Cocktails d'amour to love any day
This column comes out online on Tuesdays and in print on Wednesdays, which doesn't seem like much of a difference until that difference is between Valentine's Day and not Valentine's Day.
If there ever was an example of a “Hallmark” holiday, then Valentine's Day must be it. But skip it at your own peril, because anybody who has knows what happens next, and it's never good.
Originally, St. Valentine's Day was a “feast day” celebrating a late medieval-period martyred clergyman and eventual saint.
Various alcohols have often been assigned amorousenhancing qualities.
The idea of a romantic holiday based on a beheaded celibate seems problematic at best. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so is the idea of romantic love.
This doesn't mean you have to buy overpriced flowers or chocolate, nor do you have to be crammed in like Noah's Ark at the local hotspot. You can easily celebrate at home. The knock on alcohol is often quoted as “the lowering of inhibitions,” but sometimes that is not all bad as long as it is done in moderation, with consent and without driving. Where better to do that than one's own home?
Various alcohols have often been assigned amorous-enhancing qualities. Certainly, champagne has a celebratory appeal, as does cognac (and cognac snifters do float in hot tubs). Tequila is often regarded as having its own special qualities and just ask writer Dorothy Parker about martinis: “Two at the most, three I'm under the table, and four I'm under the …”
Cost is also often considered when celebrating. Spending a bit more than you normally would usually elevates the impression of anything. But cost alone is never an indicator of quality, and sometimes extravagant expense shows just how little effort you actually put in.
To help mitigate these factors, I've taken the liberty of assembling some cost-effective amorous cocktails, good on the day of or any other day that one chooses to celebrate their love.
Have a happy Valentine's Day or belated Valentine's Day; it's all up to you and your beloved.
Jeff Burkhart is the author of “Twenty Years Behind Bars:
The Spirited Adventures of a Real Bartender, Vol. I and II,” the host of the Barfly Podcast on iTunes and an award-winning bartender at a local restaurant. Follow him at jeffburkhart.net and contact him at jeffbarflyIJ@ outlook.com
Want a taste?