Celebrity Soup

It’s officially the holiday season and time to celebrate! Welcome to the Celebrity Soup holiday cocktail party! Let’s belly up to our proverbial bar, mingle with the stars past and present and toast the season.

“Two martinis and I’m under the table, three and I’m under my host.” – Dorothy Parker

“A dry martini,” he said. “One. In a deep Champagne goblet. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet, shake it; very well until it’s ice cold, then, add a large, thin slice of lemon-peel. Got it?” – Roger Moore as James Bond

“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” – Humphrey Bogart as Rick in Casablanca

“There comes a time in every woman’s life when only a glass of Champagne will help.” – Bette Davis, 1943

"We went to have ourselves a drink or two, but couldn’t find an open bar
We bought a six-pack at the liquor store and we drank it in her car.
We drank a toast to innocence; we drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness, but neither one knew how." –
Dan Fogelberg, "Same Old Lang Syne"

“A Mojito is a drink of white rum, mint leaves, a splash of soda, sugar and lemon.” It’s nuclear lemonade, Hemingway’s favorite drink.” – Gloria Estefan

The illustrious cocktail has enjoyed many incarnations both on and off screen, from Sex and the City to W.C. Fields.

W.C. Fields was a golfer. Many “Hollywood types” could not get memberships in country clubs like the Wilshire Country Club or the Los Angeles Country Club. W.C. Fields belonged to the Lakeside Country Club, which was situated near Universal Studios; his fellow members included Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, William Holden and Dorothy Lamour. Fields usually carried flasks that he said “contained orange juice.”

One day, Fields left his flask for a moment or two, and his golf partners replaced the contents of vodka with a less intoxicating fluid. After swallowing a mouthful upon his return, Fields exclaimed, “Somebody put orange juice in my orange juice!”

Sex and the City made The Cosmopolitan -- a concoction of cranberry juice, vodka and a squeeze of lime – famous. The sexy single sirens immediately became our new best friends and the sales of Cosmos rose quickly in bars all across the free world beginning in 1999.

The word "cocktail" appeared in print around 1806 and left no trail about the word’s origin. There are many stories that speculate about the origin, and here are a few:

A process called "cock tailing" where the dregs of casks of spirits are drained through their cocks or spigots, mixed together and sold as a cheap drink.

In West Africa, the word "kaketal" translates to scorpion. Legend has it that the unfortunate insect was mashed into a drink. Apparently, it had quite a sting!

An apothecary in 1790s New Orleans named Antoine Peychaud (he invented Peychaud bitters) served a drink of brandy, sugar, water and his famous Peychaud bitters. He served them in a double egg cup or a French coquetier.

In her pre-mommy days, Julia Roberts had a favorite drink. Here’s the recipe:

Julia Robert’s Scorpino
She liked this drink so much she named her dog after it!
2 oz. vodka
2 oz .cream
1 oz. Cointreau
1 large scoop lemon ice

Blend and serve.

Hey that was fun – and you don’t even have to call a taxi to go home! What's your favorite holiday spirit?