Pink Drinks

I'm trying to double up on drinks with a similar theme or liquor base so I'll be able to catch up on champagne-based cocktails that I've fallen behind on, along with a couple pousse cafes - not that that thought thrills me: my liqueurs always blend together, no matter how carefully I drip them in.

The first one is in honor of the creator of the Pink Panther animated sequence in the Blake Edwards films: pink grapefruit juice (I picked up a bottle of the overly sweet stuff at the Shell quickie mart), gin (I used Gordon's), and Mandarine Napoleon. (Yes, I've been leaving the -e off on that in recent posts; damn French, always writing words differently from how they sound.) (right? write? rite?) With a strip of lemon twisted over it and dropped in.

Verdict: I like pink grapefruit juice, so this was OK; the real stuff would be better. Maybe a little too much orange; half an ounce instead of 3/4 would work better.

Today is the anniversary of the publication of Lolita, and so the second cocktail is pink with heart-shaped sunglasses (actually not worn in the movie, just the famous promo shot): vodka (I used Tanqueray Citron), cranberry juice, orange juice, lime wedge (which I forgot), and peach schnapps. I already have 4 bottles of schnapps taking up room in my fridge and I wasn't about to run out and buy another one, so I used creme de peche instead. Maybe I need to buy that mini-fridge for my office after all.

Verdict: better than the other drink. It didn't taste like spiked orange juice, and the peach adds a lot to it. Absolut Pear might work well too. I may just have to try that. I felt like James Mason, one of my favorite actors. Thank God Shelley Winters wasn't hovering nearby.