Need a "lady like" mixed drink

Tornadoboy · May 11, 2006

I've got a reclusive female character whom likes to drink at home alone and is developing a problem with alcohol, I don't see her particularly liking beer or knocking back shots so I was wondering if someone could name for me an easy to make mixed drink that is popular with women in their early/mid 20's?
I've got a few ideas, namely drinks like White Russians, Margaritas and Martinis but I thought I'd throw the topic out there anyway because it might be fun to discuss and I'd like to find a plausable drink for her that's maybe funny and/or unusual.

rich · May 11, 2006

I knew a girl, French teacher, who drank like a fish; White Russians.

Melisande · May 11, 2006

I would suggest white wine.
I am a woman, I sometimes drink alone and when I do I have no longing for mixed, sweet concoctions. Sometimes I mix the wine with a soda of sorts and get a "Spritzer". Though not unusual or exciting, it still tastes good.

dahmnait · May 11, 2006

I'm a vodka girl, always have been. A few that I liked in my 20's, which was not too long ago (recipes from http://www.mixed-drink.com)

Harvey Wallbanger

1 oz Vodka
1/2 oz Galliano
4 oz Orange Juice
Ice

Pour vodka and orange juice into a glass filled with ice cubes. Stir and float Galliano on top.

Italian Screwdriver

1 1/4 oz Citrus Vodka
3 oz Orange Juice
1 1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1 splash Ginger Ale
Ice

Mix and pour into sugar-rimmed hurricane glass full of ice. Top with a lime wheel and a cherry.

Sea Breeze

2 oz. Vodka
3 oz. Grapefruit Juice
3 oz. Cranberry Juice

Mix all ingredients with cracked ice in a shaker and pour into chilled highball glass.

Desert Sunrise

1 1/4 oz Vodka
2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 1/2 oz Orange Juice
1 dash Grenadine
Ice

Shake all ingredients and pour into a glass full of crushed ice.

Bullfrog

1 1/2 oz Vodka
5 oz Lemonade
Ice

Pour into a glass 1/2 full of ice. Top with a wedge of lime.

Greyhound

1 1/2 oz Vodka
5 oz Grapefruit Juice
Ice

Pour into a glass 1/2 full of ice.

Anya Smith · May 11, 2006

Mimosa. That's champagne and orange juice.

I like it on parties because I can cheat; put just a little champagne and lots of juice. No one can tell the difference.

a_niki · May 11, 2006

I think it depends on the character, the location, and the generation. I'm assuming you're looking for a drink that could be "socially acceptable" to your character, something that could keep her in denial about her problem. My Greek grandmother drank whiskey. That was the socially-acceptable drink in Athens at the time. I wouldn't recommend that now, however. It's kind of hard-core drinking. Gin and tonics have been socially acceptable elsewhere, as are white wine spritzers today in cosmopolitan circles. Red wine is the socially acceptable drink in France, where I now live. That, and champagne.

paprikapink · May 11, 2006

Manhattan:

Bourbon, sweet vermouth, maraschino cherries (splash in a little cherry juice too). Only the most fabulous girls drink it. And once you get started, oh, it's hard to stop. A girl in her mid-twenties, actually, might not be sophisticated enough for this drink. Depends on your character. Maybe she'd be copying some hero....(that's where I got it.)

MadScientistMatt · May 11, 2006

Cosmopolitain.

2 oz vodka
1/2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz lime juice
1 oz cranberry juice

Or you could go for wine coolers, or even something like Zima or Boone's Farm depending on what kind of image you want to portray here.

Tornadoboy · May 11, 2006

a_niki said:
I think it depends on the character, the location, and the generation. I'm assuming you're looking for a drink that could be "socially acceptable" to your character, something that could keep her in denial about her problem. My Greek grandmother drank whiskey. That was the socially-acceptable drink in Athens at the time. I wouldn't recommend that now, however. It's kind of hard-core drinking. Gin and tonics have been socially acceptable elsewhere, as are white wine spritzers today in cosmopolitan circles. Red wine is the socially acceptable drink in France, where I now live. That, and champagne.

