Cocktails with a cinematic twist for the Oscars
Movie-inspired drinks take starring role at bar
Silver shakers and the silver screen go back a long time. Think French 75 from “Casablanca” and Agent 007’s dry martinis.
So for those of you planning to drink along at home for the Feb. 28 showing of the Oscars this year, now might be a good time to get your cocktail act together. And Tim Federle, author of “Gone with the Gin,” has a few ideas about that.
From The Moon-Shining — moonshine, ruby red grapefruit juice, rum, that’s right, red rum — to Tequila Sunrise Boulevard (probably best NOT served poolside), the best-selling author has a lineup of cinematically inspired cocktails meant to be shaken, stirred and sipped with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
Bubbly as a Champagne cocktail, “Gone with the Gin” nonetheless has serious underpinnings. Federle worked with talented bartender Cody Goldstein, founder of Muddling Memories, a craft cocktail and bar consulting firm in New York. There also are useful sections on tools, techniques and even some fun food recipes.
“The approach was hu- morous, and, yeah, they’d better taste good, too,” said Federle.
This cinematic cocktail collection follows Federle’s “Tequila Mockingbird,” which featured literary libations. For “Gone with the Gin,” Federle started by making a spreadsheet of the American Film Institute’s Top 100 films. Then, he looked for cocktailfriendly titles. So “White Christmas” plus White Russian became a drink ca lled White Russia n Christmas. Then he and Goldstein looked for ways to tweak the recipes to match the movies. For the White Russian Christmas, the classic recipe — vodka, coffee liqueur and cream — got a seasonal twist of
vodka, creme de menthe,