Harmonie 12-ounce tumbler, Baccarat ($210 for set of two). Neiman Marcus, 9700 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, 310-550-5900. Silk bow tie, Salvatore Ferragamo ($180). 357 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-273-9990.
I think I had my first shot of tequila during a Peter Murphy concert at The Wiltern in 1990. Needless to say, I have virtually no memory of the concert and thought tequila was the strongest libation that had ever entered my system. I didn’t touch the stuff for almost two decades. It was only after a well-known actress friend of mine reintroduced me to tequila that I gave it another “shot.” During a Max Mara dinner at Chateau Marmont, she explained to me tequila was low in carbs and was the only drink I should ever touch. As this actress has both a rocking body and a great career, I followed her advice and inevitably giggled my way through dinner. After all, it was the height of the Atkins diet craze, and anything low in carbs just seemed healthy.
Around a year ago, I was at a “rubber-chicken” charity dinner and was fortunate enough to be seated next to a great art patron who pulled from her purse a bottle of what appeared to be Fiji Water encased in an ice pack. She didn’t touch her dinner but nursed her drink, which clearly wasn’t H2O. She poured me a glass that I sipped over ice. Drinking it slowly, I didn’t hallucinate like my experience 22 years ago at The Wiltern—I just felt great.
Thereafter, I solidified tequila as my drink of choice. I can sip a glass over the course of several hours—it loosens me up, and it doesn’t contribute to my expanding waistline. I never overindulge. Most important, I never wake up the next morning with regrets.
It seems, however, everyone has an embarrassing moment when tequila takes over, and I am not exempt. In this age of Twitter and Facebook, those moments are not necessarily fleeting, but rather permanent memories. Thus there is a photo of me floating around somewhere on the Internet in which I am sporting a red bow around my head as a result of downing too much tequila. One of life’s embarrassing moments captured forever, but of course it was a fun moment in the making!
For me, tequila is not to be mixed with any FDA-approved, color-enhanced blends, but enjoyed in a chilled tumbler over large ice cubes with a slice of lime (never squeezed, but merely for decoration). I promise you a good night and a hangover-free morning, but less is always more.