As far as her character she suffers from a social anxiety disorder, which one I haven't decided yet, and well as depression, maybe a certain level of PTSD and overall a rather feisty attitude and temper which gets away from her at times, as far as where and when this takes place its in present day Boston Massachusetts (or a nearby town).
White wine spritzers are an interesting idea but she would be, perhaps without even realizing it, drinking more and more to get falling down drunk and I don't know if plain old wine has enough punch to get the job done, at least the wine I'm familiar with doesn't seem to.
Given her reclusiveness and overall anal-retentive nature I thought of maybe making "Sex on the beach" her favorite drink to be funny but I think that's a little too heavy handed, however I would like there to be sort of a subtle, ironic and humorous twist behind the name.

Lady of Prose · May 11, 2006

Gin and Tonic with a lime twist...then if she is observed while out and wants to be evasive, she can always say Tonic water and justify it as truth...yep, my own experience!

eldragon · May 11, 2006

I've got a reclusive female character whom likes to drink at home alone and is developing a problem with alcohol, I don't see her particularly liking beer or knocking back shots so I was wondering if someone could name for me an easy to make mixed drink that is popular with women in their early/mid 20's?
I've got a few ideas, namely drinks like White Russians, Margaritas and Martinis but I thought I'd throw the topic out there anyway because it might be fun to discuss and I'd like to find a plausable drink for her that's maybe funny and/or unusual.

All the answers so far are good. I worked as a cocktail server for years, my suggestions are:

Screwdriver.
Vodka Tonic.
Gin Tonic.
White Russian.
Bloody Mary.
Fuzzy Naval.
White Wine Spritzer.
Champagne Cocktail.
Mimosa.
Vodka Martini on the rocks with a twist.
Baileys & coffee.
Frozen vodka.
Strawberry dacquiri.
Margarita on the rocks.

eldragon · May 11, 2006

White wine spritzers are an interesting idea but she would be, perhaps without even realizing it, drinking more and more to get falling down drunk and I don't know if plain old wine has enough punch to get the job done, at least the wine I'm familiar with doesn't seem to.

Oh, plenty of people drink wine and nothing but. It gets you stinking drunk. A person with a drinking problem will drink 3 or 4 bottles in one night - every night.

kikazaru · May 11, 2006

When my husband was out of town, I used to stop at the liquor store and by a half bottle of white wine (aprox the amount of 2 large glasses) and spend the evening in the tub, drinking wine and reading a book - turning the tap on with my toes to reheat when it got cool. It was a lovely way to while a way an evening and I can imagine a single girl doing the same.

Now I often buy Retsina, a Greek wine which I like very much because it has a "piney" taste that reminds me of gin. It comes in a bottle slightly larger than a beer so it will yield aprox 2 large glasses as well. Maybe your character has a yearning to go to Greece?

icerose · May 11, 2006

I don't drink but my neighbor always drank rum and coke. She was an alcoholic but anyone who didn't know her would never know because she always had a spiked coke can.

So if she is a closet alcoholic, I would suggest something like that. It is discreet and easy enough to hide.

Tornadoboy · May 11, 2006

eldragon said:
Oh, plenty of people drink wine and nothing but. It gets you stinking drunk. A person with a drinking problem will drink 3 or 4 bottles in one night - every night.

There must be something different about my chemistry or I chose the wrong white wine to drink, because the one time I went through a whole bottle by myself it had little effect, now a couple of rum and diet cokes on the other hand...
Pearl Harbors are a personal favorite, and its easy to drink way too many of them, and believe me... I know. :Headbang:

unthoughtknown · May 11, 2006

MadScientistMatt said:
Cosmopolitain.

2 oz vodka
1/2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz lime juice
1 oz cranberry juice

I was going to suggest Cosmopolitan, too, although it has kinda been made semi-famous by Carrie Bradshaw in SITC.

