Cocktails in the Movies

Over the last 100 years, cocktails in the movies have made perfect bedfellows, both products of an America obsessed with fame, magic and glamour. In the first half of the 20^th century in particular, many movie scenes took place in bars and cocktail lounges and many movies today still have bars as an integral plot location. Many legendary cocktail drinkers, including James Bond, Dean Martin and Greta Garbo have been actors or movie characters, and indeed, certain Hollywood stars such as Mae West and Jean Harlow, have had cocktails named after them. Furthermore, there is little doubt that certain cocktails such as the Vesper Martini and the White Russian cocktail owe much of their wide popularity to appearances in popular Hollywood movies.
When discussing cocktails in the movies, a good starting point is the classic 1942 American romantic drama Casablanca. The story is set around a nightclub called Rick`s, in which cocktails, particularly champagne cocktails, make several appearances. Of all cocktails in the movies, perhaps the most iconic was a certain French 75, ordered by Ingrid Berman`s character, plus the movie also features one of the most memorable toasts of all time, when Humphrey Bogart`s character declares “Here`s looking at you kid”. Thirteen years later, in the much acclaimed romantic comedy, The Seven Year Itch, Marilyn Monroe is seen drinking a Tom Collins drink, whilst her co-star, Tom Ewell, famously orders 2 Whisky Sours for breakfast. In another classic Marilyn Monroe film, Some Like it Hot, she hilariously attempts to make Manhattans in a hot water bottle.

It gives me more than a little satisfaction to state that cocktails make a guest appearance in three of my favourite movies of all time. In Alfred Hitchcock`s amazing 1959 thriller North by Northwest, Cary Grant is seen drinking a Gibson. In the Oscar winning Godfather Part 2, John Cazale orders a Banana Daiquiri and in the movie The Shining, directed by legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, a ghost bartender drinks a Martini.

It would be impossible to talk about the history of cocktails in the movies without mentioning the 1988 hit movie Cocktail, starring Tom Cruise. Although there are only three cocktails that are actually mentioned and then made, these being a Daiquiri, a Red Eye and a Turquoise Blue, there are more cocktails referenced than in any other movie. These cocktails included Cuba Libre, Alabama Slammer, Singapore Sling, Bloody Mary, Pink Squirrel and Screwdriver.

One of the most well known cocktail-movie connections is that between the White Russian cocktail and the 1998 film The Big Lebowski directed by the Coen Brothers, which launched the slacker hero The Dude on to an unsuspecting world. The Dudes tipple of choice was the White Russian cocktail, which he also called a Caucasian. This cocktail, which was not a fixture on many cocktail menus in the 80`s and the 90`s, experienced a huge resurgence in popularity in the early 2000`s, based almost exclusively on the popularity of the Dude. It’s probably the best-known movie cocktail combo since the James Bond Martini.

In recent years, cocktails have continued to pop up on the Silver Screen, in turn influencing the drinking habits of an audience quick to follow in the footsteps of their Hollywood idols. In the film Meet the Parents Robert de Niros drink of choice is a Tom Collins, which he makes with Tanqueary Gin. In the original Batman film, the Joker is seen drinking a Martini and in one of its spin-off creations Halle Berry as the Catwoman orders a White Russian cocktail, telling the barman to hold the vodka and Kahlua. In the animated Shrek the Third Prince Charming amusingly orders a Fuzzy Navel cocktail and in the hugely popular Sex and the City big screen adaptation the girls are seen drinking Flirtinis and Cosmopolitans.