Chic libations

The Giovanni Royale

Stoli Raspberry
Chambord
Veuve Clicquot
Fresh raspberries

--Stephen Smoak

Rue de Jean is quite possibly the best post-performance scenester spot during Spoleto. The kitchen stays open late, and Smoak, as he is called by the cognoscenti, is one of the city's best gentlemen bartenders. He gamely created the Giovanni Royale at my whim.

Tommy Baker, one of Rue's preeminent happy hour regulars, sampled and subsequently endorsed the cocktail earlier this evening. Incidentally, the drink matched Mr. Baker's dress shirt, which is painfully chic this time of year.