Tell us about your first drink

KM: My parents used to give me little sips of Guinness as a nipper. They’d given it to my mother after she’d given birth to me so I was practically weaned on the stuff. Must be my Irish blood!

MP: Being Italian, I started having little sips of my parents’ wine as a two or three-year-old on Sundays after lunch. But the first time I got quite tipsy was at the age of 12, after eating too large a portion of my mum’s rum-laced trifle.

SO: That would have to be a glass of Cinzano and lemonade in summer, with my mum. I was about 15 at the time. We were sat in the garden in the sun and my mum let me have a sip of her drink. I liked it so much she poured me one. We still like to share that drink together.

Marcella, you’re from Bologna. Are you partial to the occasional Amaro Montenegro?

MP: Yes, and also Averna. They are both great after dinner. I also love a shot of Sambuca in my coffee – though not in the morning.

What about Stephanie and Kate? Are you dry Martini and canapés, or lager and a packet of crisps?

SO: I love a good Mojito but it has to be done just right – I like cocktails with a sweet edge and nothing too acidic or citrus. And once I have a good cocktail in my hand, the canapés have to follow!

KM: I am partial to starting with an aperitif of bone-dry sherry or a Hendricks and tonic, with cucumber. Canapés would be good. And then on to a nice bottle of Syrah or Malbec – something gutsy with supper. All depends on the food though. The drink follows.

If we’re feeling a little cheeky, we tend to ask the audience if they’ll get us a brandy each. (For medicinal purposes…)

Your music has a lot of retro charm – is there any old-school drink you’d like to see brought back?

MP: Yes, Maraschino!

KM: Mint Juleps! They are fantastic. And so old school.

SO: The Bronx cocktail is a great tipple from the early ’30s – one of the most perfect Martinis.

Have you ever performed with a glass of wine (or gin) in your hand?

MP: I believe I may have gone to the bar for a quick glass of brandy on a few occasions, during a particularly long guitar solo.

KM: If we’re feeling a little cheeky, we tend to ask the audience if they’ll get us a brandy each. (For medicinal purposes…)

Your second album was entitled ‘The Rise and Fall of Ruby Woo’ – sounds like the perfect name for a cocktail. Could you suggest some ingredients?

SO: That’s quite true! Hmmm … there would have to be a flash of red in there somewhere to signify the ‘Ruby’ shade of our lipstick, so maybe some puréed strawberries. To incorporate the ‘Woo’, there should be something that gives the drink a romantic edge – maybe a dash of Martini and a few rose petals. And for pure glamour, it must be served in a Martini glass with an edible gold gilt rim!

MP: Vodka, Amaretto, grenadine, lime and ginger beer. Probably disgusting, but I’d drink it.

What’s the weirdest drink you’ve ever bought?

KM: That’d probably have to be one of my cocktail concoctions. I tried to make a Piña Colada once and got a little carried away with the Angostura bitters. Haven’t been able to touch a Piña Colada since.

MP: A Holy Smoke cocktail: leather-infused whisky with incense.

SO: The weirdest and nicest was a Brazilian Coconut Martini. It was made of Brazilian coconut water, Leblon cachaça, Koko Kanu and Frangelico, with a cherry 
on the top!

Any tips and remedies for a morning after a night of excess?

SO: Absolutely, and in the following order: a pint of water mixed with Berocca. A banana. A very strong coffee. Then, by late afternoon, when your appetite is back with a vengeance, a lunch of the most satisfying kind, like a roast dinner.

KM: A spicy Bloody Mary and a burger. It’s the only known cure.

MP: A very sweet cup of Earl Grey tea with lemon, and a cooked breakfast.

What drink should we kick back with while listening to ‘Hollywood’?

MP: A Martini, very dry – like Bette Davis in All About Eve.

SO: Champagne, of course!

KM: Yes, a nice bottle of champers. I’m partial to a drop of Bolly myself.

As a condemned woman, awaiting your fate, your last drink would be …?

KM: A crate of Bolly. Then you wouldn’t be aware of any impending doom.

MP: I’d probably ask to be left in the bar for an hour or two. Best to face one’s fate after a few self-prepared cocktails.

SO: That would be the world’s finest champagne, which I would open in a victorious fashion, using a sabre to slice the top off, and then I would make a toast to the end!

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Me and my drinking is from the ‘Aperitif’ section of Hot Rum Cow which is available to buy from our shop.

 

 

 

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