There is nothing more meaningful than a well-stated toast at a special occasion.  Think weddings, engagement parties, anniversary celebrations, and promotion dinners.

But toasts can be enjoyed anytime.  Mike and I love to make toasts and generally find an excuse to make them at least once a week.  Water, tea or soda may be in our glasses, but good cheer is in our hearts!

I have a friend that has some great memorized toasts such as one about an eagle and a cleverly stated one about…let’s just say a friendship gone bad.  I learned one in college from a fraternity, but you have to be with really close friends to repeat it.  Another friend had a bilingual toast that ended with an empty wine glass on her head (I should have written that one down).

Have you ever heard the toast, “Here’s mud in your eye”?  How about, “Bottoms Up,” “Here’s to You,” or “Here’s looking at you?”  Do you know what they mean?  They are all well wishes generally said before clinking glasses and taking a drink.  Specifically, they mean:

“Bottoms Up,”  refers to turning your glass up to drink, thus showing the bottom of your glass.

“Here’s to You,” of course is a well wish to the listeners or honored guest.

“Here’s Mud in Your Eye,” is a bit of a mystery.  The origin is questionable and could include the Bible, horse racing, farming, military, good wishes, and bad wishes, just to name a few!  Mud could also be the dregs of a wine bottle.  So, if you are wished mud in your eye, it would be referring to you emptying your glass/bottle.

“Here’s Looking at You,” (with or without “kid” on the end), yes we all think of Casa Blanca when we hear this.  This was a bit of an adlib on the part of Humphrey Bogart during the filming.  It was a take off from “Here’s to you,” but underscores his character’s admiration for  Ingrid Bergman’s character. Of course, it could mean he could look at her through the bottom of an empty glass, but who knows!

And don’t forget the traditional responses to a toast, such as:  “I’ll drink to that,” “Hear hear, ” and “Salud,” meaning I agree, hear him (as in the person who just gave the toast), and good health, respectively.

So go ahead, toast every positive thing you can think of.  Good health and good wishes are great places to start, but there are so many interesting toasts out there!  Why not make every day and every meal a celebration!  Cheers!