Classic Films · Dramas

Double Indemnity

LizLocke1 Comment
Image credit: Double Indemnity, 1944

When someone says the term “Film Noir” Double Indemnity (Disc/Download) is the first movie that comes to mind. Although there are so many other notable films in the genre, Billy Wilder’s classic about a scheming wife and the insurance salesman she ensnares to do her bidding will always be my primary touchstone for moody lighting, complicated female characters, and sweeping musical scores.

Double Indemnity recently celebrated its 80th anniversary, and quite frankly, I was shocked to find I hadn’t covered it yet on Cinema Sips. I love this movie! Barbara Stanwyk is unbelievably sexy, Fred MacMurray is sleazy as hell, and the script is tighter than an assassin’s arms around a throat. My only excuse is that it’s not an overt “cocktail” movie. There’s no signature drink (like a bourbon on the rocks, or a Tom Collins) our characters order in some dimly lit bar while hatching their plan. Instead, these scumbags like to meet in broad daylight at the grocery store! The lack of alcohol is surprising, just like the climax that manages to shock me even after multiple watches. But that’s Billy Wilder for you- always swimming against the current.

As mentioned, Double Indemnity has a definite dearth of booze. Really, the only memorable beverage scene is where Fred MacMurray drinks Stanwyk’s iced tea, then follows it with a beer, “…to get rid of the sour taste of her iced tea and everything that went with it.” What a line!!!! This got me intrigued about a sour iced tea cocktail, and if you’re a fan of Arnold Palmers, you’ll want to give this a shot. While watching Double Indemnity, I recommend drinking an Iced Tea Sour.

Iced Tea Sour

2 oz Bourbon

1 oz Black Tea simple syrup

1 oz Lemon Juice

To make simple syrup, bring 1/4 cup water to a boil, then drop in a tea bag to steep. Once tea has steeped, add 1/4 cup sugar and return to heat. Simmer and stir until sugar has dissolved. Allow mixture to cool. Combine cooled syrup with bourbon and lemon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a tumbler filled with one large ice cube or ball. Garnish with a lemon twist.

MacMurray would go on to play yet another sleaze in Billy Wilder’s The Apartment, and in some ways I consider Double Indemnity to be a prequel to that film. The offices of the Pacific All-Risk insurance company look an awful lot like C.C. Baxter’s Consolidated Life Insurance offices, and both films force the audience to think about the value of a human life, as well as the consequences of a dangerous affair. My advice: start with the bleak world of Double Indemnity, then let laughter put the crumbled cookies back together in The Apartment. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

Being There

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Image Credit: Being There, 1979

My annual summer road trip has officially commenced, this time taking me to one of the most famous homes in America, and filming site of an essential movie within our cinematic history: A Biltmore Christmas.

Just kidding!

Although I love that delightful Hallmark Christmas flick, the real claim to fame for Vanderbilt’s opulent American castle is the 1979 Hal Ashby classic Being There (Disc/Download). I can only hope Shirley MacLaine’s infamous bearskin rug is part of the standard tour.

In this social and political satire, Peter Sellers plays a simple-minded gardener named Chance, who through a series of miscommunications and accidents, is brought to the home of a wealthy political operative. Believing Chance-the-Gardener to be “Chauncey Gardiner”, wise businessman and philosopher fallen on hard times, the Rands (Melvyn Douglas and Shirley MacLaine) adopt Chauncey into their rarefied world. Soon, this former gardener is spouting nonsense on television, having tête-à-têtes with the President, and fostering diplomacy with the Soviet Ambassador. His name is even batted around for the nomination in the next presidential election! At our present moment where America’s political future is on the shakiest of ground, Being There makes the viewer wonder: did Democracy ever exist in the first place? Or have powerful people always been throwing darts into the void, hoping to hit a malleable, naïve pawn whom the public would, if not love, at least not hate? And is that the best we can hope for, even now?

Because Chance’s true love is his garden, it seems appropriate to make a something from my own garden this week. About the only thing I’m capable of growing in the summer is a pot of basil, which lends itself to a flavorful cocktail syrup. While watching Being There, I recommend drinking this Honey Bee-ing There Basil Martini.

