The Oscars are tonight, and I’m pretty excited. I can’t remember a year when so many movies that I watched and loved were nominated and more importantly, so many actors. Maybe I’m just getting old, and the types of films I choose to watch have changed, but either way I’ll keep living the lie that Hollywood caters it’s movie selections to my liking. Are you having a watch party? Playing any Oscars drinking games? Let us know if you do. Anywhoo, while I was thinking about some ideas for cocktails to honor the Oscars, I thought, why not feature drinks that have become overnight celebrities after being featured in popular movies that we all loved.
The White Russian: The Big Lebowski: I have a love hate relationship with this drink. The love comes from it’s taste, the hate, comes from the many “The Dude” references I get when I order it amongst friends or sometimes even at the bar. No doubt, The Dude made the white russian an instant celebrity amongst pot heads, hippies, and lazy members of society. And yes, it actually started my love for the drink. I’m living proof that drink cameos in films work, because after seeing him constantly carry it around, I had to try one and it’s been my after dinner drink of choice ever since…
Pour each ingredient in an Old fashioned glass starting with vodka, then Kahlua, then cream and stir.
The Vespar Martini: Casino Royale – Although it’s the classic martini, shaken not stirred, that EVERYONE knows and associates with James Bond, It was the Vespar that gained fame in his latest group of movies, this one particularly in Casino Royale. Interestingly, there are a slew of drinks Bond has ordered over the years and movies, but the classic Martini, and the Vespar have gained the most fame.
Add in your gin, then vodka, and then Lillet in a shaker and shake well until ice cold. Then add a large thin slice of lemon peel for garnish.
The Orange Whip: Blues Brothers – This one is a bit different, you may not be hearing it ordered at the bar much, or at all, but for many who grew up during the height of the Blues Brothers cult like craze, this drink was especially known. It’s gotten some pop culture love over the last decade with several references in tv shows and films, but it became a star when it was ordered at the bar in this film.
- 4 oz Orange juice
- 1 oz Rum
- 1 oz Vodka
- 1 package Cream or creamer
- Over Ice cubes
Pour ingredients over ice and stir.
French 75: Casablanca – Ok, so i’m a bit young to have been around during this time, but it’s a classic that has stood the test of time. It particularly gained it’s fame in the classic movie Casablanca when Yvonne’s boyfriend orders one, and the rest is history.
- 1/2 oz Fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 oz Simple syrup (one part water, one part sugar)
- 1 oz Gin or Cognac
- 3 oz Champagne
Add your ingredients together minus the Champagne to a shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled champagne flute. Top with Champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.
Cosmopolitan: Sex and the City – Ms. Bradshaw and her girls headed out to the bar in no less than 1 scene per episode it seemed, and what were they ordering? Cosmos. Now Cosmopolitans were pretty big in the 80’s, then lost it’s spark until the ladies on Sex and the City brought it back HARD. Ironically, it’s back in “out of style status” again in the Twenty-Teens as it was so well overdone in the 2000’s. Along with resurgence of Cosmos’s, Sex and the City is often credited with several other trends including : The explosion Manolo Blahniks, the cupcake shop craze, and the surge in Brazilian waxes in with American women… interesting…
- 1 1/2 ounces vodka or flavored vodka
- 1 ounce Cointreu Orange Liqueur
- 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
- 1/4 ounce cranberry juice
- Orange peel for garnish
Combine ingredients in a shaker filled with ice, shake well, and strain into a chilled martini glass.
Manahattan: Some Like it Hot – Another film before my time, but it’s reference has helped it stand the test of time. These days when you hear someone ordering a Manhattan they are either an older person, or a hipster trying to revive the speakeasy scene. Either way its a classic that every drinker must try.
- 3/4 oz sweet vermouth
- 2 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey
- 1 dash Angostura® bitters
- 1 maraschino cherry
Pour ingredients in a mixing glass and stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry.
Red Eye: Cocktail – Cocktail was a pivotal movie in my life and in Tom Cruises career. It cemented him as a pretty decent actors in many eyes, and for me, it made me realize how interested I was in the bar industry. In this film, the scene where Cruise’s character Brian Flanagin first walks into a bar looking for a job, he meets his eventual employer and mentorDoug, who’s mixing up none other than the Red Eye. Not exactly my cup of tea, but for years a favorite of many for morning hangovers.
Red Eye
- 1 oz vodka
- 6 oz tomato juice
- 1 can of beer
- 1 raw egg
Into a tall frosty mug, pour the vodka and tomato juice. Pour in the beer, then crack the egg into it. Do not stir.
Old Fashioned: MadMen – Dom Draper is household name these days, and with Mad Men constantly involved in online debates, twitter trending, and facebook status frenzies, the drink Mr. Draper commonly orders has had a huge return to the screen. It’s a classic that stands the test of time, but thanks to Mad Men it is being ordered again by the 21-35 crowd.
- 4 dashes Angostura Bitters
- 1 tsp Sugar (Or sugar cube)
- 1 Orange wheel for garnish
- 1 Maraschino cherry
- Splash Club soda
- 2 oz Bourbon of choice
Using an Old Fashioned glass, muddle the bitters, sugar, and orange wheel, cherry, and a splash of soda. Remove the orange rind and add bourbon. Fill glass with ice, and garnish with a new orange wheel and cherry.
[Bonus] Chianti: Silence of the Lambs: Ok so this one isn’t a cocktail, but I wanted to throw it in as a bonus because it’s a drink that everyone knows whether they actually drink/enjoy wine or not. Who doesn’t remember the jaw dropping scene when Hannibal Lector admits he once “ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti” in reference to a former victim. And the rest is history.
If you’ve got a drink you think deserves A-List status that we didn’t mention, feel free to shoot us a line at [email protected] Until then, enjoy your Oscar watch parties tonight and enjoy the drinks.
Cheers
