Impress Yourself.

Cheers!



I was supposed to have spent this evening drinking copious amounts of Champagne and prosecco in celebration of the fact that I have finally turned in my application to the Food Studies Doctoral Program! But sadly, winter is here and therefore I have a cold and the only liquids I'm ingesting right now are emergen-c and TheraFlu. Mmmmmmmm.

I have, however, found a way to enjoy these longed for beverages vicariously, thanks to the wonders of YouTube!

This first gem came into my life courtesy of the Star Wars Christmas Special, which David subjected me to last night. STAY AWAY FROM IT - IT IS HORRIBLE AND IT IS TWO HOURS LONG. But this ad is quite worthwhile. In the 1970's, it seems, they really
knew how to sell wine.

I'm pretty sure there's a dissertation here...

And here's one for bubbly, featuring none other than Orson Welles!

And here's a treat from Gallo's early days... (a ring-a-ding-ding)

(p.s. the "here"s in the above three sentences are links to three superduper wine commercials - I don't think you're dumb, I just thought I would clarify as David claimed that it was unclear.)



(pardon my language, as most of you know, I would never say this. However it's sort of funny and quite topical so I just couldn't resist.)

Another festive cocktail!

I can't get enough of Christmas this year! I mean, I love Christmas, but for some reason this year I feel like Mrs. Claus! I have been playing Christmas music almost non-stop and I have been eating candy canes like they will never come into my life ever again. Tonight, after a long day filled with Dolly Parton's Christmas Album, Emmylou Harris' Christmas Album, "These are the Special Times" with Celine Dion, and of course Elvis, Johnny Mathis, Ella Fitzgerald and plenty of Bing I was really in the mood to hit up a Christmas cocktail party or two. Sadly, David is sick and no one is having one tonight anyway so I had to make my own! That's what Bing would do, or Elvis, or Dolly!

I heated up the old curling iron and gave my new do (short! crazy!) a little ringlet-a-ding-ding and mixed myself my first ever Vodka Stinger!

Oh, a word of warning - don't go google image-searching 'vodka stinger' because here's a taste of what you'll get :



Apparently his/her name is Vodka Stinger. I sort of love it. Anyway, I digress. Inspired by my love of the fabulous Candy Cane Cocktail that I shared with you a few days ago, I started looking around for other things to do with this Creme de Menthe stuff that I now have lying around and lo and behold I bump into the Vodka Stinger.

I first became aquainted with the Stinger family of cocktails about two years ago when David and I made the mistake of watching a Cary Grant movie called "Kiss Them For Me". I love Cary Grant, but this movie really stinks. Its one redeeming quality is that it makes the viewer really want to go out and have a drink - namely a Stinger! All throughout the film, Grant orders Stingers. First he's just ordering them for himself, and by the end he's ordering them by the pitcher, and saying things like "Stingers for everyone!" although, because he's Cary Grant and he's wonderful, it sounds more like "Stingaahhs for everyone!" Turns out, a Stinger is usually made with Brandy and Creme de Menthe (the green kind) and in spite of the fact that David and I spent a wonderfully fun and green-lipped evening sipping Stingers late into the night, it's honestly not a cocktail I would recommend. However, this recent discovery of the Vodka Stinger (and thus rediscovery of Stingers in general) is something worth sharing.

So here's the disclaimer - THIS. DRINK. IS. ULTRA. PEPPERMINTYLICIOUS. You must like peppermint A LOT to like this bevvy. I do, so I love this drink. It's a breeze to make! Just vodka and Creme de Menthe, like so.



I used the white kind because it's what I had around and because it looks way prettier.

Candy Cane rim doesn't hurt.



Equal parts of each! Shake it up!



It sort of tastes like being Mrs. Claus on a ski holiday in the Swiss Alps, if you see what I mean. I highly recommend it. Happy Festive Cocktailing!