Celebrity Sips (photos not uploading... but coming soon)

LA Band, Million/Billion, in DC Wednesday night!

“Edgy, Eclectic, with pop hooks and Indie Quirk…million billion has a musical style that unites fans of indie-rock, country, pop, rock and dance music into one throbbing mass, drooling for the next song.” ~CD Baby

Certain local publications in DC are strangely ‘closed’ to mentioning up-and-coming bands visiting the area. I’ve been surprised at the lack of willingness to share info with their readership.

Luckily, The Liquid Muse loves to share! - particularly when the band happens to be from my town (LA) and it especially doesn’t hurt that the band also happens to be made up of three yummy band members. (I just figure DC ladies might wanna know when some rockin’ West Coast hotties roll into town. Call me crazy…)

Million/Billion’s debut concert last year at LA’s legendary House of Blues’ Foundation Room, was followed by a stint at Hollywood’s infamous Viper Room, and packed houses at hot-spots Hotel Café and Tangier. Tracks from their album Ready.Fire.Aim have already found their way on LA’s influential radio stations Indie 103.1 and KCRW, and BMI recently chose million/billion as their ‘Pick of the Month.’

The album, co-produced by the band and recorded with the help of engineer/producer Karl Derfler (No Doubt, Dave Matthews Band, Big Head Todd) is set for official release this August. Urb Magazine, has already given it four stars in its December/January issue, saying “Million/Billion throws in cynical folk-rock with country that lands a bull’s eye,” and calling their “rhythmical acoustic guitar and raucous performance,” hard to pass up.

The trio, Gavin Bellour (lead singer), Brian Ulrich (drummer) and Yonatan Elkayam (keys/bass, upright, harmonica…), first played onstage together in 2005 at an impromptu jam session. The connection, chemistry, and camaraderie fired their imaginations. “We like to think that the sound we created doesn’t really fit into a particular genre or perhaps it does and we are just too ignorant to know it, but in our universe we’ve blended genres to create a new style…,” says lead singer Bellour.

Cd baby agrees saying, “million/billion blends a variety of old and new into a sound that is truly all their own.” This sound has earned the band opening slots for such artists as Beck, Ray Lamontagne and Shooter Jennings.

On Wednesday, June 13, the boys will be playing at The Grog and Tankard, 2408 Wisconsin Ave, NW, Washington DC 20007; 202-333-3114; http://www.grogandtankard.com/

If you catch the show, share your thoughts with the Liquid Muse Community by sending in a review. I’ll post it here.

Oh - and for the 'sips' part of this Celebrity Sips - the Grog and Tankard has 14 microbrews... Pick your favorite and send it in to The Liquid Muse. (photos are always welcome!)

For more info on the band check out: www.millionbillionmusic.com or http://www.myspace.com/millionbillion

Celebrity Sips - Paris Hilton's Liquid Viagra

It has been a while since I've done a dedicated Celebrity Sips, so I found something fun to share with you all. This comes up now because I tasted Tyku at Tales of the Cocktail, and it is reported that Ms. Hilton sipped Tyku and Dom at her birthday bash, a few months ago. (Not sure how I missed that one...)

Apparently, Tyku has aphrodesiac properties, and since we all know that poor little rich girl's sex life has not been documented for a bit (though we're surely waiting with baited breath for "Bad Girls Behind Bars: The Hilton Sexcapades") maybe Paris needed a little birthday boost. After all, 26 in "celebrity years" is like being 74 years old in the real world...

It sounds like the old gal had a ball, despite the fact that guests left early due to her posse of classless clods. As midgets, monkeys and goats trailed around her fete, the heiress grabbed the mic, and crooned "I want you, I need you" to on again, off again boyfriend Stavros Niarchos.

btw - They're off again, this summer. But, who knows. The shipping heir and hospitality heiress could still end up sprouting little heir babies swaddled in orange jumpsuits, someday.

Actually - with that thought in mind, maybe we should keep the Tyku away from her...

*Photo Credit: Lauren Herman / Startrakphoto, borrowed from this article in People Online.

Celebrity Sips

James Bond

This is the first Celebrity Sips devoted to a fictional character. However, if there is any fictional, fantastical character to fit the bill, it’s James Bond. From the marvelous mind of writer, Ian Fleming, came the man men want to be and the man women want to… well, you get the picture.

Fleming first created the Bond character in 1953 and wrote numerous novels and short stories featuring him. James Bond exploded into icon status in American pop-culture when first personified by none-other than swoon-inducing Sean Connery in 1962. Subsequent actors portraying British Agent 007 include: George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.

Today, the world waits with baited breath and giddy anticipation to see actor Daniel Craig take on the legendary role in the twenty first official film, Casino Royale.

The modern return to classic glamour permeates all levels today’s hip-factor, and epitomized in the way we drink. In honor of Casino Royale, Smirnoff Vodka Cocktail Consultant, Cameron Bogue brings back the original Vesper Martini, named for Bond girl, Vesper Lynd (portrayed by Eva Green). Vodka is a long-standing staple in the world of Fleming-style espionage entertainment. The Bond character first called for a vodka martini at the Casino Royale-les-Eaux in the original novel, Casino Royale, and bottles of Smirnoff Vodka are seen in the first Bond flick, Dr. No, in 1962.

In our recent interview, Bogue points out, “Before Bond ordered his martini “shaken,” cocktails were stirred.” Cameron indicates that James Bond’s sophisticated and assertive style influenced pop-culture to such an extent that the current generation of bartenders and mixologists shake their cocktails.

So fellas, before heading off to the cinema tonight, stir up a little pre-film fun with Cameron’s version of these classic cocktails, and impress your date. After all, no girl can resist a Bond-man!

Classic 007 Martini
1 1/4 oz. Smirnoff® Vodka
Splash of dry vermouth
Shake well with ice, and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Cameron says: “Classic and smooth, just like Bond himself. Master making this martini and it is easy to make your own variations.”

The Vesper
3/4 oz. Gordon’s Gin
1/4 oz. Smirnoff® Vodka
Splash of Lillet Blanc or dry vermouth
Shake well with ice, and serve in a martini glass garnished with a large thin slice of lemon peel.

Cameron says: “The best of both worlds for those enjoy both vodka and gin martinis. Bond ordered his martinis with a lemon peel garnish, but you can also garnish with a maraschino cherry, orange or olive.”


