EMBURY COCKTAILS

Key West Postcards: The French Poodle

After brunch with a couple rounds of mimosas, and Bottle Number One of decent commercial Chateau St. Michele champagne back home between four of us, Bottle Number Two of the same was looking only moderately exciting. We were all gathered on the front porch of Chris and Erin of Bad Boy Burrito, the late afternoon sun was low and hot and we were all a little dopey. Erin walked inside and returned with a large slice of organic pink grapefruit which she squeezed directly into her almost-full flute. We tried and asked for the same treatment: The French Poodle wipes away the thick coat that decent mimosas and just-okay champagne can leave in your mouth and in your head, and it clears the palette with grapefruit's astringent pop. The complex sweet-and-sourness of the tangy fresh fruit compensates for the merely acceptable sugar of the champagne, and makes drinking it a pleasure again, as well almost feeling like it's good for you. The name's a riff on The Salty Dog, and it's perfect for helping extend a lazy Sunday afternoon in the sub-tropic heat and light. J.R.

THE FRENCH POODLE

Champagne, most any quality
Fresh organic Grapefruit.

Squeeze grapefruit into flute glass of very chilled champagne. Chunks of fruit are good..

J.R.

It's... In The Pudding?

The New York Times' Proof Blog - have you read it?

It's kind of like White Castle, in a way: I really want to like it, but something about it leaves me feeling a bit off.

The blog purports to look at "the role of alcohol in American society — drinking culture and celebrations, alcoholism and its treatment." Noble subjects, all. The problem is, I kept thinking, that it doesn't really do much of anything but the latter.

As one commenter put it (referring to a pro-drinking post about an American-produced artisan eau de vie):

"Great post. This is actually what I thought the blog was going to be about, alcohol as opposed to the posts about people not drinking anymore."

The problem must be one of balance, right? I mean, as the comedian Bill Hicks said (and I'm paraphrasing here): "You watch the news, and every story about drugs is about some idiot who took acid, thought he could fly, and jumped off a building. But, wait a second, isn't the news supposed to objective? I've had some great times on drugs. Where are those stories?"