Unicorn Tears

Guys, my glassware/bar ware habit is getting out of hand. Even after donating like 4 boxes of stuff to Good Will, I am quickly running out of space (read: have already run out of space but am in denial) to store all of the new glasses and bottles I keep buying.

My most recent purchase? Super long-stemmed fishbowl wine glasses (FYI, if you’re as wild about C&B as I am, take advantage of their coupons), which Buzzfeed tells me are the same ones that Olivia Pope uses to feed her drinking habit on Scandal.

I set out to just order the 23oz red wine glasses, but then I thought “you know, the 13oz white wine glasses are super cute too, and they match the red wine glasses, and I like white wine a lot, so….” So I went ahead and ordered them too.

Self control – I’ve got it.

But you know, I really needed more glassware. If I don’t have the proper drinking implements, how can I take advantage of my favorite new holiday purchase? Check out that fully loaded bar cart! It’s just begging for some kick ass bar ware to accessorize that top shelf and/or plunder the contents of the bottom shelf.

Which is why, even though I’ve been put on a shopping moratorium by my darling husband, I’m ringing in the new year with Red Envelope…window shopping, of course (wink wink). They’ve got an absolutely amazing selection of bar stuff – there are things on the website that I didn’t know existed before but absolutely must have now that I’ve seen them.

I wonder if I can convince Dan to lift his shopping ban if I offer to buy him this personalizable beer holster…

OK OK, lets move past my glassware addiction and focus on today’s post – Unicorn Tears. Obviously (I hope), these are not tears harvested from a crying unicorn. No mythical creatures were harmed in the making of this post. Promise. It’s just a fancy name for a tasty champagne cocktail inspired by a drink with the same name that I had once at my favorite bar in DC.

I’ve had many tasty drinks at the Gibson, but the Unicorn Tears cocktail I had my first time there is absolutely the most delicious drink I’ve ever had, there or elsewhere. Sadly, I cannot for the life of me remember what ingredients went into it (I didn’t have the foresight to sneak a picture of the drink menu), but a quick search online yielded a Yelp review that described the drink as “some sort of fizzy raspberry, mango and gin concoction.”

OK. It’s not much, but I can work with that!

Based on that Yelp reviewer’s description, I settled on the following ingredients at the liquor store: Chombard, St. Germaine, Peach Schnapps, gin, and Prosecco. I’m sure The Gibson’s version involves many more fancy cocktail ingredients I don’t know what to do with (seriously – can someone tell me what a bitter is?), and a whole lot more razzle dazzle, but hey – this is the best I could come up with!

Plus, I figured with those things I could definitely make a sweet gin-based drink that was fizzy and tasted like raspberries and peaches (not mango, but I feel like a lot of times the artificial flavorings of the two taste similar). Not an exact replica, but a tasty enough imitation.

And these Unicorn Tears were definitely tasty. Not magical or life altering or anything, like I imagine actual unicorn tears would be (or maybe I’m thinking of Phoenix tears…nerd alert), but I really liked them. Fizzy, sweet (not too sweet, thanks to the drier tasting Prosecco I opted to use instead of my usual sweet BJ’s champagne), full of fruity flavor, and very refreshing. Also, really pretty and festive-looking, don’t you think? Definitely a great drink to usher in the new year.

Oh, and uh, guys? These babies are lethal. I had two of them thinking “oh, 1 shot of gin is like nothing”, and found myself collapsed on the couch, tipsy as hell, 30 minutes later. Yup…I forgot that even though gin is the only liquor that can be detected in each glass, literally every single ingredient in this cocktail is boozy. Funnnn times.

Happy almost-2014, everyone!