could recognize a true literary marvel. Heck, it even won the Pulitzer Prize in American Literature in 1961. From her awful descriptions of life in the Jim Crow south to the incredible moral strength of Atticus Finch, Harper has kept the American youth on an emotional rollercoaster since 1960. 

Now, you might be thinking, “Gabe this is Top Shelf History, not Top Shelf Fiction.” And you’re right. But stories are an interesting part of history. Atticus may not be real, but the affect he had on society was. 

It’s a fact which would be impressive on its own, but is even more impressive since Atticus isn’t the main character. His adventurous daughter Scout is. But while she and her brother, Jem, are learning how to understand the larger world they live in, Atticus is facing it head on. The story reaches its dramatic climax when the case of Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman goes to trial. Who was the lawyer fighting Tom’s defense? Atticus Finch. 

Even today, the character of Atticus Finch is seen as an exemplar of the legal profession. To some he’s a folk hero. To others he’s as impactful as if he really lived and breathed. But what made him such an incredible lawyer? 

I think it was the combination of his moral principles and his remarkable empathy. All throughout the story, Harper shows how Atticus dealt out both justice and mercy equally. When his Jem wants to practice shooting his BB gun, Atticus tells him to never aim for the mockingbirds because it would be wrong to kill an innocent songbird that brings nothing but beauty to our lives. If he’s going to shoot a bird, it should be a bluejay—since they raid and wreak havoc on other birds’ nests. Can you sense the metaphor? Then there’s the respectful way Atticus treats his house cook, Calpurnia, a black woman he and his family adore, and Mr. Cunningham, a poor father in legal trouble with no way to pay Atticus for his services. 

This is the man who came to Tom Robinson’s defense, despite a LOT of societal pressure not to. But Tom Robinson was innocent. A man just doing his job, working as a field hand when the Ewells, a poor, racist, white family accused him of raping their daughter Mayella—a crime, which if he was convicted, would result in his execution. Even today, this case would be a huge deal, but back in Jim Crow south, it was monumental. Atticus does his job, cross examining witnesses and defending Tom. In the courts, it should have been a slam dunk. But Tom and Atticus weren’t just fighting in the courts of justice, they were fighting in the court of public opinion. So despite everything they laid out in their arguments, the prejudices of the time won. 

But history isn’t the story of just one person, it’s the story of culture. And Harper’s story shows that too. Even though unwarranted tragedy befalls Tom, the lessons of right and wrong take root in Scout’s little heart. As Atticus tells her in the book,  “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” With her father’s lessons and example, Scout sets a new path for herself and the book ends hopeful that one day the world will learn to see the world as her father did, with real justice and exceptional empathy. 

And THAT, my friends, is what Atticus Finch is my favorite literary character of all time and why today he gets his very own drink. So without further ado, let’s build our own Noble Finch.