Smirnoff® Modern Martini
1 oz. Smirnoff® Vodka
1/4 oz. Triple Sec
1/4 oz. Pinot Grigio
Shaken, not stirred and served up with flamed orange zest for garnish.

Cameron says: “Many classic cocktails use sherry or vermouth for acid balance. I wanted to use ingredients available in every bar so I decided to try Pinot Grigio. And, flamed orange zest is a classic garnish.”

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Celebrity Sips

Pursuant to last week’s "Celebrity Sips," Sipster, Tony Sachs, sent in an intriguing concoction enjoyed by the late, great crooner, Frank Sinatra.

Tony says, “I'm a Sinatra freak, and a major-league cocktailian, so I especially enjoyed the Sinatra entry. In my comment, I mentioned "Pepe's Flame Of Love Martini," which was a favorite of Sinatra's (although actually created for Dean Martin) by Pepe, the bartender at the legendary Chasen's, in Beverly Hills. Here's the recipe:

Pepe’s Flame of Love Martini
(created by Pepe, of Chasen’s, presented to The Liquid Muse by Tony Sachs)

Pour just enough sherry to coat the inside of a chilled cocktail glass.
In another glass, add 4 oz. vodka and several ice cubes.
Flame a wedge of orange peel over the first cocktail glass, containing the sherry, so that the oil from the peel shpritzes a fine mist into the glass.
Strain the chilled vodka into the sherry-coated glass.
Flame the orange peel again, then rub the rim of the glass with it.

Serve and wait for your guests' eyes to roll back in their head while they sigh, "Ooooohhhh...."

Dean reportedly said it was "the greatest thing I've ever had in my mouth." Ed McMahon's a big fan of it, too. You can watch the drink being made for Ed in the documentary ‘The Last Days Of Chasen's.’”

Thanks, Tony!
(directions on how to ‘flame an orange peel’ to follow!)

Celebrity Sips –
Michel Richard

To quench the thirst of a Celebrity Chef...

Chef Richard is one of those colorful and lively personalities oft referred to as "a character." He is also one of those creative and talented artistes de cuisine oft referred to as "a genius."

Jovial, cheeky, charming, obnoxious, hilarious and naughty are all words that come to mind when I think of Michel Richard. He is a true gourmand, passionately obsessed with his restaurant and one of the least politically correct people I know in DC. (The latter of which is, of course, half the reason I’m fond of him!)

I started working on a walking project with Michel earlier this year. (Read about a walk we took around Georgetown in the holiday issue of Capitol File Magazine. My article titled “Romancing the Corkscrew With Michel Richard” gives a little insight into his screwball sense of humor, as well as his intrigue with corkscrews, themselves.)

Other suggested Richard Reading is his new cookbook, Happy In The Kitchen. The playful tones and delicious dishes will leave a pleasant taste in your mouth.

Being The Liquid Muse, I also had to, of course, inquire as to his favorite cocktail. I have to admit that I didn’t anticipate his answer. I expected something French, or something uber-sophisticated, maybe even something I had never heard of...

He explained that as a young man, new to America, he was so intrigued by his first sips of a certain cocktail that he created a cake using the same ingredients. How to make Mr. Richard happy in (or out) of the Kitchen? Give this man a Pina Colada!

Here is Citronelle’s tasty version of this cocktail classic, helping you to hang on to a taste of summer, as winter creeps in…

Pineapple Martini
(courtesy of Citronelle)
2 oz. pineapple syrup
1 1/2 oz. coconut water
2 ounces 10 Cane rum
1 1/2 oz. coconut run

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with pineapple cubes.

Photo credits:
Cover of Happy In The Kitchen: Deborah Jones
Photo of Michel Richard and Citronelle's Pineapple Martini: Moshe Zusman

Celebrity Sips - Giuliana DePandi

Don’t Hate Her Because She’s Beautiful

Giuliana DePandi is one of those women who has it all… brains, beauty, charm and a killer career! She hosts E! News, covering all the latest celebrity headlines, interviews A-List hotties (such as Clive Owen, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jude Law and the “that’s hot” girl herself, Paris Hilton), produces documentaries ("Nicole Richie: Her Simple Life") and released her first book in June of this year called 'Think Like a Guy: How to Get a Guy by Thinking Like One.’ She was also voted one of Maxim Magazine's Hot 100 of 2003, and featured in People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful of 2006 issue.

After spending an afternoon with Giuliana recently in Los Angeles (to write the December cover story of Washington’s Finest), I found that she is totally down-to-earth. With every justification to have a ‘tude, she doesn’t. That kind of class is how I define “cool.”

Born in Naples, Italy in 1975, Giuliana was six when her family moved to Washington, DC. It is rumored that, as a youngster, she taught herself English by watching TV, which spurred her love of Entertainment. Later, while working on her Master’s degree in Journalism at American University, DePandi covered happenings at the Pentagon, Supreme Court, State Department, Capitol Hill and White House. Recounting a defining moment in her scholastic career, Giuliana says, “I was interviewing Ted Kennedy and told him that his fans want to know what was his idea of a good time. When I played the tape for the class, my teacher just looked at me and said, ‘You need to go into Entertainment.’”

Depandi’s first Hollywood job was in the mailroom of power agent Mike Ovitz. Today, she makes her living chatting with celebs at glamorous events, for a show aired in 120 countries. Her wardrobe consultant, Jose Camilo makes a full time job out of choosing outfits for the hostess, who can’t wear the same ensemble twice. When asked if she gets to keep the clothes, she jokes, “Well… I try to steal stuff!”

Giuliana shares that her most memorable interview is with longtime crush, George Clooney, during which she was so nervous, that she blurted out “Will you marry me?!” to which he sillily replied “No.” But, DePandi says that turned out to be a good ice-breaker because it got him talking about his views on marriage. She reveals, “Every time I interview him, its still nerve wracking! I remind myself to stay cool. Even my producer, finally said, ‘This fawning over George Clooney has to end!’ But, he was my biggest crush!” Laughing, DePandi confides, “Later, I even replayed the part of the interview where he kissed me on the cheek.”

Her assistant, Matthew Allard, says that he loves working with Giuliana because every day is different. Sometimes they come up with ideas for the show together. Commenting on her high energy and work ethic he sighs, “If there were more hours in the day, she’d have her own radio show, too!”

