Two for the Road and Don't Get Lost...

For this week's column, I'd like to incorporate the new season of Lost,because frankly, I can't think of anything else. Like all of geekdom (and a few cool people too), I am gathering my wits, turning away fromBattlestar Galactica reruns, and preparing for tonight's season premier of Lost. But it's not enough just to sit back and be pleasantly perplexed at the infinite jest of this series.

The question is: can I get a cocktail column out it? Isn't everyone writing a piece on Lost and the magical J.J. Abrams/Damon Lindeloff/Carlton Cuse trio? Won't everyone be happy with just a couple of Dharma beers tonight at the season kick-off?

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I'd like to think not, but how can this work? It's not as if everyone is walking the island like they are in a Noel Coward play, tossing a cocktail shaker until the outside is nice and frosty! Except…we're forgetting about someone very important. Someone whose presence, or lack thereof, will hopefully be explained this coming season: Doctor Christian Shephard. It's in his large footsteps that his son, main character Jack Shephard, learned some of his hard-drinking ways.

So we'll time travel back to Season Two's "Two for the Road," the episode where poor Ana Lucia meets up with Papa Shephard back in Australia. As the fates would have it, they bump into each other chasing down a few in the airport bar. Ana orders a tequila and tonic. Not much to comment on there, except for the necessity of a fresh lime in such a choice. I do think that the fact that she drinks it without ice speaks volumes about Ana Lucia and her anti-social behavior. It will ultimately prove to be her undoing.

What was Doc Shep drinking? I hear from Lost World that it was bourbon.

Although he was probably downing a couple of quick Scotches, let me suggest… wait for it… it's perfect… The Blood and Sand! Though it was named for the 1922 Rudolf Valentino movie about bullfighting, I can't think of two more superb words to describe the feeling of Lost — blood and the sand of that infernal island.

In keeping with Doc Shephard's Scotch, the Blood and Sand is one of few Scotch cocktails. More well known are, of course, the Rusty Nail (Scotch and Drambuie) and the Rob Roy (a Manhattan made with Scotch rather than rye). The Blood and Sand is more tasty than either of those and perfect for a cocktail party. And is there any better reason to have a cocktail party than the beginning of the end for Lost?

The Blood and Sand:

1 oz. Scotch
1 oz. orange juice
3/4 oz. Cherry Heering
3/4 oz. sweet vermouth

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Enjoy. To paraphrase a favorite character, Hurley: maybe if we get drunk enough, we'll remember where we know each other from.

p.s. as always, this blog encourages responsible drinking! Not Christian Shephard drinking.