| As summer gradually envelops our fair city, thirsty minds turn to frothy umbrella-accented beverages, and patios throughout Calgary brim with the idle, the sun-starved and those cruising for action. From aldermen to actors, everyone has their favourite tried-and-true concoction. Whether it’s sipping on martinis at a downtown lounge or knocking them back poolside, everybody loves a good thirst-quencher.
RYAN LUHNING
For Ryan Luhning, actor and creative director of Ground Zero Theatre, a fruity blend of vodka, Chambord liqueur and pineapple juice, liberally garnished with cranberries, is his libation of choice.
"I’m a girl drink guy. I can’t drink beer and I don’t drink wine. Beer makes me feel completely bloated. I feel ill and hungover for days, so I stopped drinking beer a long time ago." His search for a perfect cocktail came to a successful conclusion under the recommendation of Jesse Glasnovic, owner and bartender at the Auburn Saloon. Luhning was hooked from his first taste of a Chambord Royale.
"I took one sip and said, damn! I’ll take this. So it became my drink."
He still gets the odd raised eyebrow when sitting with a group of buds gripping their beer bottles while he gingerly tips back his martini glass.
"People always bug me about drinking a girlie drink," he says with a laugh, adding his mood when consuming is much sunnier since he gave up suds.
"One of the reasons I switched away from beer was that it was very dangerous for me. I would be completely shit-faced drunk and I can be an ugly drunk. Since switching to Chamborde Royales, I’m a happy drunk. It’s all pleasant and happy and smiles for me," he says.
He also admits his days of dancing on the tables at wrap parties in the wee hours of the morning with fellow creative directors are behind him. He focuses his energies on his wife and five-month-old baby now, and curbs his consumption.
"It’s a totally different lifestyle. I’m not a crazy, go nuts drunk. At least not in the past couple of years," he says, referring to his shooter-drenched past as a backdoor bouncer at the Ship and Anchor Pub.
JILL BELLAND
Nursing Lycheetinis among friends amid the beautiful and fabulous at Bungalow is one of Jill Belland’s preferred ways to spend a summer’s eve.
"It’s a magical concoction that’s both delicious and nutritious," says the strikingly svelte, well-dressed host of Wired on A-Channel.
So what’s in it that makes it so tasty?
"Maybe vodka, maybe gin. I don’t discriminate," she says with a shrug, adding the sweetness of the lychee fruit masks the taste of the booze, making them a sneak-up-on-you, high-octane kind of cocktail.
According to Bungalow manager Vince Wong, the sneaky little libation has one ounce Soho liqueur, one ounce vodka, and three ounces of lychee juice, shaken over ice and garnished with lychee nuts. There’s a punch lurking under the sweetness, so consume with caution.
"Sip slowly," warns Belland. "In terms of danger, I would rate it a seven, but in terms of deliciousness, I would rate it a 10."
She says hangovers have recently presented themselves as a new and unwelcome side-effect of over consumption, but she has a secret weapon against the demons that plague after a large night.
"Gravol works miracles," she says. "After a birthday, it’s the best gift you can give yourself." However, she’s quick to point out that for her, binge drinking is a thing of the past. When asked about any recent crazy nights, she extols the virtues of moderation but admits to getting a little wacky in her younger years.
"Those stories died with Coconut Joe’s," she says tactfully.
She still enjoys partaking in a few libations, but understands the value of a timely exit. "You never want to be the last one to leave, but you don’t want to miss all the action either."
GERRY FORBES
As the rowdy host of Forbes and Friends on CJAY 92, Gerry Forbes is known for his hijinks and bawdy humour. Surprising then that he lists his favourite summer beverage as a Harvey Wallbanger – it’s more 1975 lounge lizard than hyper morning deejay, but that’s part of its appeal he says.
"It’s one of those umbrella drinks, but it’s great and packs a punch. It’s not too filling and very refreshing," he says of the vodka, orange juice and Galliano mixture. He’s even gone so far as to stock Galliano in the bar of the limo he bought to ferry around pals on nights of epic celebrations.
He says ordering a rare cocktail has its advantages, such as being free.
"When I was down in Las Vegas at Planet Hollywood, I ordered one and the guy goes, ‘What? I haven’t made one of those in 20 years. On the house, as many of those as you can drink!’" he says in his booming on-air voice.
Forbes says the best place to savour the licorice-infused cocktail is poolside in Vegas. Here in town, when he’s going to rip it up with friends, he reverts to an old-school method of hangover prevention.
"I have a glass of milk before I go out if I’m going to whoop it up. It works for me," he says. He also has an unusually high level of tolerance for all types of hops and barley beverages.
"I can drink as much beer as I want and never get drunk. I don’t know why, but I can just drink a ton of beer."
Being the host of a popular morning show, Forbes is reluctant to divulge too much about his drinking shenanigans. Except for that one time…
"I performed at a stag with the entertainment that was provided. It doesn’t get any worse than that," he says reticently.
JOE CECI
Working in the garden of his Inglewood home is a summertime passion for Ald. Joe Ceci. After a busy day of politicking, he likes to chill in his yard with an old standard: gin and tonic. He and his wife use liberal amounts of ice, a jigger of Tanqueray, can of tonic and fresh lime before settling in for an evening of outdoor relaxation.
"Sitting under our 100-year-old crabapple tree in a lawn chair after a day working in the garden with all the apple blossoms – absolutely beautiful," he says.
So why sip on simple highballs instead of multi-ingredient cocktails?
"You really can’t wreck a gin and tonic. It’s idiot-proof," he says.
While G&T’s are his at home beverage, Ald. Ceci is a big fan of Irish Extra Ale and Big Rock’s Grasshopper at social events and music festivals.
"I look forward to the folk festival all year," he says. "It’s great to relax in the beer gardens because of all the old trees and the fun people are having."
As a public figure, he is always careful not to get rowdy and limits his drinks to two. "I know the consequences are too long in terms of effect on the body and my reputation," he says with a nervous laugh, but concedes to getting carried away in his younger years. "My (hangover) cure was sleeping in really, really late, cold pizza, flat Coke and lots of Tylenol."
THÉRÈSE LANZ
Punk rocker Thérèse Lanz of all-girl quartet Kilbourne admits to liking the occasional blended, fruit-tinged drink, although they’re not exactly in keeping with her tattooed, sonic band babe image.
"They do this thing called the Kyoto Sunrise at Kyoto 17. It’s Chambord liqueur, pineapple juice and 7-Up," she says.
But they don’t have a patio, so on a warm summer night, Lanz usually finds herself among pals, taking in the zaniness on a pub deck while sipping a pint of beer.
"I’m a big fan of the patio at the Ship," says the 24-year-old. "And of course it’s nice to hang out by the window at Brew Brothers."
So, as a performer, surely there must have been some wonderfully woozy carryings on after too many cocktails?
"With fruity drinks, I find it pretty easy to pace myself. Sugar and alcohol don’t mix well with me." OK, maybe not.
"I’m pretty macho," she says, half-jokingly. "I can’t be seen in public drinking girlie drinks. Really, I’m more of a beer girl."
But what about the hidden booze packed into so many fruity drinks? Surely a Kyoto Sunrise has packed a bit of a wallop in the past.
"It’s not dangerous at all – it’s not terribly boozy, just tasty."
Her advice to those who take the joke a little too far on a steamy summer’s night seems reasonable: "Drink as much water as you possibly can and take two ibuprofen before you go to bed. You won’t even know you’ve been drinking." |
Copyright ©2005 FFWD. All rights reserved.