E! News Executive Producer Peggy Abraham sums up the equation for DePandi’s popularity this way, “She is a combination of enthusiastic, intelligent and pretty – she’s the whole package. Celebrities respect her because she is prepared.” She explains that Giuliana’s “mass appeal” is non-threatening to women so they appreciate her, while she also appeals to men.

Of course, DePandi's Number One male fan is first-season “The Apprentice” winner, Bill Rancic, the first candidate hired on national television by The Trump Organization, and Giuliana's beau since earlier this year. In addition to running a Chicago-based Trump enterprise, Bill also fills in on the TV show to judge new contestants when George (Donald’s usual right-hand man) is away on business. When her honey's name came up during our chat, Giuliana gushed (through a big smile), “He’s so cute!”

And, (inquiring minds want to know) what was it like meeting “The Donald?” Giuliana says he is very warm and admits she was more nervous to meet Mrs. Trump, the stunning European model, Melania. Says DePandi, “Oh my God! I was so scared of Melania. But she is really nice. She told me that she gets all her entertainment news from my show. She’ll know lots of things we talk about on E! News, especially when we mention her!”

With her own fame on the rise, DePandi is a target of “celebrity gossip” to which she declares, “It’s weird! On a recent flight to New York, I was at the ticket counter trying to upgrade. A couple of days later, Gawker.com had a piece about me being at the airport 'freshly-botoxed.'” Considering she doesn’t do botox, Giuliana found it both humorous and flattering. She comments, “I thought, Really? Thank you!”

Having dreamed of a career in journalism since age six, Giuliana’s role models include Katie Couric, Oprah and DC news anchor, Barbara Harrison, who was the first person to inspire her. Giuliana says, “I grew up thinking that she had the greatest life. I saw her once at White Flint Mall, in the middle of the day, and I thought, 'So, that’s what she does during the day!’ She had kids and an amazing job!”

Giuliana continues to dream of following in Ms. Harrison’s footsteps explaining, “My ultimate goal is to be an anchor on local DC news. That’s my dream, to come full circle.” DePandi clarifies, “My family is there.”

And, though that left me mildly baffled (I'd call her current one the dream job...), if delivering hard-news headlines in Washington is her idea of a Hollywood ending, who am I to judge? It is safe to assume that with her many talents, her career options are limitless. The coast she calls home and the aspect of journalism around which she throws up her white picket fence will surely be hers to choose.

Favorite watering holes? In DC, she frequents Cafe Milano. In LA,she likes Cut, Katana and Giorgio’s. Giuliana also loves Koi‘s great food but doesn’t want people to think she’s just there for the scene. She simply must have their crab roll!

Favorite cocktail: "I love a martini, straight up, with an olive."

Photos of Giuliana on the set of E! News, courtesy of Claire Barrett Photography

Celebrity Sips - Scotch for Sir Sean

The American Film Institute (AFI) presented a very rare, award-winning 40-Year bottle of the celebrated Scotch whisky to Sir Sean Connery, winner of the 2006 AFI Life Achievement Award.

The AFI Life Achievement Award, established in 1973, honors an individual whose career in motion pictures or television has greatly contributed to the enrichment of American culture. Past recipients include Bette Davis, Fred Astaire, Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorsese and Barbara Streisand.

It was presented to Connery at a gala tribute at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles in June, 2006. Other famous personalities at the event included such as Calista Flockhart, Harrison Ford, Andy Garcia, Julia Ormond, and Steven Spielberg.

Laphroaig single-malt Scotch is distilled on the island of Islay and rests in European oak barrels, in a seaside warehouse. It is the only whisky to bear a Royal Warrant bestowed by HRH Prince Charles, in 1994.

Laphroaig has received high accolades including “Distiller of the Year” and “Best Whisky of Show” at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2006 and Best Single Malt in the World in Whisky Magazine 2005. The bottle awarded Sir Connery would retail for approximately US $1,800.

So, what I want to know is if he passed the bottle ‘round for sips to other celebrities in attendance at the AFI event!

Celebrity Sips - Ringo Starr

A Long, Tall Drink of Ingratitude

I'm sorry to say that if you're a celebrity... an aging member of the BEATLES, no less, you do not get to ask fans to stop "bothering" you with fan mail. I mean, is that the height of arrogance, or what?

In this article, Ringo Starr announces, via the media, that any fan mail or requests for autographs received after October 20 will be "be tossed [in the trash]" because he is "too busy" to sign stuff.

He can flash the peace sign as much as he likes and repeat "peace and love" a million times over, but he sounds like quite the self-important, upper-class cad as far as I'm concerned.

*Photo from Reuters

Celebrity Sips
Hard-Living Hemingway

In honor of Hemmingway Week, I am re-running a TLM post from last year, and will be including more Hemmingway fun, in the days to come. Happy Birthday Hemmingway (July 21)!
---

As a huge fan of the Bohemian writers of the 1920’s - 30’s. I inhale biographies from that era (particularly of the female writers - sometimes Hemingway's lovers). Their rebellion, curiosity, restlessness, hunger for life, to-hell-with-it attitude and far-less-than-perfect humanity are qualities to which I can relate, as any boozy broad should!

The life and writings of Ernest Hemingway reflect social transitions of that era and are revered for their insight, adventure and candor.

Sipster, Noah Raizman, of New York, an aficionado of “Classic Cocktails,” sent in a wonderful recipe, apparently enjoyed by Ernest Hemingway, during his time in Cuba. I am putting Noah’s drink write up, first. For those interested, my very general coverage of Ernest Hemingway’s career follows…

As per Noah’s letter to The Liquid Muse, “I just made a pitcher of Hemingway Daiquiri's for a few friends, roommates and squatters. A daiquiri is just white rum, simple syrup and lime. At La Florida, a legendary bar in Havana, they added grapefruit to their version of a daiquiri, which they blended and called a La Florida Cocktail.

Locals called the place by its diminutive, La Floridita, so the cocktail eventually became known as a La Floridita. When Hemingway was in Cuba, La Floridita was his local haunt. Hemingway, being Hemingway, didn't like sweet drinks, so he convinced the bartender (he would only allow his drinks to be made by the head bartender, Constante Ribalaigua) to make the cocktail with maraschino liqueur instead of simple syrup. This drink became known as The Hemingway Daiquiri."

The Hemmingway Daquiri
(as per Sipster, Noah Raizman)

3 oz white rum
1.5oz lime
3/4 oz grapefruit juice
1 oz maraschino liqueur
(and I will add a tsp of simple syrup, depending on how sweet the limes are, and always if I blend it)

Pour rum, lime and grapefruit juices, and simple syrup into a shaker with ice. Serve in a preferably chilled glass. Top with maraschino liqueur and garnish with a cherry.

