Happy Hour: Let’s French

by Diana Vilibert

You guys are in luck. Today is my birthday so I was going to spend this post melodramatically mourning my lost youth (remember Skip-Its?! I’ll probably never experience joy like that again) and boring you with the details of the bad birthday luck I’ve had in past years (my boyfriend-at-the-time gave me a moldy coffee cup) before offering you some mess of a cocktail that would probably be perfect for deciding to sleep with a bartender or just putting your face on the toilet for a little while.

But you’re off the hook, since tomorrow happens to be Bastille Day, which celebrates the storming of the Bastille in 1789 and the symbolic start of the French Revolution. So let’s keep it classy this week, shall we? Besides, sleeping with bartenders is very 1999. Who can afford to keep drunkenly buying everyone drinks (“It’s on me guyyyysss!”) until dude finishes his shift at 4 a.m.? Let’s make 2011 the year of sleeping with freelancers. Freelance writers, maybe! Wink, wink.

Anyway, it’s only fitting we go super French to celebrate Bastille Day, so let’s take a cue from Busta Rhymes and pass the Courvoisier.

For those of you who prefer to mix your cognac instead of sipping it neat (“those of you” being me), you’re going to like this: Last month, Courvoisier came out with Courvoisier Rosé, a blend of the brand’s cognac and French red wine grapes. I’m generally skeptical of alcohol that seems like it’s marketed to ladies — I’m looking at you, Cupcake Vodka — but this one happens to be damn good. I’ve been obsessed with finding a way to add blackcurrant liqueur to all my mixed drinks, and Courvoisier Rosé really hits the spot with that flavor, along with blackberry and a touch of cherry and vanilla. And ABV is 18%, compared to the 40% of traditional cognac, so it definitely goes down smoothly, even if you’re not usually a neat or on-the-rocks drinker.

Still want to mix it up? To keep it simple, try adding sparkling water or mixing with a one-to-one ratio of Prosécco. Or, use your morning OJ in this:

Belle Rosé
1 part Courvoisier Rosé
2 parts Orange Juice
½ part Lemon Lime Soda
Raspberry garnish

Directions: Combine Courvoisier Rosé and orange juice in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a glass. Top with lemon lime soda and raspberry garnish.

Previously: Wait, Don’t Throw Out That Unfinished Wine!

Diana Vilibert is freelance drinker and writer, and she’s in the throes of her quarter-life crisis and spent last night Googling stories of people who got buried alive.

Image via Courvoisier