Valentine’s Day. It’s the one day of the year that proportionally the most people around the world are thinking about the same thing: LOVE. However, what they are actually thinking about the subject might vary drastically. From the heartsome to the lonesome and from the old-time love birds to the newly heartbroken… what will you be drinking? Here are our suggestions…
Seeing as my views of love and Valentine’s Day are not completely well-rounded nor objective, in addition to the fact that I didn’t know exactly what I should be feeling on heart day this year, I enlisted the help of Pussycat and the Countess (willing guinea pigs) to taste-test and compile a shortlist of 14 drinks for different Valentine’s Day mood. As you can imagine, it was tough challenge, but we hope our list can help all of you celebrate (or not) today (note: listings are not necessarily in a particular order).
1. Brand New “La Vie en Rose” Love: Pink Champagne – it’s pink, it’s bubbly, it goes straight to your head… what’s not to love? And isn’t that what we think when we first meet someone?
2. Tried and True yet Still Exciting Love: Grand Cru Champagne – Probably the most common Valentine’s beverage, Champagne does not disappoint, just like a lover/boy/girlfriend who we know, is reliable but still very stimulating and exciting. Add some strawberries, drink alongside delectable chocolate, I’ll let your imagination go wild with other ideas…
3. Timeless Love: single malt 25 year Whisky – Once bottled Whisky doesn’t age, it’s quality is locked in and never fades, gets old or goes off. Isn’t this what we’d all like?
4. Impossible Love: Vintage Château Margaux – I think we’ve all been there. Impossible love is not the same as the previous and following entries. Impossible love is something we yearn for, yet cannot have, usually for a variety of terribly complicated reasons… but we still want it. We would all love to savor a divine bottle of famous Bordeaux Chateau Margaux, however, such years as 1990 are a way out of our range…
5. Torrid Love Affair (with classy, platinum cardholder lover): Chateauneuf-du-Pape- I have to admit, we were all a little biased on this one—not because we are all currently having this type of torrid love affair—but because we all love Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine and wish we could afford to drink it daily. Deep in color and flavor, it is strong without being woody and thrills us every time… as a torrid lover should.
6. Tormented Love: Absinthe – Think to the bohemian artists and writers of the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, they were certainly tormented by love, and surely turned to the little green fairy, Absinthe, to help console them. It’s on the market again, and bound to yank at your heartstrings and cause serious mental (and other) agony.
7. Young Studenty Love: Cider – it’s not quite champagne but it’s fun, bubbly and cheap, and thus perfect for students or young poor writer types living in tiny chambre de bonne crammed into nasty Parisian attics.
8. Dead-end Relationship: Chardonnay (à la Jacob’s Creek) -We hold nothing against Chardonnay, Pussycat highlighted that she often keeps a bottle in her fridge in summer, while the Countess suggest using it for Kirs. It’s a reliable wine, it isn’t going anywhere, as is the same case of dead-end relationship. If you want to enliven your D.E.R. see #2 and #4 or contrarily, put a real end to it see #11 or #12.
9. A Mid-Afternoon: Recipe: 450 g sloes, 750 ml gin (or vodka), 275 g sugar That’s all we need to say.
10. F* Friend: Screaming Orgasm – Well, there is nothing wrong with celebrating V-Day with a certain occasional friend we thought a lively shot would be appropriate, however, the Countess advises not to give him too many as “you still need him to perform.”
Recipe: 1 oz vodka, 1 1/2 oz Irish cream, 1/2 oz coffee liqueur For more racy drinks check out this great list!
11. Recent Painful Break-up: Broken Heart Martini – Whether it’s recent in time or still making your heart ache we recommend trying this cocktail to relief some of the pain – stay strong! Have two or more if necessary! Or add variety by trying others from this list of break-up themed drinks.
Recipe: 1/6 lemon juice, 1/6 vodka, 1/3 martini, 1/3 champagne
12: Revenge: the Bastardo – This situation could go down many paths, most of them probably dark and scary. We chose this cocktail as it contains bitters… and there are times when bitterness overpowers all other emotions, perhaps we would like to get rid of a cheating boyfriend on V-Day? In this case Pussycat suggests a dash of arsenic.
Recipe: Bitters, Brandy, Club Soda, Dry Vermouth, Sweet Vermouth.
13. Sweet Sober Love: Love Tea – Returning to a happier note! For many reasons we don’t really object to, some of you might not be drinking anything alcoholic on V-Day, in this case I thought of Love Tea. On a trip to Istanbul earlier this year, I was in shopping seventh-heaven in the spice bazaar and allowed a vendor to sell me some “Love Tea.” It turns out this might not be a real sort of tea at all, it appears to be a cleverly named version of apple tea with rose buds, but the idea is very romantique… or in Turkish romantik.
14.Undecided Love: Saint Amour – A genuine French wine appelation, Saint Amour comes from the Loire Valley, around a two hour’s drive south of Paris. Loire wine is typically light wine, slightly fruity. As it’s a versatile wine and given it’s fabulous name, I would normally recommend it for any type or romantic bliss or woes, so if you don’t fall into one of the above categories… or fall into too many of them… crack open some Saint Amour.
So back to my original question… what will you be drinking? Did we miss anything?
Very nice list! Appropriately matched to the situations, I think! The Chardonnay cracked me up. 😀
Uhhhh, what does it say about my love life that I am commenting on this blog on Valentine’s Evening, I’m alone, and I am drinking verbena mint tea — haha. But it *is* from Paris (Leader Price, no less!) and my far away loved one sent it for Christmas. It’s soothing on the throat, which does not feel so great right now (who decided that a day for love should be centered in the same month as the height of cold and flu season, eh?).
I’d say perhaps this is the drink of unconditional love, however — we have decided no matter what happens to us, we shall always and forever be friends. 🙂 Good, old, faithful tea.
Not very sexy! But really nice. 😉
xx
K
You were having your own version of “Love Tea” then Karin, I’m a big tea fan too, it’s true it is always reliable and faithful, for that it doesn’t need to be sexy 🙂