Celebrity Profile:
Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. By the time he graduated from High School, World War I raged in Europe. His desire to enlist was deferred, due to poor vision. When he heard the Red Cross was taking volunteers as ambulance drivers, however, he quickly signed up. He left his job at the local paper and sailed for Europe in May 1918.

In the short time that Hemingway worked for the Kansas City Star he learned some stylistic lessons that would later influence his fiction. The newspaper advocated short sentences, short paragraphs, active verbs, authenticity, compression, clarity and immediacy. Hemingway later said: "Those were the best rules I ever learned for the business of writing. I've never forgotten them."

In 1919, at age 19, Hemingway returned home from Italy, and found Oak Park dull compared to the adventures of war. In 1920, he moved to Chicago and wrote for the Star Weekly. In 1921,he met and married his first wife, Hadley Richardson. By November of the same year Hemingway accepted an offer to work with the Toronto Daily Star, as its European corespondent.

The Hemingways arrived in Paris on December 22, 1921 where the whole of literature was being changed by the likes of Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein and Ford Maddox Ford. He would not miss his chance to leave his mark, as well.

Their apartment at 74 rue Cardinal Lemoine had no running water. The bathroom was basically a closet with a slop bucket inside. Ironically, they could have afforded much better; with Hemingway's job and Hadley's trust fund their annual income was $3,000, a decent sum in the inflated economies of Europe at the time.

Hemingway rented a room at 39 Rue Descartes where he could do his writing, in peace. While in Paris, he reported extensively on Geneva Conference in April of 1922, The Greco-Turkish War in October, the Luasanne Conference and the post war convention in the Ruhr Valley in early 1923. Along with the political articles, he wrote lifestyle pieces as well, covering fishing, bullfighting, social life in Europe, skiing, bobsledding and more.

Just as Hemingway was beginning to make a name for himself as a reporter and a fledgling fiction writer, and enjoying his place in the literary social circles in Europe, the couple found out that Hadley was pregnant. The Hemingways left Paris in 1923 and moved to Toronto, where he wrote for the Toronto Daily Star. On October 10, 1923, John Hadley Nicanor Hemingway was born. By January of 1924 the young family boarded a ship, and sailed back to Paris.

From 1925 to 1929, Hemingway produced some of the most important works of 20th century fiction, including the landmark short story collection In Our Time (1925) which contained "The Big Two-Hearted River." In 1926 he came out with his first true novel, The Sun Also Rises. Following that, came Men Without Women in 1927, another book of stories including "The Killers," and "In Another Country." In 1929 he published A Farewell to Arms, arguably the finest novel to emerge from World War I. In four short years he went from being an unknown writer to being the most important writer of his generation, and perhaps the 20th century.

He divorced Hadley in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer, an occasional fashion reporter for the likes of Vanity Fair and Vogue, later that year. In 1928, they left Paris for Key West, Florida where they lived for nearly twelve years.

Finding it a wonderful place to work and to play, in Florida he discovered the sport of big game fishing which would become a life-long passion and a source for much of his later writing. Hemingway loved it. "It’s the best place I’ve ever been anytime, anywhere, flowers, tamarind trees, guava trees, coconut palms...Got tight last night on absinthe and did knife tricks."

On June 28, 1928, Pauline gave birth to Hemingway’s second child, Patrick. And, in December of that year, Hemingway received a cable reporting his father’s suicide.

Despite the personal turmoil, Hemingway continued to work on A Farewell to Arms, published in 1929. He wouldn’t enjoy that level of critical acclaim again, for nearly a decade.

In 1931 Pauline gave birth to Gregory, the last of Hemingway’s children.

In 1932, his Spanish bullfighting dissertation, Death in the Afternoon, was published. He managed to make an encyclopedic book readable, even by those who had no real interest in the corrida. He inserts observations on Spanish culture, writers, food, people, politics, history, etc. Hemingway wrote, "It is intended as an introduction to the modern Spanish bullfight and attempts to explain that spectacle both emotionally and practically. It was written because there was no book which did this in Spanish or in English."

Before leaving to Spain, to to cover the Spanish Civil War for the North American Newspaper Alliance, in 1937, he met a young writer named Martha Gellhorn in Key West at Sloppy Joe’s bar in Key West. The two conducted a secret affair for almost four years.

Upon returning from Spain, divorcing Pauline and marrying Martha, Hemingway moved to a large house outside Havana, Cuba, which the newly wed couple named Finca Vigia ("Lookout Farm"). Hemingway decorated it with hunting trophies from his African safari. Here, he began work on his Spanish War novel, For Whom The Bell Tolls, in 1939.

In the spring of 1944 Hemingway went to Europe to report on WW2. He headed first to London where he wrote articles about the RAF and about the war’s effects on England. While there, he was injured in a car crash, suffering a serious concussion and a gash to his head which required over 50 stitches. Martha visited him in the hospital, castigating him for being involved in a drunken auto wreck. Her cavalier reaction triggered the beginning of the end of their marriage.

While recovering, Hemingway met Mary Welsh, with whom he openly conducted a courtship in London and then in France, after the allied invasion at Normandy and the subsequent liberation of Paris. For all intents and purposes Hemingway’s third marriage was over and his fourth and final marriage to Mary had begun. Hemingway wrote, "Funny how it should take one war to start a woman in your damn heart and another to finish her. Bad luck."

In 1944, he set up camp in The Ritz Hotel and spent the next week or so drinking, carousing and celebrating his return to the city that meant so much to him as a young man.

Hemingway returned to America in March of 1946 with plans to write a great novel of the war, which never materialized.

In September of 1952 The Old Man and the Sea appeared in Life magazine, selling over 5 million copies in a flash. For the first time since For Whom The Bell Tolls in 1940 Hemingway was atop the literary heap...and making a fortune. Though Hemingway had known great success before, he never had the privilege of receiving any major literary prizes. The Old Man and the Sea changed that, winning the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1953.
Flush with money from the Old Man and the Sea, he decided to exercise his wanderlust, returning to Europe to catch some bullfights in Spain and then to Africa later in the summer for another safari, with Mary.

