Famous actor Tom Hanks (“Forrest Gump,” “Apollo 13,” “Saving Private Ryan”) made an appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on Tuesday and, among other things, shared a cocktail recipe. Hanks said that over the holidays, he visited Café Carlyle in New York City with his family, and a “celebratory bottle” of champagne was brought over to them.

“I’m not usually a big drinker; I don’t drink a lot. I’ll usually have a Diet Coke,” Hanks explained. “Because if you didn’t have a long enough disco nap, you’re going to fall asleep about 11:45. So I have a little bit of caffeine — Diet Coke — in a glass, and I sip that through the night.”

However, since the champagne was brought over to him, Hanks figured he’d try some of the champagne. Unexpectedly, he opted to pair the champagne with his soda.

“I said, ‘Oh, give me a shot of champagne in there, for crying out loud,” Hanks said.

“In the Diet Coke?” Colbert asked.

“In the Diet Coke,” Hanks confirmed. “And everybody says, ‘You are insane.’ And I said, ‘Well, I may be insane, but I want to celebrate the season.’ So, I had a sip of this. Stephen, it was delicious.”

Having heard this story ahead of time, Colbert was prepared with Diet Coke and champagne on hand. So, the pair clinked glasses with a “Happy 2023” toast and sampled this unusual cocktail.

Hanks said that his dubious family tasted the drink and enjoyed it, and Hanks ended up naming the cocktail “Diet Cokagne” — a cross between “Diet Coke” and “champagne,” with an obvious jokey reference to the drug cocaine.

Like Hanks’ family, Colbert was surprised to enjoy the drink, dubbing it “strangely, strikingly, shamefully good.”

“It’s so refreshing,” Colbert explained. “Because it’s like, you give that little caffeine, too, man. Just keeps you going through that champagne.”

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