Overheard in Dublin

So my lady and I were in Dublin last month to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and I was reminded of how loud Americans sound when they're on holiday. Last May in Florence there were hundreds of be-flipflopped American college girls rhapsodizing about how they loved Italy because they were, like, so into the Renaissance. In Dublin we heard "I fucking love Spar.* Spar is the shizzle." Yep, these are my poeple.

* Spar is a cheap grocery/convenience store chain with outlets throughout Europe.

Mixology

Last Saturday I was standing in a liquor store regarding my choice of vodka, which I intended to purchase for use in making White Russians. Overwhelmed by the variety, my eye settled on Absolut Raspberry vodka, and I thought "A White Russian with raspberry flavoring would be revolting". Then, the more I thought about it, the more tasty that drink sounded to me, until I ended up persuading myself to buy the Absolut Raspberry.

At home that night, I made a tall glass of raspberry-flavored White Russian. But first -- what to call it? I racked my brain to think of a raspberry-and-Russian-themed name and found none, but fortunately my fiancee was up to the task. Ladies and gentlemen, the drink is called a Rasputin.

(Sadly, the drink tasted a bit strange; the raspberry flavoring dominates at first, then the coffee flavor from the Kahlua kicks in and lingers. I was hoping for a happy marriage of the two, producing a creamy and delicious new taste. Alas.)