In January of 1954, Hemingway and Mary boarded a small Cessna airplane to take a tour of some of east Africa’s beautiful lakes and waterfalls. The pilot hit a telegraph wire and they made a crash landing. Luckily, the group’s injuries were minor.

After a boat ride across Lake Victoria they took another flight in a de Haviland Rapide. Heading toward Uganda, the plane barely got off the ground before crashing and catching fire. Hemingway, using his head as a battering ram, broke through the main door. This accident was not as lucky.

In his biography of Hemingway, Jeffrey Meyer lists the various injuries to the writer. "His skull was fractured, two discs of his spine were cracked, his right arm and shoulder were dislocated, his liver, right kidney and spleen were ruptured, his sphincter muscle was paralyzed by compressed vertebrae on the iliac nerve, his arms, face and head were burned by the flames of the plane, his vision and hearing were impaired..." Though he survived the crashes and lived to read his own premature obituaries, his injuries cut short his life in a slow and painful way.

Despite his ailments, Hemingway and Mary traveled on to Venice one last time and then headed back to Cuba. On October 28, 1954 Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for Literature, but due to his injuries was unable to attend the ceremonies in Sweden.

In 1959, Life magazine contracted with Hemingway to write a short article about the series of mano y mano bullfights between Antonio Ordonez and Louis Miguel Dominguin, two of Spain’s finest matadors. Hemingway spent the summer of 1959 traveling with the bullfighters to gather material for the article.

When he began writing the story however, it quickly grew to some 120,000 words. The magazine published the article as "The Dangerous Summer" in three installments in 1960. This was the last work that Hemingway would see published in his lifetime.

His physical deterioration soon became obvious. Photos show Hemingway looking like a man closer to eighty than one of sixty. His mood swings, exacerbated by his heavy drinking of up to a quart of liquor a day, were also taking a toll on those close to him.

During this time Hemingway worked on his memoirs, which would be published posthumously, in 1964, as A Moveable Feast, which critics praised for its tenderness, beauty and for its rare look at the expatriate lifestyle of Paris in the 1920’s.

In his last year of life, Hemingway registered at the Mayo Clinic where he underwent between 11 to 15 shock treatments. One of the sad side effects of shock therapy is the loss of memory, and for Hemingway it was a catastrophic loss. Without his memory he could no longer write, could no longer recall the facts and images he required to create his art.

Hemingway spent the first half of 1961 fighting his depression and paranoia, seeing enemies at every turn and threatening suicide on several more occasions. On the morning of July 2, 1961 Hemingway rose early, selected a shotgun from a closet in the basement, went upstairs to a spot near the entrance-way of the house and shot himself in the head. It was little more than two weeks until his 62nd birthday.

(much of this biographical information is taken from LostGeneration.com)

Celebrity Sips - "The RanciPandiTini"

Take one part reality show star, one part celebrity gossip show hostess, add a pinch of bling, a swirl of style, shake it all up, strain into a rocks filled glass-o-love!

When I interviewed Giuliana DePandi, last year, I was struck by her ever so simple “girl next door” vibe. (Pretty cool for someone who has interviewed every major A-lister in Hollywood!) And, the way she gushed when talking about then-boyfriend Bill Rancic (winner of Donald Trump's The Apprentice) ... well, let's just say that it wasn't a surprise when they announced their engagement a few months later. Fast forward a year, and their wedding bells were a-ringing on the island of Capri.

While planning her nuptuals earlier this year, Giuliana asked me about cocktails made with lemoncello, a typically Italian lemon liqueur. After seeing Giuliana mention the recent “gimme gimme word of the day” on E! recently, I couldn't resist creating this cocktail in honor of the blissful couple.

Salutti!

RanciPandiTini
by The Liquid Muse

1 ounce lemoncello
2 ounces Trump vodka
champagne
sugar
rosemary stalk

Rim chilled cocktail glass with sugar, set aside. Shake lemoncello and vodka, with ice. Strain into martini glass, top with champagne and garnish with rosemary stalk.

Photo came from here.

Where’s the HOOCH?
And, enough with the COOCH!

Lately, while innocently surfing my favorite celebrity gossip sites, toying with ideas for my recurring posts “Celebrity Sips,” I’m grossing out!

I now affectionately refer to Paris and friends as "Young Hollywood’s Crack Pack" as they've taken to sporting mini skirts commando, ensuring the world a steady supply of not-so-necessary crotch-shots. Lindsey’s privates hit tabloid headlines twice in the last month - and now Britney has joined in. (Wasn't she on a "classing up my act" campaign??) Ladies, for chrissakes, wtf? Put on some freakin’ panties already!

K-Fed’s former playground holds little-to-no interest for most people… Gawker's title sums it up best “Britney’s Vagina’s Reign of Terror Continues!” Read more in Pink Is The New Blog’s article “Lips Don’t Lie.” And, more in The Superficial's coverage of Brit's lack thereof.

Here’s a little stripper tip for the “unholy trinity”: Pick up some flesh toned, ultra low-rise g-strings. Though ‘barely there’ they avoid you leaving that nasty little ‘snail trail’ for the poor unwitting soul who may sit down after you. WhoWhatWearDaily has a few suggestions, too.

All I can say after all this yuck-n-muck, is that I need a drink!

*Photos from PinkIsTheNewBlog.com

Celebrity Sips
Hard-Living Hemingway

I am a huge fan of the Bohemian writers of the 1920’s - 30’s. I read biographies from that era (particularly of the female writers - sometimes Hemingway's lovers) with vigor. Their rebellion, curiosity, restlessness, hunger for life, to-hell-with-it attitude and far-less-than-perfect humanity are qualities to which I can relate, and from whom I often find inspiration!

The life and writings of Ernest Hemingway reflect social transitions of that era and are revered for their insight, adventure and candor.

Sipster, Noah Raizman, of New York, an aficionado of “Classic Cocktails,” sent in a wonderful recipe, apparently enjoyed by Ernest Hemingway, during his time in Cuba. I am putting Noah’s drink write up, first. For those interested, my very general coverage of Ernest Hemingway’s career follows…

As per Noah’s letter to The Liquid Muse, “I just made a pitcher of Hemingway Daiquiri's for a few friends, roommates and squatters. A daiquiri is just white rum, simple syrup and lime. At La Florida, a legendary bar in Havana, they added grapefruit to their version of a daiquiri, which they blended and called a La Florida Cocktail.

