Tag: Empress 1908 Gin

Classic Films

A Matter of Life and Death

LizLocke2 Comments
Image credit: A Matter of Life and Death, 1946

Following a brief hiatus over the holidays, Cinema Sips is back today with the question: what even is time? After a lackluster couple of weeks (honestly, more like fifty-two weeks) spent spinning my wheels, I’m starting to wonder if, like the main character in this week’s pick A Matter of Life and Death (Disc), I too have been visited by Conductor 71. Did the rest of the world stop in time, or did I?

If you’re shaking your head in confusion, then pause what you’re doing right now and go watch this Powell and Pressburger classic. The film features David Niven as a doomed British WWII bomber pilot who escapes a trip to the afterlife thanks to an accounting error from the great beyond and a thick English fog, plus Kim Hunter as the American radio operator who falls for him right before he bails from a burning plane without a parachute. Unfortunately, the higher ups realize their mistake and send an eighteenth century Frenchman to collect him from Earth, but Niv argues that it’s too late: he and the American girl are in love, and it’s not fair to punish her for their mistake. A trial is arranged in which he must argue the case that it’s possible for an American and an Englishman to fall in love at first sight, and while he takes a trip up the heavenly escalator to choose his defense attorney (options: Lincoln, Plato, and presumably Jesus), his mortal body is fighting a mysterious brain disorder. The film tackles a lot of big ideas, such as belief in the afterlife, immigration, xenophobia, and justice, but the biggest idea of all is that love conquers all; even death.

What makes this movie such a fantasy, even beyond its plot and themes, is the amazing Technicolor cinematography by Jack Cardiff. Switching between color for the Earthly scenes and black & white for the Other World, the result is a stunning display of visual achievement (in large thanks to the fantastic restoration efforts this film has benefited from over the years). Naturally, I took my cocktail cues from the vivid colors of Earth, as well as the frequent motif of a rose, which captures the tear of a woman terrified to lose the man she loves. While watching A Matter of Life and Death, I recommend drinking this Conductor 71 cocktail.

Conductor 71

1 1/2 oz Empress 1908 Gin

3/4 oz Cardamom Simple Syrup

3/4 oz Lemon Juice

7-8 drops Rosewater

3 oz Club Soda

Dried rose petals (garnish)

Combine gin, cardamom syrup, lemon juice, and rosewater in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Top with club soda, and stir gently to combine. Sprinkle dried rose petals on the top.

This film may have started as a simple request from the British government to smooth over post-war relations between America and the UK, but I don’t think anyone could have predicted how profound and enduring it would turn out to be. It leaves me feeling as though I just spent a couple glorious hours in suspended animation, and now it’s time to wake up and move forward. I can’t think of a better film to watch at the start of a new year. Cheers!

Classic Films · Holiday Films · Musicals

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

LizLocke2 Comments
Image credit: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, 1964

During a recent conversation with a friend, the subject of 1960s Christmas movies came up. Trying to list my favorites, I quickly hit a wall. Seems the 1940s and the 1990s pretty much cornered the market on holiday flicks. Maybe that’s why I wrote such a lengthy Christmas section into my novel Follow the Sun—I wanted to create a stylish world of silver tinsel trees, Shiny Brite ornaments, and elaborate teased updos. A world of Henry Mancini albums on the hi-fi, fondue on the buffet table, and structured Saint Laurent evening gowns. Like my novel, Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Disc/Download) only has a brief stopover at Christmas, but it’s memorable enough for me to consider this a holiday film. And not just any holiday film, but the most glamorous one in existence.

Presented in operatic form, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg has a straightforward (albeit tragic) plot. Geneviève (Catherine Deneuve) and Guy (Nino Castelnuovo) are young, gorgeous, and madly in love. They consummate the relationship shortly before Guy leaves for war, and although Geneviève promises she’ll wait for him, her meddling mother forces her to doubt he’s ever coming back. Pregnant and alone, she marries someone else, leaving the father of her child heartbroken upon his return. Eventually, he moves on too, and years later they share a sad reunion under the backdrop of a snowy gas station. With stunning production design and more color than I’ve ever seen in a movie, Umbrellas manages to make a world papered in pink and orange damask impossibly sad and beautiful. As Catherine Deneueve trudges back to her car on that cold Christmas Eve, your heart just breaks for her. This is the definition of a Blue Christmas.

