The Right Stuff

No matter how old I get (truth: I got a little older today), the history of space travel will always be fascinating to me. The fact that there were people brave enough to strap themselves to a bomb and hope for the best, all in the name of scientific progress and patriotic bragging rights, is truly wild. This week’s film The Right Stuff (Disc/Download) was the first film to ignite my interest in the 1960s Space Race, and I still carry the torch.

At over three hours long, this movie has always felt more like a miniseries than a feature film. It has a mostly “Hey, it’s that guy!” cast, with the exceptions of Ed Harris as John Glenn, Dennis Quaid as Gordon Cooper, and a dreamy Sam Shepard as sound barrier-breaker Chuck Yeager. I like that it takes us from the early days of post-WWII test pilots to the original Mercury astronaut program at Cape Canaveral, and finally to the formation of the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Apollo 13 picks up where this film leaves off, and that’s as it should be. There’s enough material with the Mercury Seven, and the strange reality show they inhabited, to warrant the narrower focus. The movie may not be 100% historically accurate, but it tells a compelling story of man and country striving for greatness. The word “great” has certainly lost its meaning over the last ten years, but I think pushing against the bounds of technology, science, and even the atmosphere itself qualifies.

I’ve already featured a classic Saturn cocktail on Cinema Sips for the sci-fi fantasy Logan’s Run, however I’ve been wanting to play around with this drink for a while. Though traditionally made with gin, I’m trying it with vodka today, since the Soviet Union played such a pivotal role in nudging our American space program to fruition. Nothing like a little competition between petty bureaucrats to get things done. While watching The Right Stuff, I recommend drinking a Sputnik.

Sputnik

1 ½ oz Vodka

½ oz Lemon Juice

½ oz Passion Fruit Syrup

¼ oz Velvet Falernum

¼ oz Orgeat

1 oz Sparkling Wine

Lemon Twist + Cherry (garnish)

Combine vodka, lemon juice, passion fruit syrup, falernum, and orgeat in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a martini glass. Top with sparkling wine, and garnish with lemon twist and cherry.

Although I have mixed feelings about the current space program (I don’t love that we’re sending billionaires and pop stars up there for ten minute larks, and I also don’t love the environmental impacts this has wrought on my state), I do think it’s essential to keep striving for new knowledge. As I conclude this trip around the sun and prepare to start the next one, I can’t help but think of John Glenn orbiting the Earth, eyes full of wonder. I hope this next trip brings a little of that magic and hope back. Cheers!