I Had a Dream, 2 of 'Em, Not All about You

Part 2 of my champagne adventures is a drink called the Dream, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a couple weeks ago. As of the beginning of this year I'd never drunk Dubonnet, and now, since the first of the year, I've had, what 3 cocktails made with it? A friend in Chicago with far more experience with alcohol than me said he's never had it, so I don't feel quite so bad. Kind of superior, actually.

The recipe calls for grapefruit juice, cointreau or triple sec, and Dubonnet, shaken not stirred, topped with champagne. I had 2 real grapefruits, not the plastic fruit versions, so I whacked them in half and reamed them out in my citrus juicer. My body won't know what to do with all the vitamin C I'm getting today. Nor my liver, with all the alcohol.

On the first pass I followed the recipe pretty rigorously, like I usually do. Half ounce each of the juice and the triple sec, ounce of Dubonnet, top with champagne. Not bad. Another brunch drink. Next.

For further metabolizing of alcohol by my liver, which till now has only had to deal with Budweiser and the occasional glass of vino, so it's up to the challenge, on the second pass I used curacao instead of triple sec, almost a full ounce, a full ounce of the grapefruit juice (slugging the leftovers from juicing it), and the Dubonnet.

This one was better. Though it was my fourth champagne cocktail of the evening. A little on the sweet side but not bad. The curacao definitely works better than the triple sec. I wonder if Dubonnet blanc would make a difference over the rouge. It's still a brunch drink, but I'd mix this one as an apertif on a beach somewhere at sunset. Or noon. Or mid-afternoon. I think I liked it. The dogs are giving me a nervous eye. Is he about to sing or about to dance?