And then we found an old juice bottle in the basement that was actually full of Galliano, and then it became a very merry Christmas indeed.

My sister, displaying wisdom beyond her scant 19 years, thoughtfully got me a giant book entitled “501 Must-Drink Cocktails!” for Christmas.  So with the Christmas Miracle Galliano, this is what I made:

The Moon River

1/2 measure dry gin

1/2 measure Cointreau

1/2 measure apricot brandy

1/4 measure Galliano

1/4 measure lemon juice

Pour over ice, stir, strain into a cocktail glass.

And that is what I am sipping as I sit here editing html for the scholarly journal, possibly not the wisest choice of beverage to accompany my editorly duties, but, heck, it’s the holidays, let’s throw caution to the wind!

Hilarious, and unrelated:  I put out an ISO for Christmas movies about Los Angeles, and the majority opinion seems to be that the best one is Die Hard.  Personally, I prefer L.A. Confidential, but what do I know?  I think, though, that my Gentleman Caller’s pick – Edward Scissorhands – trumps them all, even though it’s really set in Fantasy Bizzarro-World Burbank, not really in L.A. proper.  But that magical combination of artifice and dreaminess really is what Los Angeles is all about.