Photo: Claire Lower
“I met her in a club down in Old Soho, where they drink Champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola” isn’t my favorite Ray Davies lyric, but it’s certainly memorable. I’ve never had a sparkling wine that tasted just like cherry cola, but I have now had a beverage that tastes kind of like that Ray Davies lyric, and I owe it all to Tom Hanks.
“The Diet Cokagne” - Tom Hanks Pours Stephen The New Cocktail He Invented
About a week ago, Mr. Hanks went on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote his new film and share his new favorite adult beverage: The Diet Cokagne. Like myself, Tom doesn’t drink all that much alcohol, but he does drink a lot of Diet Coke and, during a particularly festive moment, asked for a “shot” of sparkling wine to be added to his soda, creating a truly original beverage.
Of course I had to try it. I consider Diet Coke to be the Champagne of Soda—both are excellent, bubbly palate cleansers that pair well with fatty, greasy food, and life’s special moments. Beyond being a huge fan of Diet Coke, I’m also a fairly large fan of wine and soda, particularly in the form of a kalimotxo, a combination of Coca-Cola Classic and red wine. However, I was skeptical that Cokagne (Diet or otherwise) would be anything but disgusting. But it’s not disgusting. It’s actually kind of delightful.
I made two versions of the drink—one with Coca-Cola Classic and one with my preferred beverage, Diet Coke. For the bubbles, I used the Trader Joe’s Blanc de Blancs, a seven-dollar French sparkling wine that is super dry and tastes way better than it should at that price point. (Hanks and Colbert opted for Veuve Clicquot, but I do not have casual Veuve Clicquot money.) Unlike the mimosa, or any other cocktail that calls for mixing sparkling wine with a flat beverage, the Cokagne is aggressively effervescent, as both beverages are quite bubbly, so we’re off to a great start.
As Tom promises, both the Diet and regular Cokagnes were a beautiful amber color, but their flavor profiles were pretty different. The Diet Cokagne was surprisingly fruity; from the first sip, I felt like I finally knew what Ray Davies was singing about. It almost had a Martinelli’s quality—a little apple-y, with a hint of cherry syrup. As someone with a three-can daily Diet Coke habit, my palate is quite accustomed to aspartame, but the wine really seemed to obscure the cool bite of the artificial sweetener. It was startlingly easy to drink.
The Cokagne made with Coke Classic tasted like a dryer, brighter, slightly fruity cola, which is to say, pretty freaking good. If mixing bubbly with Coke is too uncouth for you, you should at least try a Champagne cocktail with cola bitters—but give the original a go, for the novelty if nothing else. Much like Tom Hanks himself, the beverage is utterly charming and accessible.
