10 Iconic Cocktails from the Silver Screen: from Noir to Bond, drink with the stars
Boozehounds, bashers, tipsy tippers, fuddlers, flushed and highly glazed, the inebriated, the crocked and the laced - not to mention the lushed and plastered - rejoice! Rejoice and clap hands - even those having trouble standing up - for you elite and happy few… You liquored and three sheets to the wind few. Those who will stand tiptoe when this day is named and rise in glamour. Those who share their brandy and gin with me. Those who are totaled and groggy, brothers, REJOICE! For today we tell those tee-toddling ninnies, those sissies, those who hold their manhood cheap, today we tell them:
TO SOD OFF!
We happy few, we brave few, we that stand vigil on this daily feast of yeast and hoppy grains, we that shall ne’er go by without flowing cups freshly foaming, we fellowship, that strip our sleeves and show our scars - even the one that came about when we crashed our head on the toilet lid - we delight in the glory that is today… Overjoyed with new crowns of cocktails to spearhead our ale! Rejoice, brothers! Rejoice!
A small voice in the back of the room, “will someone unplug the karaoke machine? I mean, seriously, you get two drinks into Max and he starts going on a tangent. Two pints of porter? that’s all? What a dullard. Can someone take his copy of the Bard and tell him to focus? We’re here for cocktail recipes straight from the movies.”
Sorry, got carried away there… Now, where was I? Those fresh IPAS not giving you the buzz any longer? Your tolerance for wine coolers at an all-time low? Tired of the same Margarita? Disappointed by the merriment of shots? Then let Max, in IconicMan, take the reigns of your night and give you a ten punch bout of recipes straight from the silver screen. Pop culture cocktails stolen and fleeced from a dipsomaniac’s library of blockbusters and cult classic… From Ultra HD, all the way back to noir laced black and white.
Here are ten Cocktails Plucked From Your Favorite Films:
Casino Royale:
Take it away, James.
When going toe to toe with international terrorist, while also trying to bag the ever lovely - chest bursting - beauties circling like drunk pigeons around you, there’s no better drink than the Martini offshoot known as the Vesper Martini. A cocktail invented by Ian Fleming in his 1953 novel Casino Royale, and made famous by Daniel Craig’s to the nose and on the spot recitation of the recipe:
“Three measures of Gordon’s; one of vodka; half a measure of Kina Lillet.”
Shaken or stirred?
“Does it look like I give a damn?”
Recipe:
- 3 Measure soft Gordon’s Gin or another high quality gin
- 1 Measure Vodka
- 1/2 Measure Kina Lillet
- Lemon peel for garnish
Mad Men:
It’s the sixties and the good folks at Madison Avenue - not to mention the rest of the world - knew that the secret to success isn’t Java and caffeine infusions in the morning but highly flammable tall glass wonders. Mad Men made the testicle proficient of us say: “we were definitely born in the wrong generation?” while our wives glanced between our bellies and Don’s form and told themselves: “we have got to make them switch the beer for vodka.”
Don Draper and his lackeys made the classic cocktails look surprisingly good. The Old Fashion, a stable of the series, became as binge-worthy as the drama itself… and, thanks to the popularity bestowed on it by Don, it has become the most successful cocktail of the past decade.
Recipe:
- 2 1/2 Bourbon or Rye Whiskey
- 1/2 Demerara syrup
- 3 dash of Angostura Bitters
- 1 lemon peel and orange twist for garnish
Meet The Parents:
The Tom Collins came into existence thanks to a hoax and a park. The famous drink kicked into the limelight when 1874 New York, deprived of Netflix, saw a madcap wave of slanders hit the highest members of society. Slanders and gossips spread by a dastardly rapscallion called “Tom Collins”. Men storming out of bars, feathers ruffled, looking for the knave bandying about town and besmirching their reputation.
With that pedigree, it was no wonder that Robert De Niro’s character in the comedy “Meet the Parents” made multiple references to the cocktail. This highball classic has also been featured in other Hollywood classic… Like, which will blow your mind, the gangster epic, “Casino”. In the latter employed as the alias of De Niro’s character: Sam “Ace” Rothstein.
Recipe:
- 2 oz of Gin
- 1 oz of lemon
- 1 oz of Simple Syrup
- Soda as needed
Casablanca:
Although a two-bit “gin joint”, Rick’s Cafe Americain really only tosses unto the screen two cocktails during the entire film. The classic hampered by the mean folks at the rating association, juggling Nazis, infidelities, espionage, tobacco addiction, and booze, in every panel. The first drink was a non-specific “Champagne Cocktail.” The second, meanwhile, was a wartime boozy concoction that was liable to have you storming Normandy in your boxers and with a banana in your hand… The famous French 75.
