Tag: movie cocktails

Classic Films · Comedies

What a Way to Go!

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: What a Way to Go!

It’s so comforting when you find an instant-favorite classic film because it proves that no matter how many things you’ve seen, there will always be gems waiting to be discovered. Such was the feeling I got from watching the 1964 Shirley MacLaine dark comedy What a Way to Go! (Disc/Download), a movie that had me asking: where has this been all my life??? If you long to live in a pink world and watch nothing but “Lush Budgett” productions, this is the flick for you.

Starring MacLaine as a widow four-times over, and Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, and Gene Kelly as the husbands who find success as well as comically tragic deaths after falling for her, What a Way to Go! is a perfect illustration of the old phrase, “Behind every great man is an even better woman.” All Louisa wants is a simple life in the country with a man who will put their relationship first. Unfortunately, she happens to have great ideas that spur these paupers into action, turning them all into selfish, foolhardy multi-millionaires. Her bank account grows with each reading of the will, until she’s left distraught and alone with nothing but a closet full of Edith Head gowns and a garish pink mansion to keep her company. And by garish, I of course mean ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. The cast is outrageously perfect, from the sweet Van Dyke, to Newman playing a sexy bearded artist, to Mitchum as the charming CEO with a fabulous private jet, to a tap-dancing Gene Kelly. Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a finer collection of male specimens. I hope Shirley had as great a time making this one as I did watching it!

If you want an excuse to drink a pink cocktail, and you’ve seen both Barbie and Barb and Star approximately 1,000,000 times already, then here’s another one to add to the rosé oeuvre. Note: I’m using the seasonal Hendrick’s Flora Adora in this, which has distinct notes of rosewater. If using regular gin and you want that flavor, add a few drops into the shaker. While watching What a Way to Go!, I recommend drinking this Flaming Lips cocktail.

Flaming Lips

1 ½ oz Hendrick’s Flora Adora Gin

1 oz Raspberry Orange (or Blood Orange) juice

½ oz Orange Liqueur

1 oz Lemon Juice

¾ oz Coconut Cream

2 oz Sparkling Rosé

Dried orange slice (garnish)

Combine gin, orange liqueur, orange juice, lemon juice, and coconut cream in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled and blended, then double strain into a coupe glass. Top with Sparkling Rosé and garnish with a dried orange slice.

With all this talk of the cast, I haven’t even gotten to the best part of the movie: the costumes. With a budget fit for Hollywood royalty, Ms. Head obviously went nuts. Pink chinchilla coats! Backless dresses! Mod bikinis! Gowns dripping with diamonds! Louisa may have wanted a simple life, but I prefer her nuzzling Robert Mitchum in an oversized champagne coupe wearing nothing but an Elvira wig. This is pure cinema. This is: Lush Budgett. Cheers!

Dramas

Capote

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: Capote, 2005

Truman Capote is having a moment. I’m sure he’d be loving all the fuss over Ryan Murphy’s splashy mini-series FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans, though he would probably have some hilarious, cutting critiques as well. One wonders if he would have preferred the small screen Capote played by Tom Hollander, or the big screen Capote played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. I certainly have my favorite, and it’s the one in this week’s pick Capote (Disc/Download).

A movie I didn’t fully appreciate when it came out in 2005, I’ve since revised my opinion after watching Richard Brooks’ 1967 gripping adaptation of Capote’s novel In Cold Blood. Also, I just really miss Philip Seymour Hoffman. As Joni Mitchell famously sang, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone,” and boy is that true in the case of this once-in-a-generation actor. I look at the films I list as enduring favorites, and he’s often in the cast. Capote is the role that won him a much-deserved Oscar, in a year when the competition was particularly fierce (Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain fierce!). Hoffman masterfully captured the false bravado Capote showed to the world, with his witty bon mots and perpetually full martini glass, but also the private torture of always feeling like an outsider. The conflict between wanting fame and fortune while knowing it would come at the cost of his personal relationships, and perhaps his humanity. Certainly, his sobriety. Capote shows us the author was always playing a cat-and-mouse game, sometimes with himself, sometimes with the subjects of his “non-fiction novel”, and eventually it caught up with him. He gave the world what it craved, but at what cost?

Legend has it, Truman Capote’s favorite drink was a vodka screwdriver, dubbed his “orange drink”. Because this film focuses on the writing of In Cold Blood, let’s sub in traditional orange juice with blood orange juice, and round it out with a dash of Cointreau. While watching Capote, I recommend drinking this Bloody Screwdriver.

