Tasty Tuesday: Dracula&#39;s Kiss

Halloween is pretty much my favorite holiday. That's not really true. I kind of love all holidays. But Halloween is always loads of fun. And, sadly, I'll be in class this Halloween. So to get into the spirit early, this year I decided to finally finish reading Dracula. If you've been an avid reader, you'll know that I don't particularly love Twilight, but I do love me some vampire tales.

(If you haven't been an avid reader, I suggest you get with the program.)

I videotaped every rerun of Buffy when I was a freshman in high school. I watched True Blood religiously, until it got all weird (second season). I read the Vampire Diaries books and I DVR the show. And I did, in fact, read all of the Twilight novels because, terrible as they are, they suck you in (no pun intended).

(If you're at all interested in hearing my full rantings on Twilight just go here. And here. Oh, and here too. I think you probably get the picture.)

But, I have to say, one of the best vampire novels of all time and one of my personal favorites, is Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova, which is told from the perspective of a young girl that is searching for her missing father. (Without giving anything away, there's some connections to Dracula). The reason that this novel is so great is because it's not just about a vampire, but about the man who became the vampire. And because I'd never read Dracula, I felt like I was owing it to Kostova to read the inspiration for her masterpiece.

So, like I said, I finished Dracula last night. I tried to read it last summer but found some other shiny thing to distract me instead. But I'm glad I gave it another chance, because not only does it help me make better connections with the Historian, but so many other literary and cultural references as well. Not to mention, it is deliciously creepy.

So, in honor of Dracula, I present to you this cocktail recipe that I found at here.

Dracula's Kiss:

Dracula's Kiss is a haunting cocktail for Halloween parties. The drink creates two layers: the bottom is red with grenadine and the top is black with cola. Add spiders to the drink or hang them on the glass for a ghoulish finishing touch. Both Smirnoff and Effen make great black cherry vodkas. (I would stick to Effen, though, because Smirnoff always gives me heartburn).