Honey Bee-ing There Basil Martini

1 ½ oz London Dry Gin

1 oz Honey-Basil simple syrup

¾ oz Lemon Juice

2 dashes Orange Bitters

2 oz Sparkling wine

Fresh Basil Leaf, Honeycomb (Garnish)

To make simple syrup, combine ¼ cup honey with ¼ cup water, adding 4-5 basil leaves. Simmer on the stove until honey is dissolved. Turn off heat. Allow basil leaves to steep as the syrup cools, then strain out the leaves. Next, in a shaker filled with ice, combine gin, prepared syrup, lemon juice, and bitters. Shake until chilled, then strain into a coupe glass. Top with sparkling wine, and garnish with a fresh basil leaf and honeycomb.

Most people remember the final shot of Being There, where Peter Sellers seems to walk on water with that familiar Biltmore symbol of American excess silhouetted off in the distance. Maybe a man pure of heart and free of ambition is what the country needed at that time, and maybe that’s what it still needs. Or maybe we just need someone capable of tending the garden. Cheers!

Comedies

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

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Image Credit: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, 1994

If you’re in need of a desert holiday, you could sweat it out in Palm Springs, or you could do what I did this week and watch The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Disc/Download) with a bottle of Stoli and your most outrageous outfit. I may not have a flip-flop dress, but the vodka is always in stock.

This Australian ode to friendship and being unapologetically outrageous is basically one big party in the outback. Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce are fantastic as Tick and Felicia, two drag queens on their way to a casino performance, but it’s Terence Stamp as their trans friend Bernadette who really steals the show. Bernadette has all the best lines, and I am very much into her Coastal Grandma aesthetic (which she rocked before such a term even existed). This film would deservedly win the Oscar for Best Costume, and truly, it takes a flamboyant wardrobe to even attempt to steal the spotlight from one of my all-time top cinematic heartthrobs, Guy Pearce. Somehow, the wig made out of bendy purple and turquoise plastic tubes frames his famous cheekbones perfectly.

As these friends are traveling through the desert in a broken-down pink bus, they naturally find themselves in need of a cocktail in the evenings. There’s usually an open bottle of Stolichnaya vodka, so let’s join in this party with a delightfully pink variation on the vodka tonic. While watching The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, I recommend drinking a Stoli & Grapefruit Tonic.

Stoli & Grapefruit Tonic

2 oz Stolichnaya vodka

5 oz Fentimans Pink Grapefruit Tonic Water

Juice from one lime wedge

Grapefruit wedge, twist of lime (garnish)

Fill a highball glass with ice, then add the vodka. Squeeze one lime wedge over the glass, and top with tonic water. Stir gently to combine, and garnish with a grapefruit wedge and twist of lime.

A road movie always makes me want a simple cocktail because when you’re on the go, you can’t always bring a lot of ingredients. Especially when you need to leave room for the giant stiletto set piece and approximately seventy-five different wigs! Let’s raise a toast to these ABBA-loving, wise-cracking, vodka swilling superstars, who for thirty years have been making our lives a little more colorful, and a little more fabulous. Cheers!

Comedies · Uncategorized

Private Benjamin

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Image credit: Private Benjamin, 1980

Sometimes I go into a movie with no advance knowledge of the plot, but many expectations based on the star, the title, the screenwriter, etc. I thought I knew what kind of viewing experience I was in for with Private Benjamin (Disc/Download), but this one shocked me again and again.

Because it’s Goldie Hawn, and because the premise involves a beautiful, wealthy lady entering the Army, I expected a fish-out-of-water comedy. Something akin to Troop Beverly Hills where a spoiled woman is forced to rough it, discovering an inner strength she didn’t know she possessed. She would probably be helped by some wonderful gal pals and find love by the end of it. You can understand my assumptions, based on the fact that both movies include Craig T. Nelson, main characters who know the difference between khaki and mushroom, and massive 1980s hair. But it turns out that halfway through Private Benjamin, Judy Benjamin takes a left turn after being sexually harassed in the elite paratrooper unit, landing herself a sweet administrative gig in Europe where she meets a dreamy French gynecologist. He’s suspected of being a communist, so she must choose between the Army and her new man. Because of her upbringing, she chooses the man. But then, the man turns out to be garbage, and she manages to choose herself in the nick of time. Phew- this movie is so bonkers, I need a DRINK.

