Last week we had the pleasure of watching Casablanca remastered on the big screen for its 80th anniversary. All that onscreen drinking at Rick's got us thinking about cocktails and classic movies. Here's a selection of some of our favourite films which also happen feature some of our preferred tipples.
The Champagne Cocktail, Casablanca
Appropriately for a film set in a saloon, there are plenty of drinks in Casablanca - Champagne, Cointreau, brandy, bourbon and a French 75 among them - but our favourite here at Muddled has to be the Champagne Cocktail. Victor Laszlo and Captain Renault order them at the bar although Captain Renault makes sure he never pays for them by tearing up his bill.
Recipe
Place a sugar cube in a flute or coupe and add a few dashes of Angostura bitters. Add 10ml of Cognac and top up with champagne or dry sparkling wine. We chose Captain Renault's favourite, Veuve Cliquot, 'A good French wine'.
The Gibson, All About Eve
This is Bette Davis at her most magnificent playing the celebrated actress Margo Channing. Feeling threatened by the young and ambitious Eve, she’s in a thoroughly disagreeable mood and ready to cause trouble for her party guests. She removes the onion from her glass, finishes her drink with a flourish and utters the immortal line: “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”
An honourable mention should also go to North By Northwest and the Gibson Roger Thornhill played by Cary Grant drinks when he’s in disguise (well, wearing a pair of sunglasses) on the train.
Recipe
60m Dry Gin
30ml Dry Vermouth
Stir with ice, strain into a coupe and garnish with a cocktail onion or three.
A variation we discovered recently and have become very fond of, thanks to Alice Lascelles, is a Gibson on the Rocks. Combine 50ml of gin with 10ml of vodka and 5-10ml of vinegar from the onion jar. Stir and serve over ice.
The Vodka Martini, James Bond
‘A vodka martini, shaken not stirred’.
Some of us may baulk at the at the shaking and I for one prefer my martini with gin but there’s no denying that this is one of the most famous famous lines about cocktails on film, no matter which actor is wearing Bond’s immaculate tuxedo.
Here, however, we're sharing a recipe for the Vesper, a drink Bond concocts in the 1953 novel Casino Royale and names after the beautiful double agent Vesper Lynd. It also appears in the film adaptation starring Daniel Craig.
“A dry martini,” he said. “One. In a deep champagne goblet. Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?”
Kina Lillet is no longer available these days but Cocchi Americano is an admirable substitute. Be warned, with copious quantities of gin and vodka, this is a very potent drink.
The Manhattan, Some Like it Hot
Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis are musicians on the run from the Mob. Disguised as women, they infiltrate an all-girl band and on the train to a gig in Florida, Daphne (Lemmon) invites Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe) into her bunk to share a whisky. Suddenly there’s ice and vermouth, some saltine crackers and an impromptu cocktail party with the entire band in Daphne’s bunk. Full marks for the improvised hot water bottle cocktail shaker.
Recipe
60ml rye or bourbon
30ml sweet vermouth
2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
Stir with ice, strain into a coupe and serve with a cocktail cherry. Luxardo make the best in our opinion.
And finally, an honourable mention for what’s become a modern classic…
The White Russian, The Big Lebowski
The Dude played by Jeff Bridges is very partial to a White Russian or as he calls it a Caucasian and drinks several throughout the film.
Recipe
45ml vodka
45 ml coffee liqueur
30 ml cream or full fat milk
There’s no need to stand on ceremony here. Combine the ingredients in a glass and channel your inner Dude by stirring with a finger.
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