I've been HAD!

So, I was perusing the liquor store, as I am apt to do, making sure I haven't missed anything new and exciting. This is exactly how I found that my local ABC store had started carrying Lemoncello. With positive reinforcement like that, I'm not likely to stop now.

During the perusal, I spotted a beautiful bottle filled with pink elixir. You can see how I romanticize the liquor store.

"NUVO", it fairly called to me from across the way. "Sparkling Vodka Liqeur from Paris". Ooh! And the fact that it comes in what looks like a perfume bottle made it that much more irresistable. $19.99? A small price to pay to join the aristocracy of the sparkling-wine-mixed-with-vodka kingdom.

Taking my find to the counter, I was careful to separate it from the other bottles so it would not become sullied by their commonness. I already knew that this would become my special "Summer 2009 Cocktail" and felt a sense of it's high standing among the others in the portion of my freezer dedicated to spirits. As the man in front of me payed for his purchases, I dreamt of ways to serve this liquid pleasure, which it was surely to become. What kind of glass? How would I garnish? Presentation was whisking me away when the clerk asked for my debit card.

I brought my bottle of promise from the car straight to the fridge, and waited for it to become chilled. I readied two elegant champagne glasses so I my husband and I could toast one another in sheer pink fizzy delight. I retrieved the beautiful vessel from the fridge, presented it to my huband for his review and approval, and poured. My anticipation was met with a noseful of bubbly fruitiness that only enhanced my senses. I felt my salivary glands enter into production, I took a deep breath, and raised the glass to my moistened Nectar Nude Super Shiny glossed lips, parting them just enough to allow a trickle of the promised fruit of the vine into my mouth.

I held it there for a moment, allowing it to tickle my tongue and blanket each now-plumped taste bud. I opened my eyes to look at the love of my life, who said exactly what I was thinking:

Well, hell! This tastes just like a bottle of
$4 Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill.

The bottle now sits in the back corner of the fridge, being punished for it's deceipt and mockery of me. Luckily, I had a chilled bottle of Lemoncello to ease my disappointment. In the meantime, I will not again be fooled by pretty bottles, vague names and cool label fonts.

Well, not THIS week, anyway.