Vampire Drinks

Tonight's the premiere of HBO's much publicized new series TrueBlood, about vampires living openly, having come out of the coffin, among the mortal kin in Louisiana. Only in Louisiana.

So, in their honor, I decided to mix a couple vampire cocktails. The recipe in my calendar for this weekend isn't all that interesting.

The first one is equal parts raspberry liqueur, vodka (I used Tanqueray citron), and cranberry juice (no sugar added). Not too bad. It sure looks bloody enough, sweet from the raspberry, and packed full of vitamin C.

The second drink calls for an ounce each of gin and dry vermouth and a half ounce of lime juice. I ran out of Plymouth, so I filled its spot in the freezer with a bottle of Bombay Sapphire. I think BS was the first gin I ever drank. And got very drunk on.

I tried a little BS straight on ice, and frankly I thought it tasted like rubbing alcohol, without most of the herbal tastes I like in other gins. It's 47% alcohol, vs. Plymouth's 41.2; it certainly packs a punch. After just a few sips I was feeling it. I sure didn't get the 10 not so secret herbs and spices they reportedly make it with. The bottle's pretty. Maybe it'll grow on me.

I'm not sure the drink will though. Too limey. I wonder how it'd be with orange liqueur instead of the lime. To life.