Locals called the place by its diminutive, La Floridita, so the cocktail eventually became known as a La Floridita. When Hemingway was in Cuba, La Floridita was his local haunt. Hemingway, being Hemingway, didn't like sweet drinks, so he convinced the bartender (he would only allow his drinks to be made by the head bartender, Constante Ribalaigua) to make the cocktail with maraschino liqueur instead of simple syrup. This drink became known as the Hemingway Daiquiri.

The Hemmingway Daquiri
(as per Sipster, Noah Raizman)

3 oz white rum
1.5oz lime
3/4 oz grapefruit juice
1 oz maraschino liqueur
(and I will add a tsp of simple syrup, depending on how sweet the limes are, and always if I blend it)

Pour rum, lime and grapefruit juices, and simple syrup into a shaker with ice. Serve in a preferably chilled glass. Top with maraschino liqueur and garnish with a cherry.

Celebrity Profile:
Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. By the time he graduated from High School, World War I raged in Europe. His desire to enlist was deferred, due to poor vision. When he heard the Red Cross was taking volunteers as ambulance drivers, however, he quickly signed up. He left his job at the local paper and sailed for Europe in May 1918.

In the short time that Hemingway worked for the Kansas City Star he learned some stylistic lessons that would later influence his fiction. The newspaper advocated short sentences, short paragraphs, active verbs, authenticity, compression, clarity and immediacy. Hemingway later said: "Those were the best rules I ever learned for the business of writing. I've never forgotten them."

In 1919, at age 19, Hemingway returned home from Italy, and found Oak Park dull compared to the adventures of war. In 1920, he moved to Chicago and wrote for the Star Weekly. In 1921,he met and married his first wife, Hadley Richardson. By November of the same year Hemingway accepted an offer to work with the Toronto Daily Star, as its European corespondent.

The Hemingways arrived in Paris on December 22, 1921 where the whole of literature was being changed by the likes of Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein and Ford Maddox Ford. He would not miss his chance to leave his mark, as well.

Their apartment at 74 rue Cardinal Lemoine had no running water. The bathroom was basically a closet with a slop bucket inside. Ironically, they could have afforded much better; with Hemingway's job and Hadley's trust fund their annual income was $3,000, a decent sum in the inflated economies of Europe at the time.

Hemingway rented a room at 39 Rue Descartes where he could do his writing, in peace. While in Paris, he reported extensively on Geneva Conference in April of 1922, The Greco-Turkish War in October, the Luasanne Conference and the post war convention in the Ruhr Valley in early 1923. Along with the political articles, he wrote lifestyle pieces as well, covering fishing, bullfighting, social life in Europe, skiing, bobsledding and more.

Just as Hemingway was beginning to make a name for himself as a reporter and a fledgling fiction writer, and enjoying his place in the literary social circles in Europe, the couple found out that Hadley was pregnant. The Hemingways left Paris in 1923 and moved to Toronto, where he wrote for the Toronto Daily Star. On October 10, 1923, John Hadley Nicanor Hemingway was born. By January of 1924 the young family boarded a ship, and sailed back to Paris.

From 1925 to 1929, Hemingway produced some of the most important works of 20th century fiction, including the landmark short story collection In Our Time (1925) which contained "The Big Two-Hearted River." In 1926 he came out with his first true novel, The Sun Also Rises. Following that, came Men Without Women in 1927, another book of stories including "The Killers," and "In Another Country." In 1929 he published A Farewell to Arms, arguably the finest novel to emerge from World War I. In four short years he went from being an unknown writer to being the most important writer of his generation, and perhaps the 20th century.

He divorced Hadley in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer, an occasional fashion reporter for the likes of Vanity Fair and Vogue, later that year. In 1928, they left Paris for Key West, Florida where they lived for nearly twelve years.

Finding it a wonderful place to work and to play, in Florida he discovered the sport of big game fishing which would become a life-long passion and a source for much of his later writing. Hemingway loved it. "It’s the best place I’ve ever been anytime, anywhere, flowers, tamarind trees, guava trees, coconut palms...Got tight last night on absinthe and did knife tricks."

On June 28, 1928, Pauline gave birth to Hemingway’s second child, Patrick. And, in December of that year, Hemingway received a cable reporting his father’s suicide.

Despite the personal turmoil, Hemingway continued to work on A Farewell to Arms, published in 1929. He wouldn’t enjoy that level of critical acclaim again, for nearly a decade.

In 1931 Pauline gave birth to Gregory, the last of Hemingway’s children.

In 1932, his Spanish bullfighting dissertation, Death in the Afternoon, was published. He managed to make an encyclopedic book readable, even by those who had no real interest in the corrida. He inserts observations on Spanish culture, writers, food, people, politics, history, etc. Hemingway wrote, "It is intended as an introduction to the modern Spanish bullfight and attempts to explain that spectacle both emotionally and practically. It was written because there was no book which did this in Spanish or in English."

Before leaving to Spain, to to cover the Spanish Civil War for the North American Newspaper Alliance, in 1937, he met a young writer named Martha Gellhorn in Key West at Sloppy Joe’s bar in Key West. The two conducted a secret affair for almost four years.

Upon returning from Spain, divorcing Pauline and marrying Martha, Hemingway moved to a large house outside Havana, Cuba, which the newly wed couple named Finca Vigia ("Lookout Farm"). Hemingway decorated it with hunting trophies from his African safari. Here, he began work on his Spanish War novel, For Whom The Bell Tolls, in 1939.

In the spring of 1944 Hemingway went to Europe to report on WW2. He headed first to London where he wrote articles about the RAF and about the war’s effects on England. While there, he was injured in a car crash, suffering a serious concussion and a gash to his head which required over 50 stitches. Martha visited him in the hospital, castigating him for being involved in a drunken auto wreck. Her cavalier reaction triggered the beginning of the end of their marriage.

While recovering, Hemingway met Mary Welsh, with whom he openly conducted a courtship in London and then in France, after the allied invasion at Normandy and the subsequent liberation of Paris. For all intents and purposes Hemingway’s third marriage was over and his fourth and final marriage to Mary had begun. Hemingway wrote, "Funny how it should take one war to start a woman in your damn heart and another to finish her. Bad luck."

In 1944, he set up camp in The Ritz Hotel and spent the next week or so drinking, carousing and celebrating his return to the city that meant so much to him as a young man.

Hemingway returned to America in March of 1946 with plans to write a great novel of the war, which never materialized.

