When I first saw this photo ^^^ of Christina Hendricks in the new issue of Men’s Health, I thought, “FINALLY. A magazine stylist and photographer that know what to do with a pale, buxom ginger lady.” I’m just amazed because Christina is so pretty, and yet in magazine spreads, she almost always looks like corpsey hell. However, even though Men’s Health managed to get one good shot, this also happened:

Rough. Poor Christina.

Anyway, she also gave an interview to Men’s Health, and the subject of the day was drinking, and how Christina loves a man who loves scotch:

AS INTOXICATING VISIONS GO, it is hard to top the image of Christina Hendricks curled up in a banquette at her favorite L.A. bar, the Varnish, a clinking glass of single-malt whiskey in her hand. The swank speakeasy is everything Hendricks—the woman who makes the Mad Men especially mad—craves in a night out. “Sexy, sophisticated, quiet enough for intimate conversation,” she says in that seductive whisper of hers. Settle in and tip a glass with her.

How She Drives Men to Drink
As Joan Harris on Mad Men, Hendricks can be as aloof as she is voluptuous, sending Madison Avenue types straight to the bottle. By curious extension, it’s no stretch to say that the actress has helped ignite the vintage cocktail resurgence of recent years. Anytime a barkeep in his 20s with Brylcreemed hair and skinny suspenders starts pouring a perfectly chilled Sazerac, it’s worth raising a glass to Hendricks. No question why Johnnie Walker whiskey tapped her as brand ambassador. It’s not exactly Save the Children, but it is a cause clearly worth supporting.

Why She Likes the Hard Stuff
Never assume that a lovely woman likes girly drinks; Hendricks is anything but a Cosmopolitan woman. Just listen to her muse about the pleasures of a good pour: “I like mine simple, on the rocks,” she says, noting that Johnnie Walker Black is her label of choice.

“It’s incredibly smooth on the tongue. A touch of caramel flavor. It warms everything inside.” Her husband spurred her interest in the hard stuff: “I always thought it was sexy when he ordered scotch and I’d take little sips of his drink.”

Why She’s Not a Mormon
Though Hendricks, 36, grew up mostly in the Mormon bastion of Twin Falls, Idaho, the strict, straitlaced way of life wasn’t for her. “Nobody drank, nobody had much fun. I spent most of my time itching for high school to be over.” Another place where Hendricks is surprisingly sedate? On the Mad Men set. Despite all the brown liquor in the scripts, Hendricks and the rest of the cast are actually swilling diluted Coca-Cola or tea.

Where to Find Her Next
These days, the challenge is simply finding time to chill. Hendricks, married to actor Geoffrey Arend (ABC’s Body of Proof), will appear in two films this fall: the action-thriller Drive and the comedy I Don’t Know How She Does It. She’s also gearing up for Mad Men’s fifth season, which is set to premiere this winter. Don Draper and the men of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce will undoubtedly throw back a few in Joan’s honor. With visions of Hendricks and her glass of scotch lingering, it will be a pleasure to join them.

[From Men’s Health]

God, I want a drink. I haven’t had a drink since my birthday, and before that I was dry for months. I go through months-long stages where I completely eschew alcohol, but I may have to end that soon. I would love a scotch right now. Damn it, it’s not even 10 a.m. Christina Hendricks promotes drinking in the morning, that’s how powerful her boobs are.

Photos courtesy of Men’s Health and WENN.