Gordon's Makes Us Drunk

Gordon's makes us very drunk too. And with Valentine's Day around the corner, for one of the ladies at least the only thing for it is to get very drunk. But before she does, she just wanted to share this delightful homage to Gordon's Gin by artists Gilbert and George. A love story indeed.

Going Gin in Hồ Chí Minh

As you will know, one of our number has been travelling the globe at some not inconsiderable distance – presumably you’ve read my co-Lady’s post about Cuba so you ought to have gathered that this is the one about Vietnam.

As I travelled the length and breadth of Vietnam with my current beau (soaking up the sun in Saigon, having a high time in Hanoi… ok ok, here endeth the awful alliteration) it became apparent to me that we had seen only Gordon’s throughout Vietnam. It might even have been the super strength version that they’re allowed outside this country in the big wide world… the one with red and yellow branding… yeah.

As fabulous as Gordon’s is, it was with some significant relief that we arrived in Hồ Chí Minh and went for a little cocktail at the Sheraton Hotel. Of the eight restaurants, drinking holes and lounges at the Sheraton we opted for the rooftop bar where we drank several delightful Bombay Sapphire’s with tonic, and lime, I was pleased to note. As we looked out over the twinkling lights of Hồ Chí Minh there really was nothing more a Lady could ask for... Apart from another round.

Onwards, from Hồ Chí Minh to the tropical island of Phu Quoc where dined on the beach every night and slept in a delightfully simple wooden hut (amidst the quite frankly terrifying noises of the jungle I hasten to add) – and this is where the splendid game of gin rummy was discovered. If you haven’t opened your mind to this brilliantly named game already you must down tools immediately and follow these instructions to learn it. I discovered that I have a natural penchant for the game, and when there’s gin involved… well, I don’t even need to elaborate. Several rounds in things were getting a bit messy, at which point my handsome companion (yes, still the same one) called me obstreperous (someone can’t handle their gin) and I proceeded to ‘go gin’ – the point at when a player achieves the best possible outcome of the game – a bonus of 25 points. But then, us ladies always win when we 'go gin'.

The Ginternet Movie Database

The Ladies of The Lane have, as ever, fully immersed themselves in Awards season.  We were of course delighted to be invited to the Golden Globes (this is a fib) - it was a wonderful night - and we are very much looking forward to attending the Oscars (this is too).  Our vintage Valentino couture gowns have been steamed to within an inch of their lives, and we've had the help polish our Chopard diamonds special like.

All that's left is to sit back and await the big night.  This lead us to thinking about gin, of course, but gin in Hollywood, so we've compiled a list of our favourite Hollywood gin references for you.  We'd like to thank our families, Miller's, Hendrick's, Bombay Sapphire, and of course the Academy.

 

I'm No Angel (1933)

Mae West's character Tira is caught up in an elaborate thievery plot, "Like an olive in a dry martini".

 

The Thin Man (1934)

Nominated for 4 Oscars

According to Nick Charles (played by William Powell), "a dry martini you always shake to Waltz time."

 

After Office Hours (1935)

A gratuitous excuse to mention the glorious Clark Gable and Constance Bennett, who spend a fabulous proportion of the movie drinking dry martinis with one olive.

 

Every Day's A Holiday (1937)

Nominated for 1 Oscar

Another Mae West film, here Charles Butterworth tells Charles Winninger, "You ought to get out of those wet clothes and into a dry martini."  This famous phrase was repeated in 'The Major and The Minor' (1942) - when Robert Benchley asks Ginger Rogers, "why don't you get out of that wet coat and into a dry martini".

 

Dark Victory (1939)

Nominated for 3 Oscars

Bette Davis favours the 'Pink Gin' cocktail in this film.  Here's how to drink like Bette:

1. Swish 3 dashes of Agnostura Bitters around a chilled martini glass. 

2. Pour in 2 measures of chilled gin.  

3. Drink.

Casablanca (1942)

Winner of 3 Oscars, Nominated for a further 5 Oscars

Rick (Humphrey Bogart): "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine."

Dr. No (1962)

Winner of 1 Golden Globe

You knew it was coming - Bond, James Bond.  The classic "Shaken, not stirred" line was first mentioned in 1962's 'Dr. No', but not ordered by Bond himself until 'Goldfinger' in 1964.  Of course we all know that this 'ere is a vodka martini - two words which shouldn't really be placed together, in our opinion.

Withnail & I (1987)

Withnail (Richard E Grant): "Two large gins, two pints of cider. Ice in the cider."

 

Vanilla Sky (2001)

Nominated for 1 Oscar, 2 Golden Globes, and 1 Grammy

Sofia (Penelope Cruz): "I think she's the saddest girl to ever hold a martini."