The Best Booze...

..is usually free.

But sometimes it pays to umm, pay for a drink. While The Husband is searching The Google for the perfect cocktail to serve at our Super Bowl party, (It's only the two of us this year, but it will be a party!) I got to thinking about some memorable alcoholic beverages I have enjoyed in my life. (Not counting that crazy debacle with Julie in Tijuana!)

So here goes!

Best Beer; I don't drink beer, but in Amsterdam I sipped a tall, cold Heineken. And actually finished it! Asjeblyft!

The best glass of wine I ever tasted- and there have been hundreds, fine, maybe thousands-but I would have to say the overall experience would have to be sitting on the Champs Elysees under the shadow of the Arc de Triumph savoring a glass of rose.(Hey, I was just coming out of my White Zin period. Don't judge.)

But let's get back to the States.

Best Cocktail; Mai Tai served at the Bali Hai in San Diego. Let's just say I once had three of these and The Husband four on our anniversary. We slept in our van in the parking lot. I woke up naked- The Husband woke up fully clothed with his shoes on. Need I 'splain more?

Best Irish Coffee; Pleeeeze- hands down it's served up at the Buena Vista in San Francisco. We once had so many of these caffeine concoctions that that we couldn't pass out for days!

Best Dive Bar; it has to be the Silver Spigot Cocktail Lounge in San Diego. I once held in my possession a "Drink Free for Life" card there. Will not say how I obtained that card.

 

And the classiest joint I've ever bellied up to the bar was at the Ritz Carlton in Paris.
The Ritz has the distinction of being the last place Princess Diana ever knocked back a glass of wine, so there's that.  I went with pal Valerie and with The Husband on separate occasions. Not only does it serve the most expensive cocktail in Europe, but it has the best Ladies Room ever!

"Hey, careful, man, there's a beverage here!" The Dude

Buena Vista Irish Coffee Recipe (Courtesy of the Buena Vista in San Francisco)

Ingredients

• some hot water
• six ounces of hot, fresh brewed coffee
• two cocktail sugar cubes
• a jigger (or shot) of your favorite Irish whiskey
• fresh (preferably homemade) whipped cream

Directions

To start off, you will need to fill your empty glass with the hot water to preheat the glass. After you fill it, let it preheat the glass for a few seconds and then proceed to dump the water out. Follow by pouring the freshly brewed coffee into the glass until it is about three quarters of the way filled. Then, place the two cocktail sugar cubes into the mix. Stir the mixture until the sugar cubes have dissolved. You can then add the shot or jigger of your favorite Irish whiskey into the coffee and sugar mix. Stir again. Then using a warm spoon, flip it over, and let the homemade whipped cream carefully slide over the spoon’s back and onto your Irish coffee mixture. You want to make sure that the whipped cream does not break into the Irish coffee’s surface.

Enjoy this Buena Vista Irish coffee recipe today!