I covered this movie years ago for Moviejawn with a Crème de Violette cocktail, however this was before Empress 1908 gin came into my life. Distilled with butterfly pea flower, this gin has lately given rise to many colorful cocktail experiments. One of my favorite gin botanicals is cinnamon, so I’ll be using it for a holiday twist on a French ’75. While watching The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, I recommend drinking a Cinnamon ‘75*.

Cinnamon ‘75

1 ½ oz Empress 1908 Gin

¾ oz Lemon Juice

½ oz Cinnamon Syrup

1 tsp. Maple Syrup

Champagne, to top

Cinnamon stick garnish

Combine gin, lemon juice, cinnamon syrup, and maple syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a coupe glass. Top with champagne, and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

*Recipe adapted from Empress Gin website

I like to think the characters of Follow the Sun would have seen this movie upon its release in 1964, and maybe Caroline, drawn to the emotional music score, would have returned more than once. Perhaps Daphne narrowly missed out on the Catherine Deneuve role because of her lackluster singing voice, and she still holds a grudge against Jacques Demy. Maybe it caused them to realize (as it caused me to realize) that the holidays might be painful as we think about those we’ve loved and lost, but nevertheless, there’s still beauty and glamour all around. Joyeux Noël!

Classic Films · Dramas

Black Narcissus

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Image credit: Black Narcissus, 1947

If you like your nuns with a side of murderous melodrama, then strap in for the Technicolor fantasy of Black Narcissus (Disc/Download). A movie brought to my attention by Jenny Hammerton of Silver Screen Suppers, this was my first introduction into the world of Powell & Pressburger. After sinking into their completely immersive setting of a 1940s Himalayan monastery, consider me hooked.

Starring Deborah Kerr as the leader of a group of nuns tasked with setting up a convent on a remote mountaintop, Black Narcissus feels at times like a science fiction film (sample tagline: Trapped in isolation, the inhabitants of a spaceship go a little mad…). Maybe there’s a mysterious illness slowly claiming the lives of the these inhabitants, or maybe it’s all in their heads. Swap in wimples for spacesuits, and you’ve got the general vibe of Black Narcissus. These women are lonely, and it doesn’t help that there’s a handsome caretaker (David Farrar) coming around in his short-shorts to flirt and rile them up. He makes the nuns remember what their lives were like before joining the order, and eventually it all becomes too much for Sister Ruth, played marvelously by Kathleen Byron. Ditching her dreary robes for a smart new dress and dark red lipstick, she is your worst nightmare—a woman pushed to the brink, with nothing to lose.

Because color is such an important element to the production design of this movie, it seems fitting to drink one of the most colorful gins on the market, Empress 1908. The nuns make a big show of dropping a purple powder into some water in an effort to wow the locals at the new infirmary (I’m still not sure what the powder was—quinine?), but you can do the same at home with either your Empress Gin, or a pinch of Butterfly Pea Powder. This is definitely a floral-inspired cocktail because on this depressing mountaintop, we need flowers more than food. While watching Black Narcissus, I recommend drinking a Floral Gin & Tonic.

Floral Gin & Tonic

2 oz Empress 1908 Gin (OR 2 oz London Dry Gin w/ ¼ Teaspoon Butterfly Pea Powder)

4 oz Elderflower Tonic

Dried lime and flower garnish

Build drink over ice, stirring slowly to combine (if using the powder, stir a little more to fully mix). Garnish with a dried lime + flowers.

Floral G&T with Empress 1908 Gin
Floral G&T with London Dry Gin + Butterfly Pea Powder

I’m thrilled to be collaborating this week with Jenny Hammerton over at Silver Screen Suppers because she actually puts together a full meal for her pairings! If you want to craft your own dinner party for Black Narcissus, be sure to subscribe to the Dinner and a Movie Substack and come prepared with an appetite, plus your moodiest purple gin. Cheers!