Bloody Screwdriver

2 oz Vodka

½ oz Cointreau

5 oz Blood Orange Juice

Dried Blood Orange Slice (garnish)

Combine vodka, Cointreau, and blood orange juice in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a dried blood orange slice.

I tend to enjoy films about writers because, well, I am one. It’s comforting to see some of my own struggles up on the screen. Capote gifts us with not one writer, but two, with the inclusion of Catherine Keener as Capote’s childhood friend and soon-to-be wildly famous author Harper Lee. I relate to her discomfort with the business of selling one’s work as much as I relate to Capote’s feelings of insecurity. He puts on a brave face at his readings, but the camera captures a slight tremble and deep breath before he takes the stage. Afterward, it’s all cocktails and confidence. But before, we’re not so different as you might think. Cheers!

Action/Adventure/Heist · Classic Films · Comedies

Pulp Fiction

LizLocke3 Comments
Image credit: Pulp Fiction, 1994

This week marks my official return to the Turner Classic Movies festival in Hollywood, and to say I’m beyond excited would be an understatement. Four days of sitting in a movie theater, phone turned off, notifications silenced, while watching classic films = my ideal vacation. Alas, because I’m incapable of turning down a Doris Day screening, I’ll miss the big opening night gala for Pulp Fiction (Disc/Download), a movie I guess we’re calling a classic now, which I guess in turn makes me also a classic.  If I can’t see it at the festival, the next best thing is watching at home with a cocktail.

I remember when Pulp Fiction was first released and everyone lost their minds over the triumphant return of Travolta, a twisting Uma Thurman, and a Royale with cheese. Quentin Tarantino’s script was hailed as a masterpiece, and the indie film scene was suddenly on fire. I still have mixed feelings about the film overall, but I can appreciate it for heralding in a new era of the auteur. Tarantino would go on to make (in my opinion) better films like Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, but nevertheless, Pulp Fiction proved that his was a unique voice and we’d all better sit down and listen to whatever story he wanted to tell. This particular story meanders to a lot of places (a diner, drug dens, a cheesy Hollywood restaurant, a pawn shop dungeon, multiple bathrooms, etc.), but it all comes together by the end. That’s what I appreciate most about the movie—not the individual chapters, but how they fit together as a whole.

My favorite scene takes place at Jack Rabbit Slim’s, a restaurant populated by 1950s entertainer impersonators. John Travolta and Uma Thurman drink a milk shake, enter a dance contest, and trade some punchy dialogue over cigarettes and steak . Sure, Uma does cocaine in the bathroom, but it’s all fairly wholesome. While watching Pulp Fiction, I recommend drinking this Martin & Lewis Milk Punch (with a twist!)

Martin & Lewis Milk Punch (with a twist!)

1 oz Half-and-Half

1 oz Bourbon

½ oz Orange Liqueur

½ oz Honey Syrup (1:1 ration honey to water)

1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

3-4 dashes Orange bitters

Pinch of Pumpkin Pie Spice (garnish)

Orange twist (garnish)

Combine Half-and-Half, Bourbon, Orange Liqueur, honey syrup, vanilla extract, and bitters in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously until well chilled. Place a large ice sphere or cube in a glass and strain in the drink. Garnish with orange twist and a pinch of pumpkin pie spice.

This drink references a lot of things in the script (the “Five-dollar Shake”, the twist contest, Honey-bunny and Pumpkin), and the sweetness is almost ironic when you hold it up to the film’s major plot points. Maybe that’s why I like the Jack Rabbit Slim’s scene so much—it’s a nice rest stop on the road to depravity. Or, maybe I just like watching John Travolta shake those hips. Cheers!

Classic Films · Sci Fi

2001: A Space Odyssey

LizLocke2 Comments
Image credit: 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968

As my tiny part of the world loses its mind over the impending solar eclipse this week, it seems like a great time to revisit a movie that forced us to think about the infinite cosmos. Watching Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey (Disc/Download) is a little like gazing at that suddenly-dark sky in the middle of the day—it makes you realize there’s a whole universe swirling around our tiny little planet, but most people never take the time to look up.

