Ouzo and Pernod

I am going Bottom crazy! Rik Mayall is my new God!!!! He shamed even the black-hearted Blackadder into being green with envy. But as the incredibly stupid, effeminate Richie Richard, he’s stolen my heart. :)

Love is blind, they say, and I indeed have followed Rik and Ade into some of the craziest things imaginable. In the second series of Bottom, Rik and Ade try to infuse their sad lives with some culture. Being unable to afford to make sophisticated vodka martinis, they throw together everything alcoholic in their flat – in this case, half a bottle of ouzo, and a wee bit of Pernod. They substitute some marmalade for cherries, and throw in some salt for some added "Hollywood" effect. The result is a shady concoction that they christen the "Esther Rantzen".

They drank it up. And I followed suit. I made the exact same near-deadly cocktail. It is bloody difficult to get any ouzo or Pernod in the US, or at least in Iowa. The people at Hy-Vee looked at me as though I was crazy. And no doubt they would. Imagine me asking some silly college kids who get drunk almost every night about an alcohol that they have never heard of!!!! In any case, after some searching I found the stuff in one of the food aisles, and was finally able to make the "Esther Rantzen". My love for Rik does not however blind me enough to have a repeat performance. So now I am left with a bottle of ouzo, a bottle of Pernod, and a jar of marmalade that I know not what to do with. It was fun though. Rik, ta very much!