I recently discovered the classic Army & Navy cocktail, and while I’m sure there are any number of military-themed films to enjoy this with, my pick goes to the one featuring Goldie Hawn scrubbing the latrine with an electric toothbrush. It’s a classic for a reason. While watching Private Benjamin, I recommend drinking this Army & Navy cocktail.

Army & Navy

2 oz London Dry Gin

1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

¾ oz Orgeat

1 dash Angostura Bitters

Grapefruit Twist

Combine gin, lemon juice, orgeat, and bitters in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

Because the script was co-written by Nancy Meyers, I shouldn’t be surprised that Judy has a penchant for interior décor and looks right at home in a French Chateau. But I also shouldn’t be surprised that this character triumphs over the lackluster men in her life, finding companionship and family in the most unexpected of places. Like the Army & Navy cocktail, you can’t judge Private Benjamin by its title, or its ingredients. It is a uniquely wonderful concoction, sure to put you in a good mood. Cheers!

Classic Films · Uncategorized

The Thomas Crown Affair

LizLocke2 Comments
Image credit: The Thomas Crown Affair, 1968

The 1960s gave us a lot of great things, not least of which was the “sexy heist” genre. With films like How to Steal a Million, The Italian Job, Gambit, Ocean’s Eleven, The Pink Panther, and many, many others, it was a great time to be a robber in a Savile Row suit. Thus it’s no surprise that one of the most iconic heist films came out of this period, Norman Jewison’s 1968 classic The Thomas Crown Affair (Disc/Download).

Although most people are probably more familiar with the 1999 remake starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, the original starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway is even better (in my opinion). I always thought the newer one tried too hard to be sexy, but back in the sixties, there was no trying- these people just were sexy. Tightly edited by Hal Ashby, the audience is pulled into the story immediately as Crown begins orchestrating a complex bank robbery. It’s a tense, perfectly planned job, and at the end of it, a bored millionaire walks away with more money than he needs, just to prove that he can. All goes swimmingly until he crosses paths with the insurance investigator hired to find the criminal mastermind, and unfortunately she’s his perfect match. Neither anticipates falling in love over fireside chess games, dune buggy runs on the beach, and cute strolls through the farmers market, but it quickly happens. The story takes some interesting turns, and even the ending is unexpected for someone well-versed in these movies. It takes a lot to surprise me, but this one did.

Norman Jewison always brings a dose of cheeky realism to his pictures, and Thomas Crown is no exception. Watching McQueen and Dunaway stroll through various Boston neighborhoods (some of them upscale, some of them decidedly not) grounds these extraordinarily beautiful and intelligent people in an actual time and place. While you’re watching The Thomas Crown Affair, do yourself a favor and pour a Boston cocktail.

Boston

1 ½ oz Gin

1 ½ oz Apricot Brandy

½ oz Lemon Juice

¼ oz Grenadine

Cherry garnish

Combine gin, apricot brandy, lemon juice, and grenadine in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Sexy heist movies are always an automatic watch in my house because the good ones keep me on my toes until the very end. I love a script that makes me wonder whether or not the robber will get away with it, and whether or not I want them too. Plus, the style is always superb. I know I can count on beautiful dresses, jewels, sports cars, and perfectly coifed hair, and in a world of so much uncertainty, isn’t it nice to be certain about these small but wonderful details? Just sayin’, if Hollywood ever wants to save itself, bring back the sexy heist. Make a dozen of them. I’ll buy every ticket. Cheers!

Classic Films · Dramas

The Great Gatsby (1974)

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Image credit: The Great Gatsby, 1974

With summer officially here, it seems like a great time to revisit a classic story of wild parties, sweaty cocktails, sweatier people, and lightweight linen suits. The Great Gatsby (Disc/Download) has been adapted several times by Hollywood, but my favorite will always be the 1974 version. There’s something so soothing about the soft focus and pastel costumes that watching it is akin to having a lovely dream during an afternoon nap on a screened-in porch.

Starring Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby and Mia Farrow as his long lost love Daisy Buchanan, this adaptation is tonally more faithful to the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel than the more recent Baz Luhrmann cinematic extravaganza. Nevertheless, some disco-era touches manage to sneak in. The sequined head wraps, the dewy makeup, the frenetic, dancing crowds—Gatsby’s mansion may as well have been a Studio 54 outpost. The cast is great, particularly Bruce Dern as Daisy’s philandering husband Tom Buchanan, and Sam Waterston in the role of gentle narrator Nick Carraway, but what this film will most be remembered for are the clothes. Featuring menswear designed by Ralph Lauren, The Great Gatsby ushered in a new era of preppy chic. The movie is long at two-and-a-half hours, but I’m convinced the filmmakers just wanted an excuse to throw another three-piece suit up on the screen. Really, I can’t blame them.

