Pink Lady

I made my small screen debut this week, demoing my signature LUPEC cocktail! Check it out here:




There's also a short bio of me here:



Note how, when pressed, I reluctantly admit to having once swilled cosmos like it was my job. I can't believe I said that - what will all the cocktail nerds of the world think?

Cin cin!

The LUPEC Boston "USO SHOW"

All of my time lately has been spent planning this. Hope you'll forgive the shameless plug here. And can make it!

Marilyn Monroe performing for troops in Korea

The LUPEC Boston “USO SHOW”

Friday, November 21, 7-11 p.m.

at the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center

On November 21 the Boston chapter of LUPEC (Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails) will transform the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center into a swinging 1940's-themed cocktail party featuring retro-libations, live entertainment, dancing, delicious canapés, a prize raffle, and a USO-style variety show. It's a coed event, and all are welcome. This is our second annual large-scale fundraising event and was created to benefit women at The New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans (NESHV). Tickets are $35 in advance/ $45 at the door, and can be purchased at Toro and Tremont 647 in the South End, Grand in Somerville, or online at grandthestore.com.

The LUPEC BOSTON USO SHOW is one component of our annual fall fundraising program, which raised over $10,000 for Jane Doe Inc. last year. Starting November 1, LUPEC Boston will partner with local bars and restaurants to offer a month-long “THIS ONE’S FOR THE LADIES” drink promotion, where participants donate proceeds from one LUPEC Boston-approved beverage to women at NESHV. Restaurant partners include Toro, Tremont 647, La Verdad, Eastern Standard, Rendezvous, Highland Kitchen, Flora, The Milky Way, and more. (For a full list, click here.) Proceeds from sales our recently reprinted cocktail book, THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF COCKTAILS, will also benefit the NESHV this fall.

The New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans is a private, non-profit organization with a mission to extend a helping hand to homeless men and women veterans who are addressing the

Bob Hope entertains the troops

challenges of addiction, trauma, severe and persistent mental illness, and/or unemployment, and who will commit themselves to sobriety, non-violence, and working for personal change. They are recognized as one of the most effective private veteran's transition programs in the country. Learn more at www.neshv.org.

The LUPEC BOSTON USO SHOW will pay tribute to the 1940’s theme with of-the-era cocktails, a complimentary swing dance lesson, and a USO-style variety show emceed by Cathleen Carr and Daiva Deupree of the critically acclaimed New York-based sketch comedy burlesque Two Girls for Five Bucks. The show will feature acts by Thru the Keyhole Burlesque, Boston-based actor, improviser and stand-up comedian Harry Gordon as Bob Hope, and DJ Brother Cleve, a Boston institution, will spin ‘40s-era swing music throughout the evening. Vintage dress and creative cocktail attire is encouraged.
This event will take place at the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center [85 W. Newton St., South End, Boston], with generous support from sponsors St-Germain, Hendricks, Cruzan, Milagro, Sazerac, Chartreuse, Mathilde Liqueurs, Harpoon, and SmartWater.

DETAILS:

The LUPEC BOSTON USO SHOW will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 21. Tickets are one sale now. Ticket price is $35 in advance/ $45 at the door and will include cocktail party fare, a variety show, dancing, and four drink tickets, with additional beverages available for purchase.

Light cocktail party fare will be provided for the evening by Toro, Tremont 647, and Lionette's Market, Island Creek Oysters will be on hand shucking their acclaimed “Duxbury Pearls”, and The Boston Derby Dames will skate around with sweets provided by Taza Chocolates.

The USO-style variety show will be emceed by Cathleen Carr and Daiva Deupree of Two Girls for Five Bucks and feature Boston-based actor, improviser and stand-up comedian Harry Gordon, and Thru the Keyhole Burlesque. DJ Brother Cleve will spin ‘40s-era swing music between live acts. Vintage dress and creative cocktail attire is encouraged.

A prize raffle will feature gift certificates donated from Toro, Tremont 647, Myers + Chang, La Verdad, East Coast Grill, Taza Chocolates, Polka Dog Bakery, Vee Vee, Flour Bakery + Cafe, ZipCar, Hollywood Express, A Brix Six Gift Pack from Brix Wine Shop, tickets to the Improv Asylum and Swing City a St-Germain gift basket, a one-year subscription to Imbibe magazine and more.

All proceeds from the LUPEC BOSTON USO SHOW will benefit women at The New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans.

• Ticket price is $35 in advance/ $45 at the door including cocktail party fare and four drink tickets, with additional beverages available for purchase.
• Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at:
  • Toro, 1704 Washington St., Boston, MA
  • Tremont 647, 647 Tremont St. Boston, MA
  • Grand, 374 Somerville Ave., Somerville, MA
  • Online at grandthestore.com [service charges will apply]

About NESHV

The New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans is a private, non-profit organization with a mission to extend a helping hand to homeless men and women veterans who are addressing the challenges of addiction, trauma, severe and persistent mental illness, and/or unemployment, and who will commit themselves to sobriety, non-violence, and working for personal change. They are recognized as one of the most effective private veteran's transition programs in the country. Learn more at www.neshv.org.

100 years of Bette Davis

If Bette Davis were alive, today she'd turn 100. Some interesting articles about her career and her successes can be read here and here.

A two time Oscar winner, the indefatiguable Davis hailed from the Bay State (one source says Lowell, another Newton -- I'll have to do some more research to be sure.) I can't think of a single actress working in Hollywood now whom I'd compare to her -- they just don't make 'em like they used to.