Before I get to the murderous computer, or the Eero Saarinen tables, I should mention this is a film that absolutely must be seen on the big screen at least once in your lifetime. However, home viewing does give you the option for a proper cocktail, so let’s not totally discount the small screen experience. With very little dialogue and very little plot, 2001 relies mostly on stunning visuals to convey the story of a mysterious monolith and its effect on those who encounter it. Told in four parts, the action really picks up when two astronauts head to Jupiter (and unknowingly, the monolith) with a computer that’s starting to go a little insane. When people talk about the dangers of A.I. now, a lot of it comes back to HAL. If a computer is designed to be smarter and more intuitive than the humans who control it, what’s to stop it from taking over? From the online chess match, to the tablet screens, to the seat back entertainment on the space shuttle, to the video calls, 2001 predicted a lot about how humans would one day interact with technology. Let’s just hope we don’t have more HALs coming out of the ChatGPT pipeline.

Because the film opens with an eclipse and features many beautiful shots of orbiting planets and moons, this is a great time to break out your spherical ice molds. I filled mine with fresh-squeezed orange juice, which really stands out against a dark beverage. Also, HAL’s creepy rendition of “Daisy Bell” makes me want something related to the Daisy family of cocktails. While watching 2001: A Space Odyssey, I recommend drinking this Monolith Margarita.

Monolith Margarita

2 oz silver tequila

1 oz Cointreau

1 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice

1/2 oz charcoal simple syrup

Orange juice ice sphere

Orange twist

Make simple syrup by heating 2 Tbsp suger + 2 Tbsp water + 1/2 tsp activated charcoal powder. Simmer until sugar and charcoal are dissolved, then cool. Combine tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, and charcoal syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain over a glass filled with ice. Drop in orange juice ice sphere and twist of orange.

The visuals of this movie are particularly impressive when you think about the fact that computers weren’t used in the way they would have been today. Kubrick achieved his cinema magic with practical effects, and to me, those weightless astronauts and floating space shuttles look more real than anything we see in today’s science fiction landscape. Watching 2001, it’s a wonder filmmakers moved toward almost total reliance on technology, unless the unthinkable has already happened and HAL began steering Hollywood without anybody realizing. Something to think about as darkness descends… Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

Please Don’t Eat the Daisies

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, 1960

In the wake of last week’s Ishtar revelation, I’ve been thinking more about professional criticism and its impact on the arts. I’m also two-thirds of the way through my Doris Day complete filmography watch, and happily, these two things converge with Doris’s follow-up film to Pillow Talk, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (Disc/Download).

Starring David Niven as a New York theater critic and Doris Day as his long-suffering wife (boy does she suffer…), this film is part social satire and part retro HGTV makeover show. As Niv takes a slow trip on the “downalator” toward negativity and pithy quips in his column, Doris is left to raise their four rambunctious sons- one of whom she keeps in a literal cage (not that I blame her). She is also tasked with smoothing over disagreements between critic/playwrights, moving the household from the city to the suburbs, renovating a mansion that looks like a former residence of The Munsters, looking the other way when a floozy actress tries to seduce her husband, putting on a charity play for her new town, and doing it all while looking like Doris-freaking-Day. Perfectly tailored outfits, perfect hair, perfect makeup, and perfect hats. Always, the hats. When her husband admonishes her for calling herself a housewife, saying she’s so much more than that, she replies, “So is every other housewife.”  Even her dialogue is perfect. Part of me wishes she’d just leave the husband, leave the kids, and run off with the local non-binary veterinarian.

This is a great movie to watch with a cocktail because there are plenty of Sardi’s scenes, plenty of cocktail parties, and plenty of times when I want to throw a drink at David Niven. While watching Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, I recommend drinking this Gin Daisy.

Gin Daisy

2 oz Gin

¾ oz Cointreau

¾ oz Lemon Juice

¼ oz Grenadine

Splash of Soda Water

Lemon twist and fresh mint (garnish)

Combine gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, and grenadine in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Top with a splash of soda water, and stir gently to combine. Garnish with a lemon twist, fresh mint, and a daisy (optional).

