Deena's Valentine's Day Cocktail

As relevant NOW (2024) as it was then (2018)

THE BLACK HEART

Here's a Valentines day message from Deena - proprietor and bartender extraordinaire at the Neighborhood bar.

Well here it is Valentine’s day. At my age, and I have lived a somewhat interesting life to date, if you don’t have some regrets…. Well you are delusional.

I’ve discovered that most of the ladies/gentlemen (for some are both ladies AND gentlemen), and others in my circles tend to be somewhat disenfranchised on this crazy day.

Valentines for the disenfranchised can only be observed, not celebrated, in the company of other disenfranchised souls at a warm and cozy neighborhood watering hole. Here at Deena bar, the Black Heart is the “Drink of the Day”. And yes, day drinking today is "de riguer" as they say in France.

Tales of the road to perdition must be told, secrets revealed and hidden depths of unplumbed bizzareness wrenched into the cold light of day.

It would be really good if somebody drunk dials a former lover at 3 PM and sings “Desperado”. Sometimes that happens.

So, wherever you are, order up a big platter of fried carb-laden something and partake of this Valentine’s day libation. It can carry you all the way to St. Paddy’s, when as I’ve said before, it is indeed OK to drink, cry and fight. If they don’t serve this at the place where you are, ask the bartender to give you the ingredients and make your own.

THE BLACK HEART

Champagne or other bubbly white wine.

(Most bars will have champagne split specials on V day)

Stout Dark Beer – Guinness (needs to be chilled – not warm like “over there”)

Any sort of a glass will do — from your basic pint glass to a wine glass to a champagne flute if you are feeling classy. It only needs to be tall.

Fill the tall glass ½ way with the bubbly – float the chilled beer on top. The different densities of the liquids (AH – Chemistry! – Just like love!) will cause them to remain in separate layers with the dark on top and the light on the bottom.

If you pour the beer over an upside down spoon it will run gently down the sides of the glass and make the layers more apparent.