In September of 1952 The Old Man and the Sea appeared in Life magazine, selling over 5 million copies in a flash. For the first time since For Whom The Bell Tolls in 1940 Hemingway was atop the literary heap...and making a fortune. Though Hemingway had known great success before, he never had the privilege of receiving any major literary prizes. The Old Man and the Sea changed that, winning the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1953.
Flush with money from the Old Man and the Sea, he decided to exercise his wanderlust, returning to Europe to catch some bullfights in Spain and then to Africa later in the summer for another safari, with Mary.

In January of 1954, Hemingway and Mary boarded a small Cessna airplane to take a tour of some of east Africa’s beautiful lakes and waterfalls. The pilot hit a telegraph wire and they made a crash landing. Luckily, the group’s injuries were minor.

After a boat ride across Lake Victoria they took another flight in a de Haviland Rapide. Heading toward Uganda, the plane barely got off the ground before crashing and catching fire. Hemingway, using his head as a battering ram, broke through the main door. This accident was not as lucky.

In his biography of Hemingway, Jeffrey Meyer lists the various injuries to the writer. "His skull was fractured, two discs of his spine were cracked, his right arm and shoulder were dislocated, his liver, right kidney and spleen were ruptured, his sphincter muscle was paralyzed by compressed vertebrae on the iliac nerve, his arms, face and head were burned by the flames of the plane, his vision and hearing were impaired..." Though he survived the crashes and lived to read his own premature obituaries, his injuries cut short his life in a slow and painful way.

Despite his ailments, Hemingway and Mary traveled on to Venice one last time and then headed back to Cuba. On October 28, 1954 Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for Literature, but due to his injuries was unable to attend the ceremonies in Sweden.

In 1959, Life magazine contracted with Hemingway to write a short article about the series of mano y mano bullfights between Antonio Ordonez and Louis Miguel Dominguin, two of Spain’s finest matadors. Hemingway spent the summer of 1959 traveling with the bullfighters to gather material for the article.

When he began writing the story however, it quickly grew to some 120,000 words. The magazine published the article as "The Dangerous Summer" in three installments in 1960. This was the last work that Hemingway would see published in his lifetime.

His physical deterioration soon became obvious. Photos show Hemingway looking like a man closer to eighty than one of sixty. His mood swings, exacerbated by his heavy drinking of up to a quart of liquor a day, were also taking a toll on those close to him.

During this time Hemingway worked on his memoirs, which would be published posthumously, in 1964, as A Moveable Feast, which critics praised for its tenderness, beauty and for its rare look at the expatriate lifestyle of Paris in the 1920’s.

In his last year of life, Hemingway registered at the Mayo Clinic where he underwent between 11 to 15 shock treatments. One of the sad side effects of shock therapy is the loss of memory, and for Hemingway it was a catastrophic loss. Without his memory he could no longer write, could no longer recall the facts and images he required to create his art.

Hemingway spent the first half of 1961 fighting his depression and paranoia, seeing enemies at every turn and threatening suicide on several more occasions. On the morning of July 2, 1961 Hemingway rose early, selected a shotgun from a closet in the basement, went upstairs to a spot near the entrance-way of the house and shot himself in the head. It was little more than two weeks until his 62nd birthday.

Sipster Submission

This post is part Celebrity Sips and part Sipster Submission. Sipster, Kristin Mendes, of Frisco, Texas sent in this fun story of the Toni Braxton concert - and themed cocktail - she experienced on a recent trip to Las Vegas. She says:

“I went to the Toni Braxton ‘Revealed’ concert in Vegas, at Harrah's. It was really great! The sexy girl and guy dancers made it even better… very provocative.

My favorite part was when she sang “Unbreak my Heart” (which, by the way, got voted “worst breakup song ever.”) Toni even poked fun at it with a running commentary, which was hilarious. “How can you un-break someone's heart? etc." Meanwhile, I was singing so loudly that the woman in front of me turned around! I don't know if the Toni-tini's were talking, or my love of the song, but it was a memorable moment for me.

One thing I know is that the audience was truly touched by Toni Braxton, and felt a connection. Even the woman whose ear I was singing in sweetly said “goodbye” to me at the end of the show.

We loved the part where she tells how she got her start. Babyface discovered her singing as she was putting gas in her car and told her to come sing for him. The story even came with pictures (you know, eighties hair…) She is much prettier now! (as we all are, hopefully!) Anyway, try this drink - it's awesome!!”

Toni-tini
(Courtesy of Harrah's, Las Vegas)
1 1/2 parts Absolut Ruby Red Vodka,
3/4 parts X-Rated passion fruit Liqueur,
3/4 parts Sence Rose Nectar,
1/2 parts Amoretti Pomegranate Syrup

Shake all ingredients with ice, and enjoy.

Celebrity Sips - From Rio to Saigon

South American culture has been taking the U.S. by storm for a while, now. Whether Snoop and Farrell are singing about the ‘beautiful’ women in Rio, or celebrities on Dancing With the Stars proudly prance the Argentinian Tango - we love to take in all that’s spicy and Latin!

Cachaca (sugar cane liqueur, the main ingredient in a Caipirinha) is now offered upscale drinking venues across the U.S., and American bartenders are learning to put a little shimmy in their shaking.

I first read about Cabana Cachaca in an article in last month’s Departure Magazine. And, then it started popping up in the hands of celebrities, all over the place - like rapper, Saigon, for example. Maybe its time to put a little spice in your life.

Celebrity Sips – Drink Like The Queen of England

While watching the recent TV special on England’s Royal Family, I made a mental note that the Queen’s favorite cocktail is gin and Dubonnet. This thrilled me to no end because I had recently bought a bottle of Dubonnet.

My mom, who is English, sipped a glass of it nearly every evening while making dinner, while I was growing up. So, when I saw it on the shelf at BevMo, a little shiver of nostalgia got the best of me, and I decided to take some home. Dubonnet is not expensive or one of those ‘trendy’ drinks every bar is slapping on its menu --- which is actually one more reason to like it, in my opinion. But for some reason, I still felt almost a little defensive placing it in my shopping cart.

Created by Joseph Dubonnet, the fortified wine was intended to help the French Foreign Legion drink down their malaria medicine. Like the gin-and-tonic drunk by the English brigade in India, this health aid soon became a popular drink. Like Campari, Dubonnet is more commonly enjoyed in Europe than the States --- again, one more reason to imbibe. (“Trendy” is not always better…)

You can leave your imprint on history by submitting your own Dubonnet cocktail to www.doyoudubonnet.com. After all, if its good enough for Her Majesty, what are you holding out for?