Eventually, Niv realizes he’s being an ass both in his column and in his personal life and goes crawling back home, where Doris is waiting with open arms. I will say, as much as I have my reservations about this couple on paper, on film the pairing is electric. The two actors have terrific chemistry, and it’s a joy to see Doris in a sexier role than she’d typically played before her breakthrough in Pillow Talk. Although the critical mass at the time gave this film a tepid response, this modern critic enjoyed it more than I expected to. I’d even go so far as to call it a “Hooten Holler”-in’ good time (see, you can still make jokes and be nice). Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

Ishtar

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image Credit: Ishtar, 1987

One of the great mysteries of our world is how some films get universally maligned (or even worse, ignored), while others are lauded to the ends of the earth. I’ll never understand how most of the “Best Picture” winners of the past twenty years made it to the Dolby stage, just as I’ll never understand how Ishtar (Download) is often regarded as one of the biggest movie disasters of all time. If my post has a rallying cry, it is this: JUSTICE FOR ISHTAR!!!!

Inspired by the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby road movies of the 1940s, Elaine May’s update on the classic concept features Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman as a pair of Simon & Garfunkel wannabes who agree to perform at a Marrakesh hotel. The two stars have amazing chemistry together, and when I tell you there were tears of laughter streaming down my face as they performed their terrible lounge act, complete with bongo drums and electric keyboard, it is not an exaggeration. These actors are hilarious, but it’s May’s direction and keen eye in the editing room that makes them hilarious. As evidenced in her debut film A New Leaf (another favorite of mine), she knows the exact moment to cut for perfect comedic effect. I’m ready to follow these guys wherever their musical journey leads, even into a confusing Middle Eastern conflict I still don’t fully understand. The thing is, you don’t need to. All you need to do is give in to the experience of watching Warren Beatty wrestle a blind camel through the desert as Dustin Hoffman is circled by buzzards. The fact that he’s wearing Ralph Macchio’s wardrobe castoffs from The Karate Kid truly completes the picture. Like Ishtar itself, this movie is a state of mind.

For some reason, I spent most of my life thinking this film was three hours long and exclusively shot in the Sahara desert. Maybe I thought it was a Lawrence of Arabia spoof? At any rate, I’m happy to report the desert scenes only comprise a fraction of this under-two-hours gem, though they still make me a little hot and uncomfortable. Lyle Rogers may not be able to handle his bourbon, but I sure can. This week, cool off with a Moroccan Mint Julep.

Moroccan Mint Julep

2 oz Bourbon

½ oz Cardamom Clove Syrup

Fresh Mint

Crushed Ice

Muddle 8-9 leaves of mint in the bottom of a shaker with the cardamom syrup. Add bourbon and crushed ice. Stir to combine. Top with more crushed ice and a sprig of fresh mint.

There are probably a lot of reasons this film got panned on its initial release, most of them leading back to misogyny. When a woman has the audacity to demand time and money to make her vision a reality, it often doesn’t go over well in Hollywood. There are many other things that happened during this film’s production, however before you go down that particular rabbit hole of Wikipedia, watch Ishtar. Form your own opinion. But remember: honest and popular don’t go hand-in-hand. Cheers!

Dramas

Hope Floats

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Image credit: Hope Floats, 1998

Here in Central Texas, the bluebonnets are blooming, the weather is perfect, and the music is live. Seems like a great time to watch the Smithville, TX-set Hope Floats (Disc/Download) because the only thing missing from this picture is Harry Connick Jr. two-steppin’ in a cowboy hat.

Jilted on national television, forced to move back into her childhood home with her angry, precocious daughter in tow, Birdee Pruitt (Sandra Bullock) is realizing too late that she may have peaked in high school. Back then, she was Queen of Corn, perched on a parade float and cheering at the high school football games for her future ex-husband. Now, she’s a single mom with no job prospects, facing a town full of people who either pity or hate her. Luckily, Birdee still has a great mother (Gena Rowlands) to help her through this rough patch by fixing her up with the local hot handyman/secretly-very-gifted home builder (Connick Jr.). If you miss the romance films of the ‘90s that featured grown adults and quirky townsfolk, then this is the film for you. Truly, it doesn’t get quirkier than a house full of taxidermy animals in doll clothes. My kingdom for a “scaredy-cat”!!!

Although this week’s cocktail was intended for the golf course, if I’m honest, I’m probably never going to be writing about Tin Cup or The Legend of Bagger Vance. Sorry, to all the movie-loving golfers out there; maybe there’s still hope for Caddyshack. While watching Hope Floats, I recommend drinking this Birdie cocktail.

Birdie

2 oz Gold Rum

½ oz Cointreau

½ oz Pineapple Juice

½ oz Simple Syrup

½ oz Orange Juice

½ oz Lime Juice

Fresh Mint

Muddle a few mint leaves in the bottom of a shaker with lime juice. Add the other ingredients, plus ice, and shake until chilled. Strain into a martini glass, and garnish with more fresh mint and a lime twist.