Recipe:
- 1/2 oz lemon Juice
- 1 oz gin
- 1/2 oz Cointreau orange liqueur
- Champagne to top
Cocktail:
Released during that bygone era where Tom Cruise was still considered a human being and not a caricature, this film was a watershed moment of the 80’s. During that wonderful epoch cocaine, yuppies and Ronald Reagan were controlling the world, Cocktail the film introduced the world to a now-popular hangover cure… The Red Eye.
Recipe:
- 2 1/2 oz steak sauce
- 2 ounce lime juice
- 2 ounce Tabasco or hot sauce
- 2 ounce Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning or ground black pepper
- 3 cups tomato juice
- 1 16 oz beer
- Horseradish root
The Big Lebowski:
“The Dude Abides… All hail the dude.”
The Coen Brothers’ quirky comedy - which has almost spouted into place a religious following - is known for a couple of things. Things like the Jeffrey Lebowski’s laid-back spirit; Walter’s high-strung nature; Sam Elliot’s mysterious cowboy; Donny’s ashen demise… and… more to the point, the fact that the slacker lead’s favorite drink “The White Russian” appears no less than nine times during the whole film.
Recipe:
- 1 1/2 oz of vodka
- 3/4 oz coffee liquor, preferably Kahlua
- 3/4 oz of cream (could be half and half)
The Blues Brothers:
Nothing says party, then a good musical where the lead is always in the bag and his co-star is steering the action. Nothing says mid 80’s SNL more than watching Dan Ackroyd mime a performance from a coked-out, 100% proof, Belushi. In those glory-filled days of blues musicians and rock stars, The Blues Brothers were D’ Bomb… and a throwaway line by Jake, a now stable in pop culture, cemented a drink into the general zeitgeist:
“Who wants an Orange Whip? Orange Whip? Orange Whip? Three Orange Whips!”
Recipe:
- 2 oz cream
- 1 oz vodka
- 1 oz rum
- 4 oz orange juice
Groundhog Day:
Did you know, after careful examination of the film and behind the scene chin wagging by Ramis, that weatherman Phil was trapped in the time loop of Groundhog Day for 10 whole years? What are you going to do during that hellscape of loops and confined existence? Learn to play the piano, try to woo your co-worker and get s%&t faced on endless amounts of Sweet Vermouth on the Rocks.
“Sweet Vermouth on the rocks with a twist… always makes me think of Rome… The way the sun hits the buildings in the afternoon.”
Recipe:
- Sweet vermouth (how ever much you want)
- Lemon wedge
A Clockwork Orange:
Ready to commit some “Ultraviolence”? Too much, just want to curl up on the couch and forget the day ever happened…Go all Alex on your neurons? Then do I have a drink for you! The Moloko Plus! A small snifter of hallucinogens, potent potables, and Mexican quaaludes smuggled from Tijuana. Just take note while I doll out dubious contacts and DEA vetted - wink, wink - suspects… Here you … What do you mean I can give my audience info on how to score? This is unconstitutional! Sorry, folks, my editor just kicked me in the groin and screamed:
“You can’t use IconicMan to sell dope!”
I am living in a Nazi state I tell you. Freaking Gestapo, the whole lot. Where’s my freedom of speech? Anyway, since I want to get paid, here’s a workaround for the LSD and the Molly.
Recipe:
- 25 ml Absinthe
- 25 ml Anisette
- 50 ml Irish Cream
- 125 ml milk
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas:
“Twenty four hours ago we were sitting in the Pogo Lounge of The Beverly Heights Hotel - in the patio section of course - drinking Singapore Slings with mezcal on the side, hiding from the brutish reality of this fouls year of Our Lord…”
Nuff’ said, Hunter S. Thompson knew how to party. A whammy of a punch that will leave you seeing bats, lizards, and stars.
Recipe:
- 1 oz Gin
- 1 oz cherry heering or cherry syrup
- 1 oz Benedictine
- 1 oz lime
- 3 dash Angostura Bitters
- Soda to top
- Chase with it all with shots of Mezcal
Well, that’s all for today folks. So, if you want a relaxing time, but don’t have Suntory Whiskey (See: Lost In Translation) then pick one of the above and let Morpheus and Bacos' sweet embrace loll you into slumber.
From everyone at IconicMan:
“Ice is optional…”
Oh, and ring me up in case you still need some info on where to get some primo X… OUCH, STOP HITTING ME IN THE BALLS!
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Travelers, snake-charmer, writer, Shakespeare’s guro. Purveyor and collector of cool stuff.