Speaking of linen suits, now seems like a great time to drink a quintessential summer cocktail consisting of gin, cucumbers, and elderflower liqueur. Bright and fresh, this will have you dancing the Charleston in no time. While watching The Great Gatsby (1974), I recommend drinking a White Linen cocktail.

White Linen

2oz Gin

¾ oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

1 oz Lime Juice

2-3 slices cucumber, plus more for garnish

2 oz Soda water

Muddle cucumber at the bottom of a shaker with gin, elderflower liqueur, and lime juice. Add ice, and shake to chill. Double strain into a glass filled with fresh ice, and top with soda water. Garnish with fresh cucumber.

Honestly, the true MVP of this movie is the ice bucket. Because there was no central air conditioning in the 1920s, the only relief for the wealthy elite was a cold cocktail. Ice was essential then, and it still is today. It always amazes me when I show up to a party and the host has all the mixers out, but no ice! If you want to be a helpful old sport like Nick Carraway, make sure to stop for a bag of ice before arriving at your next summer soirée; your fellow partygoers will be paralyzed with happiness. Cheers!

Children's · Classic Films

Pollyanna

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Image credit: Pollyanna, 1960

Sometimes, it can be challenging to play the “glad game”. I’ve been thinking about this recently as I approach the one-year anniversary of my novel Follow the Sun being published. I look back on those photos of my launch party and my smiling face as I finally saw my book on a shelf, and I want to go back in time and tell this person: enjoy it because this might be the only day you’ll feel like you’re “enough”. As I wrestle with my thoughts about a book that never really found its audience, and contemplate getting back on the roller coaster again, I think about what Richard Egan says in this week’s pick Pollyanna (Disc/Download): “What this girl really needs is a good shot in the arm of hope.”

In Disney’s first venture into live-action cinema, Hayley Mills plays the perpetually sunny orphan Pollyanna, who is sent to live with her rich spinster aunt Polly. In a town full of jaded, disgruntled people, this little girl is a bright light of positivity. She convinces Agnes Moorehead that it’s far too early to be picking out a coffin, she shows Adolphe Menjou that his knowledge of refracted light is actually really cool, and she helps Jane Wyman find a second chance at love with Richard Egan. With a cast like this, and a heavy dose of melodramatic music, I’m a little shocked this film was not directed by Douglas Sirk. It feels very Sirk, with a dash of Frank Capra. Just like George Bailey, Pollyanna will realize that when the chips are down, and her little white-stocking’d legs are paralyzed after a bad fall off the roof, it’s her community who’s really there for her. They are what she can be glad about, just like I’m glad for mine.

One thing I can say about Harrington (sorry, “Gladtown”) is that the residents really like their ice cream. I didn’t even know ice cream was such a thing at the turn of the century, let alone variations like Sorbet and Frappes! This week, let’s enjoy this sweet pink riff on the Strawberry Frappe, a Ladies Aid.

Ladies Aid

2 oz Beefeater Pink Gin

1 scoop Vanilla Ice Cream

3/4 oz Lemon Juice

1/4 cup Milk

3-4 Strawberries, sliced

3/4 cup crushed ice

Strawberry (garnish)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass with one large ice cube, and garnish with fresh strawberry.

I am all too aware of how many wonderful manuscripts never make it out of an agent’s slush pile, and therefore I’ll always be glad mine miraculously made it through the gauntlet of luck, timing, and craft to land with a major publisher who put so much care into the editorial and design process (not to mention the stellar audiobook version, which totally made me cry happy tears!!!). I am also glad that the wonderful people who did read Follow the Sun have reached out with their positive reactions and let me know my work meant something to them. I’m glad I still have this blog, which brings me so much joy and stress-relief week after week. I’m glad that by publishing this book, I saw my Cinema Sips community grow even more, because as it turns out, people who like to read also like movies and cocktails. I’m glad I have people in my life encouraging me to try, try again. Maybe, just maybe, I’m playing the game after all. Cheers!

