Domaine de Canton | Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails

Posts Tagged ‘Domaine de Canton’

What We’re Drinking: The Anna May Wong*

Posted in Weekly Dig, tagged Anna May Wong, Chinese New Year, Domaine de Canton, ginger simple syrup, Myers + Chang, sparkling cocktails, sparkling wine, Valentine's Day, yuzu on February 11, 2010| 1 Comment »

*The latest ruminations from LUPEC Boston, in case you missed them in The Weekly Dig.

by Pink Lady

This Sunday, sweethearts around the country will snuggle up to celebrate Valentine’s Day—that grand pink-and-red celebration of love. Another holiday typically swathed in rouge also happens to fall on February 14th this year: Chinese New Year. Festivities last from the first through the 15th day of the lunar calendar, making Chinese New Year one of the longest and most important traditional Chinese holidays. Whichever holiday you celebrate on Sunday, LUPEC suggests you raise a glass of one of our own original cocktails: The Anna May Wong.

A few weeks back, we helped the fabulous staff of Myers + Chang come up with some specialty drinks for their New Year’s Eve Bash. Named after the first Chinese-American silent film actress, this cocktail was our suggested sparkler, made with Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur, yuzu, ginger simple syrup and sparkling wine. Bubbly, festive, with warm ginger flavors and a romantic namesake, the drink can do double as you hunker down with your sweetie for V-Day/hang a red lantern and ring in the Chinese New Year.

Anna May Wong was a trailblazing lass: She was the first Chinese-American movie star, an international celebrity and fashion icon. She got her start in silent films in the 1920s, acted in talkies in the 1930s, starring alongside the likes of Marlene Dietrich, and even starred in her own small-screen show in the 1950s, the first US television show to feature an Asian-American actress as its star.

Wong faced considerable challenges throughout her career due to the overt racism and discrimination of her time. Antimiscegenation laws prohibited her from sharing a kiss with any European-American actors, which locked her out of leading-lady roles in the silent film era. Throughout her career, she struggled with being typecast a dragon lady or demure butterfly. She achieved international fame nevertheless, and her public image as a Chinese-American starlet and fashionista made important inroads for generations to come. We see every reason to raise a glass in her honor today.

And to Chinese New Year. And Valentine’s Day.