A drink to your health
"I will teach you something different,” he said. He stood up and went behind the bar, reached for a bottle of J&B, a lowball glass, and my favorite soda pop, 7-Up.
Handing me the mixed blend, he looked me in the eye and said, “Cent’anni!”
What’s that?
“It’s a toast, in Italian, meaning a hundred years to your health.”
Ah, it was magic. The moon glowed while a favorite refrain floated on a soft breeze. “The night goes so quickly—you just have to remember to stay in the moment,” said my friend.
And that’s how I learned to drink.
For women, the best cocktails are made out of fruits mixed with a bit of alcohol, and crushed ice. To name a few: Mai Tai, Daiquiri, Piña Colada, Mojito, Bloody Mary, and Tom Collins. Women enjoy these because they won’t make them lose control, get tipsy, or misbehave.
But for beginners, remember these tips: Keep a good sense of smell, dilute the mixture with crushed ice, drink slowly, and space your drinks by nibbling on some nuts and chips. Don’t forget to be in the company of other women friends because, indeed, there is safety in numbers.
Sixty years have passed and I can drink wine and other spirits with a degree of refinement and some acquired knowledge. However, I still follow the rule not to exceed two rounds and only when dining. The drinks are always paired with dishes that add to a distinctive and memorable meal.
Drinking may, indeed, give you some cheek—embolden you, in fact—so that should anyone dare ask you for your honest opinion (that’s the acronym IMHO—In My Honest Opinion), you can confidently express it and not turn any redder than you already are.
I admit that I have never sat at a bar alone. What if someone sits next to me, strikes up a conversation, and whoa! Order a drink with his compliments? Could I be teetering on the brink of an impending disaster or simply entertaining a harmless flirtation? Senator Miriam Defensor’s oft-quoted pickup lines would go well in this situation:
“Anong height mo? Paano ka nagkasya sa puso ko?”
Sixty years have passed and I can drink wine and other spirits with a degree of refinement and some acquired knowledge. However, I still follow the rule not to exceed two rounds and only when dining. The drinks are always paired with dishes that add to a distinctive and memorable meal.
This one was added, too: “Excuse me, but I think I dropped something. My jaw!”
Contrary to what some are made to believe, drinking is not something that is anathema to good etiquette or good behavior.
There is a book written by Michael P. Foley entitled Drinking with the Saints, where the author traces the history and influence of the Catholic contribution to the fine art of drinking wine, spirits, and even beer.
There is even a bartender’s recipe that you can use to toast every day in tandem with the saint of that day, along with interesting insights that can spice up your conversation. It begins with a poem:
Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine,
There’s always laughter and good red wine.
At least I’ve always found it so,
Benedicamus Domino!—Hilaire Belloc
“Let us bless the Lord,” indeed. He continues, “Beer was invented by the ancient Egyptians but perfected in medieval monasteries.” To this day, the world’s finest beer is made within the cloister.
The famous ones are the Trappist beers brewed by “honest-to-God monks” located in monasteries in Belgium and in the Netherlands.
The methode champenoise was invented by a Benedictine monk whose name adorns one of the world’s finest champagnes: Dom Perignon.
According to the story, when he sampled his first batch, Perignon cried out to his fellow monks, “Brothers, come quickly. I am drinking stars!”
There is more.
Whiskey was invented by Irish monks, first prescribed medicinally as a cure for “paralysis of tongue,” and apparently it works.
The California wine industry began when Blessed Junipero Serra and his Franciscan brethren brought the first wine grapes to the region. Its rebirth in Napa County after Prohibition was largely due to a chemistry teacher and a LaSalle Christian named Brother Timothy.
No matter what you choose to drink, you can be sure of the virtuous link to some of the saints that we have called on, prayed to, or asked intercession from.
Be adventurous and pick your liquor, but as a word of caution, if you’re not sure of the strong and spicy characteristics of most spirits, the rule of thumb is, watch the bartender. He always pours the liquor first, then the fruit juice or soft drink.
You can, therefore, tell him to go easy on the liquor and say, “I’d like to choose my poison.” For sure, he’ll know what you mean.
Here’s another interesting bit. If you wear purple, you won’t go foggy because purple will ward off the effects of alcohol and prevent intoxication. That’s according to a student of Plato, who believes that since amethyst and wine are purple, they’ll cancel each other out.
Some popular toasts are still “Take everything in moderation, including moderation,” and “Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends.”
But in keeping with the times that we’re in, let’s say, “Here’s to staying positive and testing negative.”
Remember to nurse that drink and bless it, too.
