Cocktail Talk: Fletch and the Man Who
I don’t know too many kids who grew up when I did (in the 1980s, that is) who don’t have at least a little soft spot in their heart for the movie Fletch, starring Chevy Chase. And those that won’t admit it probably are all about pretending they’re a 10 years-younger-than-they-really-are hipster. Well, phooey on them. I’m not saying Fletch necessarily has aged all that well, but heck, I still get some laughs out of it. What I didn’t know back then, but know now, is that Fletch was actually in a pretty lengthy series of books by Gregory McDonald. I recently picked one up, for nostalgia and Chevy’s sake, and the book was all right—not great, a little aged, but okay. It did have one standout quote, though, which is below, and which mentions a “rum toff.” Anyone out there know what’s in a rum toff? C’mon, bar geniuses, let me know. I wanna have one, and toast Fletch and the 80s and say things like “You using the whole fist, Doc?”
‘You were in the motel bar last night?’
‘Yes. Drinking rum toffs.’
‘What’s a rum toff?’
‘Yummy.’
—Fletch and the Man Who, Gregory McDonald