More on Bette Davis later as she's a (sometimes) blonde who truly catches my fancy and always has -- for now, let's raise a toast to the Grand Dame of a bygone era by trying one of these, which she sipped on camera in the film Dark Victory, which she appeared in with Humphrey Bogart and Ronald Reagan. (I'd like to also give a shout out to one of my fellow LUPEC Boston broads, who chose this cocktail as her namesake.)

Pink Gin

1 glass gin
half a dozen drops (no more) of Angostura bitters

Stir with ice & strain into a cocktail glass.

Happy Birthday, Bette Davis!

vow of silence Wednesday: this weekend, LUPEC Boston's taking toro by storm...

LUPEC Blondes...aftermath...

The girls just left, all full & boozy and I am busy cleaning. While I attend to the needs of my humbly rocked abode, here's a delicious nightcap cocktail to put your weary mind to sleep. Do try this at home -- it's worth the extra calories.

Parisian Blonde

1 oz light rum
3/4 oz orange curacao
3/4 oz cream

Shake in iced cocktail shaker & strain
Serve in a cocktail glass (4.5 oz)

My thoughts after drinking this?

Why don't I drink cream every day?

Pairs nicely with home-made blondies. You'll be in blonde heaven.

what about rum?

Bored of vodka? I know I am. In fact, just a few weeks ago I was thinking about how bored with vodka all the cool cocktail kids I know seem to be--despite how enamoured with vodka the rest of the world continues to be.

How did it get to be this way? What precipitated vodka's vogueness? There was a time when no one wanted to drink it, allegedly, when gin was the "white" liquor de rigeur. Then three marketing savvy guys walked into a bar -- one from Smirnoff, one seller of ginger beer, and one purveyor of copper -- and together they invented the Moscow Mule, a vodka-based highball alternative to gin. The rest, I guess, is history.

But what will precipitate the next spirit craze? This weariness of vodka will eventually trickle down. And what will will dominate modern cocktail lists when it has? We find gin drinks often enough on menus, and despite the popularity of the Cosmo, the gin & tonic never seemed to die. We also see whiskey & bourbon drinks here and there, Manhattans and hot toddies, especially in New England in winter. But what ever happened to rum? An occasional guest at Toro will order a rum and coke, but aside from the mojito, I don't think I see it much on drink lists. It was super popular in the '60s. But, what ever happened to rum? I think rum might actually be the least sexy spirit out there at the moment, making it a perfect candidate for a make-over.

Within minutes of forming this thought, I received an intriguing email from the proprietor of Beija, a new kind of cachaca, which in this country, technically falls into the category of rum. It was the invitation to a very exciting, very exclusive product launch of his new brand of virgin cane rum, held this evening at Eastern Standard. And that is how I spent my evening: drinking a spirit that is unlike any I've ever had before.

I've tasted some bangin' cachacas, thanks to a recent tasting of various versions of the spirit that we carry at Toro. But I've never had one quite like this. It was light, easy drinking, and not rough around the edges like the other versions of the spirit that I've tried. And mixed in the lovely cocktails that Jackson and Tommy created to showcase it tonight, it was absolutely, effortlessly delicious.

More over caiprihnia, there's a new kid in town, made with a younger, hipper version of your base ingredient, more sophisticated and oh-s0-much easier on the palate than her worker bee lineage suggests. Even the name is elegant, the Portuguese word for kiss.

Who knows? Before long it could be all that we drink.

blonde cocktails

So....LUPEC blondes was postponed. Yes, it's that crazy time of year when the holidays take over and make everything seem really hectic, so attendance was slated to be low. The three of us who could make it decided to grab a drink and some food at Gaslight instead.

For those of you toasting at home, however, here's a recipe for one of the drinks that will be served when we reconvene for LUPEC blondes in January.

Cin-cin!

Platinum Blonde

Shake with ice and strain

1/2 pineapple juice. (1 1/2 oz)
1/2 Calvados. (1 1/2 oz)
2 dashes orgeat (almond syrup)

Shake and moisten the glass with a dash of creme de menthe before pouring.
Serve in a cocktail glass (4.5 oz)

But what am I supposed to do with all of these blondies?

blonde trivia

Tomorrow evening I'll be hosting the December meeting of our local LUPEC chapter Chez Moi. The theme I've chosen for the evening? Blondes, of course.

I spent the better part of the evening making some funny-looking-yet-delicious Butterscotch Blondies from this book, and researching cocktails to serve and blonde forebroads to discuss while we drink them. More on all that tomorrow. For now, I thought I'd share some fun facts about Hollywood's brightest blonde stars of yesteryear.

Did you know that...




When Fox refused to stop casting her as a dumb blonde, Marilyn Monroe moved to New York and started her own production company so she could take on more serious roles.


Marilyn Monroe is rumored to have had an IQ of 168.









Jean Harlow and Mae West were both credited with keeping their respective film companies in the black at different points during their careers through blockbuster ticket sales -- even during the lean years of the Great Depression.


Jean Harlow wrote a novel before her untimely death at age of 26. It pubbed in 1965, almost thirty years later.







Mae West was a life-long advocate for gay and trans-gendered rights. Her early play, The Drag, was about homosexuality and played to sold-out audiences--in New Jersey. The show was banned from Broadway.

Mae West recorded a rock and roll album. (I know.)


I hope you'll raise a glass in absentia tomorrow to these smarter-than-they-may-have-seemed blonde forebroads.