Shell · May 11, 2006

I always liked Amaretto Sours or Kahlua n Cream (a white russian without the vodka). Another thought - from the movie Groundhog Day, Andie McDowell's favorite drink was "sweet vermouth on the rocks with a twist".

Lee_OC · May 11, 2006

If she's drinking at home alone, I can't imagine her making herself a martini.

When I'm in the drink-at-home mood, it's either wine, beer, or vodka w/ cranberry juice. (Not that I have a drinking problem...ahem)

Melisande · May 11, 2006

If you wish to make her drinking habits more exotice, why not "The Emperor's Cocktail"?
It's Champagne and Cognac over a sugarcube with a couple of drops of Angostura, served in an iced Champagne flute glass. It's really very good, if made with the real french stuff. The Champagne goes straight to your head, the cognac to your knees and the whole world turns into a better place.
Though, this of course would mean that she has to be in the money, 'cause it aint cheap...

Tornadoboy · May 12, 2006

'Harvey Wallbangers' sound like a good name for her drink, I can picture her laying total hammered on her sofa and trying to explain things to my male protagonist:

He gestured towards the oversized, half-emptied pitcher looking conspicuous at the center of the coffee table.

"Oh that? Its the wurld's largist Harley Ballanger... hab sum!"

Although being a drink where you float one of the ingredients on the top, I don't know if it would be appropriate for making a pitcher full, but then again under those circumstances I doubt she'd care.

MadScientistMatt · May 12, 2006

jen.nifer said:
I was going to suggest Cosmopolitan, too, although it has kinda been made semi-famous by Carrie Bradshaw in SITC.

True, it's not obscure. I just listed it because it's my wife's favorite mixed drink.

One of my own favorite weird drinks is the Moscow Mule. Found it in a bartending guide that went to great lengths to point out cocktails that have gone out of fashion. It's a shot of vodka in a glass of ginger beer. Not ginger ale.

And of course, Miss Snark has her famous gin pail.

Tornadoboy · May 12, 2006

MadScientistMatt said:
It's a shot of vodka in a glass of ginger beer. Not ginger ale.

Yeah, unfortunately try to find ginger beer these days, I love the stuff but its next to impossible to find in my area.

:thankyou:

Congratulate me! I just reached 50 posts! :banana:

Stew21 · May 12, 2006

A socially acceptable (day time especially and alone as well), is a Bloody Mary. She can even justify the vitamins she's getting, she can drink them day or night.
That or a vodka tonic. Easy enough to make, vodka and tonic.

eldragon · May 12, 2006

If you wish to make her drinking habits more exotice, why not "The Emperor's Cocktail"?
It's Champagne and Cognac over a sugarcube with a couple of drops of Angostura, served in an iced Champagne flute glass. It's really very good, if made with the real french stuff. The Champagne goes straight to your head, the cognac to your knees and the whole world turns into a better place.
Though, this of course would mean that she has to be in the money, 'cause it aint cheap...

Which is similar to a champagne cocktail. A champagne cocktail uses a sugar cube .........soaked with bitters. (Angostura bitters). No cognac.

kayebee · May 12, 2006

It you're going for funny, I'd pick the mimosa--champagne, OJ, funny name, it's a winner. It's a good drink that a budding alcoholic could use to rationalize their drinking--

If you're looking for something "sophisticated" that a 20 something might drink--what about all those martini variants (appletini, crantini, chocotini), but I kinda agree with others that I'm not sure someone slipping into alcoholism would favor mixed drinks (seems like a lot of work).

Not to hijack this thread, but I'm wondering from your post if you're finding humor in alcoholism (or quasi-alcoholism). I'm writing a story with a minor character who is alcoholic and provides some comic relief--but I'm wondering if I should just cut her out, because maybe you just can't play alcoholism for laughs anymore?

Need a "lady like" mixed drink

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