Oscar Cocktails Worthy of Their Own Academy Awards
Guess what, folks? Another Academy Awards is right around the corner. Will this year have another crazy moment like last year’s Best Picture mixup? Will we have surprises in Best Actor or Actress? Is someone going to rock the fashion world with their outfit? The Oscars can be unpredictable, so you may as well sit back and sip on a few cocktails while you watch.
Each year, Cocktail Chameleon author and entertaining expert Mark Addison creates signature Oscar Cocktails inspired by each of the films nominated for the Academy Awards’ Best Picture. And for the first time in possibly ever, I’ve seen multiple movies on the list. Since drinking can help the 4+ hours of the Academy Awards fly by, I wanted to share Mark’s cocktail recipes for the four films I’ve seen, starting in reverse order of when I saw them. For the rest, you’ll have to check out his book!
The Shape of Water
I saw this earlier this week and it was fantastic. Guillermo del Toro is so good at bringing these crazy visuals to life and letting them…well, shape a movie’s story. Sally Hawkins better win some kind of award for her lead role in this. And while we’re presenting a cocktail recipe below, seeing The Shape of Water will make you crave key lime pie. So maybe get some of that, too.
“Fizz cocktails were at their height of popularity in the 50’s and 60’s during which the “Shape of Water” is set. The Swamp Fizz combines green Crème De Menthe (also immensely popular in the era), citrus, sugar and club soda in classic Fizz proportions with egg whites for added fizz and accentuates the Creatures’ favorite food, eggs!
Swamp Fizz
2 Oz. Gin
1 Tsp. Green Crème De Menthe
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
One egg white
1 Tsp. Superfine Sugar
Club Soda
Garnish: lime zest
Glassware: 16 oz. Tiffany & Co. Vintage Highball Glass (5 1/2″ h)
Add gin, crème de menthe, lemon juice, sugar and egg white to your shaker with ice and shake until well chilled. Strain into Collins glass over ice and top with club soda. Garnish with lime zest.”
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Holy moly, this movie is SUPER intense. I saw it at 10:30 a.m. which was probably the worst idea imaginable, but it was great. And much like in his SNL monologue, I totally recognized Sam Rockwell as “that guy from that movie — not the main guy but the other guy.” Well done. From Mark:
“The themes in ‘Three Billboards…’ are dark and horrific, which is challenging to draw inspiration from for a festive Oscar cocktail. Instead, drawing inspiration from the title and the film’s location, “3 Cocktails…” features Missouri based spirits incorporated into classic cocktails with a distinctively Ozark ingredients and themes.
Three Cocktails from Inside Missouri:
Missouri Mule
1 1/2 oz. Missouri Spirits Bourbon Whiskey
3/4 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. Campari
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
Garnish: lemon wheel
Glassware: 16 oz. Christofle Highball Glass (6” h)
Combine with ice, shake and pour into a highball glass. Garnish with lemon wheel.
Missouri Manhattan
2 oz. Missouri Spirits Corn Whiskey
1/2 oz. Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz. Agave Nectar
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Garnish: maraschino cherry, one king ice cube
Glassware: 8 oz. Christofle Old Fashion (3” h)
In a mixing glass with ice, combine the ingredients and stir well. Strain over a king cube in an old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a cherry.
Missouri Martini
2 ounces Missouri Spirits Vodka
1/4-ounce extra dry vermouth
1/4-ounce pickle juice
1 dash of hot sauce
Garnish: dill pickle spear
Glassware: 8 oz. Christofle Martini Glass (6 1/2” h)
Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until well chilled. Strain contents into chilled martini glass and garnish with pickle.”
Dunkirk
Fans of Tom Hardy’s lips will most certainly enjoy this film. It’s also got one of the most thrilling scores of any movie I can remember, which only adds to the edge-of-your-seat feeling. Luckily, this drink will combat that nervousness by keeping you warm and cozy all night long.
“Inspired by struggle of evacuate the Allied soldiers from the beaches of France under attack by German forces, the Dunkirk Toddy blends a classic English hot beverage with French cognac and Benedictine, resulting in a Franco-British hot cocktail that any of the 300,000 soldiers rescued in the operation would appreciate.
Dunkirk Toddy
The traditional Hot Toddy recipe is made with whisky but to give the classic Toddy a French twist I substitute equal parts French cognac and Benedictine Dom with its lovely warming flavors and its pronounced herbal and spicy tones.
1 oz. Benedictine Dom
1 oz. French cognac
1 dash Angostura bitters
4 cloves
1 lemon peel
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. honey
Top with oth water
Garnish: one cinnamon stick
Glassware: 8 oz. Bormioli Rocco Oslo Coffee Cup (3 3/4″ h)
Fix the cloves into the wedge of lemon and put into a glass mug. Add all the other ingredients and top with hot water. Stir gently and serve.”
Get Out
Prior to seeing this movie, my exposure to Jordan Peele had primarily been in MadTV sketches, the film Keanu, and Key & Peele episodes, particularly the amazing East/West Bowl bits. So you’ll pardon my surprise at how scary Get Out is.
“Chris agrees to be hypnotized by his girlfriend’s mother to cure his smoking addiction but instead, sinks into the “sunken place” where after an operation to transplant the mind of a white man into his body, Chris would remain in the void watching powerlessly. The Sunken Place cocktail looks innocuous on the surface but has a dark underside trapped beneath.
The Sunken Place
2 oz. rum
1 oz. coconut rum
2 oz. pineapple juice
1 oz. cream of coconut
Garnish:
½ oz. blue curacao
½ oz. grenadine
Glassware: 12 oz. Mikasa Cheers Martini Glass (7 1/2″ h)
Combine rums, pineapple juice and cream of coconut in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into chilled martini glass. Combine the blue curacao and grenadine and slowly drizzle down the side of the glass. It will settle at the bottom and create a beautiful ‘black and white’ layered look.”
There you have it! And you don’t want to invest 90 to 150 minutes watching any of the Academy Awards Best Picture nominations, you can just invest a couple of minutes into making some tasty cocktails. Grab a copy of Mark’s book – he’ll even sign it for you – and impress your friends with your mixology knowledge. Or don’t share with them and enjoy some drinks all to yourself.