Celebrity Sips - "Sarah Marshall"

What better way to heal a broken heart (or celebrate a new hook up) than with bottle after bottle of wine? If you pay attention, you'll notice the cast of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (from the creators of "Knocked Up") does just that with some juicy and delicious Clos du Val.

Their vino of choice even made it onto IMDB, and you can catch some bottles in the background if you watch the trailer. Just watch the trailer, anyway. Its good for a giggle, and definitely makes me want to escape into a dark theater... (I may just smuggle in a bottle of wine, too, for that matter...)

Celebrity Sips

What Jay-Z’s Got... (Served With A Twist...)

Jay-Z’s slick video “Show Me What You Got” hit airwaves, last fall, and got chins wagging. On the heels of Cristal champagne snubbing loyal rappers singing its praises, the hip-hop mogul sent a little “up yours!” message of his own.

The Economist quotes Federic Rouzaud (Managing Director of Cristal producer Louis Roederer) inferring discontent with the less-than-classy rap industry as clientele, “We can’t forbid people from buying it. I’m sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.”

Multi-platinum recording star, music producer and nightclub owner, Jay-Z retorted that Rouzaud’s comments were racist, and boycotted the brand, banishing Cristal from his famous 40 / 40 club and replacing it with little-known (though, now, infamous) Armand de Brignac, produced by a small, French, 200 year-old family-owned vineyard.

When Jay-Z highlighted the gold bottle bearing the “Ace” logo in that first video off Kingdom Come, released last fall, rumors started flying. Many speculated that Jay-Z owned the champagne company, which ignited intrigue in both the hip-hop and liquor industries, as demonstrated in these articles in Prohiphop and Business Week. More serious (and decidedly less pop-culture friendly) publications, such as the Washington Post dismissed the hulla-baloo but none-the-less had something to say about it.

I decided to follow up and find out, for myself, what the current status is. Does Jay-Z own the brand, or merely a fan? How exactly are “Ace” and the rap star related? Scott Cohen, Director of Marketing for Armand de Brignac, was kind enough to reply to my inquiry and give me this response:

"Obviously we were very happy to have Jay show our brand in his video for “Show Me What You Got” last year; it’s certainly led to great things for the product, although we cannot meet the demand due to the very limited, all hand-made production process. Despite all of the attention, we would not compromise the quality of the brand in order to produce higher volume. Jay-Z is not affiliated with the brand (in terms of ownership or paid endorsement) at this time, and we have not been informed of any forthcoming videos in which he plans to show off Armand’s bottle."

But... here is a little Sipster Secret...

Despite all this whirlwind of media speculation as to which champagne Jay-Z drinks, I learned (from a source I swore to keep anonymous) that the Def Jam CEO isn't even partial to bubbly.

His drink of choice? Belvedere Vodka. When it comes to a cocktail, THAT is what Jay-Z's got...

Celebrity Sips

Rebecca Gayheart Gets Cozy at Abode

Red carpets, famous faces, paparazzi hiding in bushes - in LA, attending a restaurant opening is not too different from attending a movie premiere.

Take, for instance, the splashy, flashy opening of Santa Monica's lovely Abode Restaurant and Lounge, in April. The wall-to-wall glamorous crowd included actors, musicians and high-end beach dwellers.

I hear that TV and movie actress, Rebecca Gayheart (pictured here with Abode's owners, Anastasia and Kelly) particularly enjoyed their green tea martini made with tea, St. Germain Elderflower liqueur and topped with edible flowers. (It's one of my westside faves, too!)

Subscribe to The Liquid Muse Cocktail of the Week to get the full recipe - and a drink special just for mentioning The Liquid Muse...!

Celebrity Sips

Ivanka Trump, Bringing "Classy" Back...

On my way back to California, from covering the Vodka Cup competition in Finland, I changed planes at JFK in New York. Joie (also an LA resident on the trip) and I were at the United stand, checking in, when a glamorous creature wafted up to the counter, inquiring if there were any seats left in First Class because she had a friend who wanted to join her on the flight to LA. (Of course there were seats - who would say "no" to a Trump?)

Joie and I had both woken up at 4-something, that morning, in Lapland. We had endured a 2-hour busride, a 2-hour flight from a tiny airport near the Arctic Circle to Helsinki, and an 8-hour flight from Helsinki to NY. Speaking for myself, I was exhausted, stinky (wearing the same three pairs of socks for about 4 days, the same 2 pairs of long johns, the same cuddly, warm turtleneck and my now stained-and-filthy pants. I had bags under my eyes, the beginnings of a cough and, of course, my 2-inch roots.

Ivanka, a vision of all that a socialite should be, wore elegant, tight-fitting leather boots, a fabulous emerald green coat, had perfect make-up and hair, and a dazzling whiter-than-nature-can-create smile. To make matters worse, it was impossible to "hate her because she's beautiful" (and wealthy) due to her impeccable manners, friendly attitude and non-Diva demeanor. And, trust me, at that moment, feeling like an absolute toad next to this vision of everything Manhattan and Hollywood, rolled into one (who surely had enjoyed a full night's sleep, to boot) I wanted to hate her.

While so many celebs are spoiled, taudry and wreak of unbearably rotted personalities, Ivanka says "please" and "thank you," and treats people (like the United check-in lady) with respect. She happened to be next to me again, when boarding the plane, and she made jokes with other passengers in line and chatted merrily with the "mystery friend" on the phone, for whom she bought the ticket, asking if he/she would make the flight on time.

If I were a gossip columnist, I may have snapped a pic with my cell or made a point of spying on the poor lass, gathering any juicy detail with which to smear her name in cyberspace. However, I am a cocktail, travel, lifestyle journalist, and luckily such acts of desperation do not fall into my job-description.

What I do wish to share about Ms. Trump, as it relates to cocktails, is that her pops has created their own brand of vodka. I first heard about Trump Vodka last year, and made a vain attempt at getting a sample and more info, in order to blog about it on The Liquid Muse. However, this seems like the perfect opportunity to bring up the subject, and ask if any of you in Sipsterland have tasted it? If so, please comment below. I'd love to hear what you think of it...

And, in the meantime, I'm happy to report my newfound respect for Daddy's Little Girl. I might even start watching The Apprentice again...