Dramas

Challengers

LizLocke3 Comments
Image credit: Challengers, 2024

I’ve seen a lot of articles lately about the death of the Hollywood blockbuster, and why people aren’t going to the movies anymore. There are several factors at play (unruly audiences/zero rule enforcement, lack of movies that people actually want to see, bad marketing, short theatrical windows, outrageous ticket and concession prices, etc., etc.), but allow me to take you on a little journey of how I came to finally watch this week’s Cinema Sips pick, Challengers (Download), and what it says about our current cinema landscape.

For a little backstory, over the past four weeks, I saw six movies in the theater. Three were classics playing at revival cinemas, but nevertheless, May was a banner month for new releases. Challengers has long been on my watch list because I know I can count on director Luca Guadagnino to deliver gorgeous actors on the cusp of stardom, a lot of sexual tension, beautiful cinematography, and a fantastic score/soundtrack. However, I had to wait a few weeks after release day because there were so many other great movies out at the same time, and my husband didn’t want to watch what he called, “two baby birds fighting over a worm.” 🙄 So our date night involved The Fall Guy, which was also great, and I have zero regrets. But at long last, one Sunday afternoon when I’d finally set aside two precious hours to watch this sexy tennis drama solo, I found myself at the local multiplex. I stepped up to the counter, requested a ticket for Challengers, only to realize… I had the wrong time. Or the wrong theater. I’m still not sure. Walking back to the hot car, I was beyond disappointed. I felt like the crowded spring release schedule had finally beaten me. Until I realized… I can rent this on a streaming app! All was not lost.

So in the end, what was my Challengers experience like? I sat in my silent, air-conditioned house, where nobody was on their cell phone, and nobody felt the need to talk to their seatmate at full volume about what they were having for dinner later. I paused the movie if I had to go to the bathroom. I saved $20 on popcorn and had a lovely cheese plate instead. I made a refreshing cocktail to sip while I watched attractive people take off more and more of their clothes and get sweatier as their game(s) went on. I let the Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross score wash over me, knowing I’ll probably add the vinyl release to my soundtrack collection one day. I contemplated center-parting my hair like Zendaya. I thought about all the little things left unsaid in this movie, and how refreshing it was to be trusted to fill in the blanks. I felt happy somebody finally made something that was not a reboot or a prequel or part of a franchise. I felt grateful for the option of streaming because while I love seeing things in the theater, and I plan to keep showing up for the movies that mean something to me, sometimes life gets in the way. And sometimes, you just really want to watch it with a cocktail.

Speaking of, Luca Guadagnino films always lend themselves to cocktail experimentation (like the Lime Daiquiri in A Bigger Splash or the Peach Collins in Call Me By Your Name), and Challengers is no exception. I’ve been wanting to use honeydew in something for a while, and this movie gave me a great excuse. While watching Challengers, I recommend drinking a Love-All. Cheers!

Love-All

1 1/2 oz Reposado Tequila

1 oz Honey Syrup (1:1 ratio honey to water)

1 oz Lime Juice

6 Honeydew Melon Balls (divided)

3 oz Prosecco

Muddle three melon balls in the bottom of a shaker with lime juice and honey syrup. Add tequila and ice, and shake to chill. Strain into a glass with fresh ice, and top with prosecco. Garnish with more melon balls.

Classic Films · Dramas

Bonjour Tristesse

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Image credit: Bonjour Tristesse, 1958

With nearly everyone I know getting a head start on their summer travels, I decided why wait for June or July to watch one of the best vacation movies? You know Cécile wouldn’t. This girl was over her schoolwork back in September! This week, I’m revisiting the Otto Preminger classic melodrama, Bonjour Tristesse (Download).

Starring Jean Seberg as a free-spirited teen and David Niven as her indulgent father, Bonjour Tristesse is an interesting example of both color and black & white being used simultaneously in a classic film. As Cécile’s empty present-day life gives way to a vibrant color flashback of the summer she spent on the French Riviera, one immediately senses she was alive before, and now something inside her has died. And don’t we all feel like that, thinking of vacations past? Not for the same tragic reasons as these characters, but sometimes I’ll be sitting at my desk, depressed because yesterday was the same as today, and tomorrow will probably be yet another repeat, and as the song says, I live with melancholy. But then I’ll think back to floating in the Mediterranean Sea, and how very orange the Aperol was in my spritz that summer, and how blue the water. And suddenly, life seems chic and fun again. Well, maybe just 53.5% fun.

