We Got Spirits, Yes We Do

Shula's drink is perfection -- like '72 season.

Get the blues with the Absolute Perfection from Shula's on the Beach in Fort Lauderdale.

By Jaweed Kaleem

So the Dolphins didn't quite make it to the Super Bowl this year. We'll always have our memories of their perfect 1972 season.

To help you remember (or forget, as the case may be) former head coach Don Shula's restaurant chain has created the Dolphin-blue.

''It's not too sweet, and the white cranberry juice dilutes the taste just the right amount,'' says Greg Burkey, a bartender at Shula's on the Beach in Fort Lauderdale for 11 years. ``The perfection of what Coach Shula put into his team has now been put into the restaurant.''

D.Y.I.

* Fill a shaker 2/3 full with ice.

* Add 2 ounces Absolut Mandarin vodka, 1/2 ounce blue Curacao liqueur, 2 ounces white cranberry juice and 1/2 ounce simple syrup.

* Squeeze and drop in two lemon wedges.

* Shake seven seconds.

* Strain into a chilled martini glass.

* Garnish with a fresh orange slice.

Absolut Perfection is $14 at Shula's Steakhouse at the Alexander Hotel, 5225 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; Shula's on the Beach, 321 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, and the former coach's other restaurants; donshula.com.