One of my favorite scenes in this film is when Cécile makes a list of all the important qualities she thinks a woman should have, comparing herself to her dad’s new girlfriend (played by the elegant Deborah Kerr) with numerical rankings. “Possessiveness” and “Intelligence” are right above “Dancing” and “Drinking”, and honestly, this list is a pretty accurate character study. Why would I want to hang out with someone who’s only 4% skilled in “Conversation”? Speaking of percentages, I’ve recently taken a journey through lower-alcohol cocktails in the lead-up to summer*, and this seems like the perfect time to make a drink that’s as bright and gorgeous as one of Cécile’s many swimwear choices. While watching Bonjour Tristesse, I recommend drinking this 11% Spritz.

11% Spritz

2 oz Dry French Vermouth

½ oz Aperol

½ oz Lemon Juice

½ oz Blood Orange Syrup (I prefer Liber & Co)

4 oz Soda Water

Orange Slice (Garnish)

Combine vermouth, Aperol, lemon juice, and blood orange syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Top with soda water and garnish with an orange slice.

Although Bonjour Tristesse was a new-to-me watch a couple of years ago, it’s one of those movies that feels like it’s always been a favorite, whether I knew about it or not. Somehow, I set my book Follow the Sun in this same rarefied world of jet-setters in beautiful locales without even realizing it. Maybe I just needed a vacation when I was drafting the story; maybe I still need one. If you’re struggling through a black & white world right now, I urge you to spend some time with this movie and breathe deep- let’s smell the day together. Cheers!

*If you’re looking for more low-ABV cocktails this summer, I highly recommend the book Session Cocktails: Low-Alcohol Drinks for Any Occasion by Drew Lazor.

Classic Films · Musicals

Top Hat

LizLocke1 Comment
Image credit: Top Hat, 1935

While staring at the refrigerator on a particularly lazy afternoon, I realized I’d somehow acquired all the ingredients for a classic Venetian cocktail, the Sgroppino, without even realizing it. And what’s a girl to do when she’s in the mood to pop some lemon sorbetto into a glass of prosecco? Put on the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers classic Top Hat (Disc/Download)!

As anyone who has seen this movie can attest, the “Venice” in Top Hat looks about as authentic as the It’s a Small World attraction at Disney World. I half expect a Mary Blair goat to pop out during one of the dance numbers. But nevertheless, this 1930s screwball musical comedy is everything I love about this period in American cinema: gorgeous gowns, lovely Irving Berlin songs, elegant set designs, and a twisty-turny plot that’s equal parts absurd and charming. The movie starts off on a realistic note (Fred Astaire’s tap dancing is keeping Ginger awake in the hotel room below, and who among us hasn’t been in this situation at 3am??), and from there it devolves into a wild case of mistaken identity, followed by a spur-of-the-moment jaunt from London to Venice. There’s a flamboyant fashion designer chasing after Ginger, a salty butler orchestrating things behind the scenes like a Machiavellian Mr. Belvedere, and my favorite side character of all, the put-upon Madge, who just wants to drink a Horse’s Neck on the Lido in peace.

Speaking of cocktails, I’m mixing up something as frothy as Ginger’s feather gown (the one that apparently caused a great deal of headaches during production and earned her the nickname “Feathers” from thereafter). It’s gorgeous and wildly impractical, so naturally I love it. Let’s pretend we’re in this magical version of Venice with a cocktail that’ll leave you feeling like Fred Astaire just spun you around over the canal. While watching Top Hat, I recommend drinking a Sgroppino.

Sgroppino

1 Scoop of Lemon Sorbetto

4 oz Prosecco

1 oz Limoncello

¾ oz Vodka

Lemon Slice (Garnish)

Combine sorbetto, prosecco, limoncello, and vodka in a small bowl, whisking to combine. Pour into a glass, and garnish with a slice of lemon.

This drink gets its name from the Italian word for “loosening a knot”, and there are always a lot of knots in a screwball comedy. Thankfully, just as we know the cocktail will leave us feeling warm and happy, we know Fred and Ginger will do the same. Cheers!