As saccharine as this movie can be at times, I still love the line, “Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it’s the middle that counts the most.” When it comes to publishing, I’ve had some endings in the past year, I’m currently in the scary beginning stages of something new, and also right in the middle of a long-gestating project. But that’s life, right? Things don’t always happen in the manner or order you thought they would, and we just have to keep hoping it’ll all work out the way it’s supposed to. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies · Uncategorized

The Palm Beach Story

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: The Palm Beach Story, 1942

What’s smitten, kittens? This week I’m writing to you from the Treasure Coast of Florida, where the Lilly Pulitzer is abundant and the cocktails are strong. Of course I had to revisit the Preston Sturges classic The Palm Beach Story (Disc/Download) prior to my trip down here, though thankfully, my transportation did not include a Pullman train car with the Ale & Quail club. I also did not step on any millionaires, alas.

Starring Joel McCrea and Claudette Colbert as Tom and Gerry Jeffers, the unhappily married couple at the center of this screwball comedy, The Palm Beach Story is the type of zany movie that makes you wonder if Sturges was just making it up as he went along. There are characters that, while memorable, seem to go nowhere, as well as a crazy intro involving twins, a kidnapping, and a wedding. Keep in mind, this is all in the first 60 seconds! My suggestion- make your cocktail before the opening credits and settle in, knowing not everything will make sense, but everything will be funny. This is the kind of film that gets better and better with each viewing, and one I appreciate for its plethora of scene stealers. From the deaf “Wienie King” to the sarcastic and horny Princess Centimillia, to the unfortunate bartender forced to dodge bullets and saltines, there is literally nobody on this screen who isn’t interesting to watch.

In terms of cocktails, I will spare you the “Prairie Oyster” Colbert drinks on the train because I’m not not exactly one for raw egg yolks and Worcestershire. Instead, join me in imbibing a classic Palm Beach cocktail, which will definitely appeal to the Negroni lovers out there.

Palm Beach

2 1/2 oz Gin

1/2 oz Sweet Red Vermouth

1 oz Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit Juice

Maraschino cherry and dried citrus wedge (for garnish)

Combine gin, vermouth, and grapefruit juice in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a cherry and dried citrus wedge.

If 2020-2022 was my Billy Wilder period, then 2023-2024 is fast becoming my Preston Sturges era. I can’t get enough of his imaginative plots, the social commentary, and all that brilliant dialogue. This isn’t the first Sturges film on Cinema Sips, and it won’t be the last. But Snoodles, it might just be the craziest. Cheers!

Sci Fi · Uncategorized

Starman

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: Starman, 1984

If typical romantic fare has you rolling your eyes with boredom, and you just cannot stand to see How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days show up in your watch suggestions yet again*, then maybe you’re ready for John Carpenter’s Starman (Disc/Download), a bonkers sci-fi romance featuring a naked Jeff Bridges, a creepy CGI baby, and love on the run.

Starring Karen Allen as the recently widowed Jenny Hayden, and Jeff Bridges as the alien who crashes into her Wisconsin backyard and adopts the physical body of her recently deceased husband (thanks to an old photo album, a lock of his baby hair, and some truly bizarre special effects), this movie has similar visual elements to other campy Carpenter classics like They Live, The Thing, and The Fog, but it also manages to tell a moving story about grief and connection. Although I laugh pretty hard at Bridges’ halting alien voice, my heart twists when Jenny is forced to reckon with this terrifying stranger who happens to look exactly like the love of her life, as though even the memories of his face and smile aren’t sacred anymore. Carpenter may be known for horror, but honestly, I can’t think of anything scarier than the place our heroine inhabits at the start of this movie.

A fun element to this story is the collection of “energy balls” our alien uses to start fires, heal the dead or dying, and send interplanetary messages. Basically, any task you would need a bit of magic to accomplish. I don’t have any of these silver balls myself, but I do have a bottle of Fireball Whiskey. While watching Starman, make a little magic of your own with this Fireball Old Fashioned.

Fireball Old Fashioned

1 part Fireball Whisky

1 part Bourbon

2-3 Dashes Angostura Bitters

½ tsp Sugar

Orange twist

Muddle sugar with bitters in the bottom of a glass. Add ice, bourbon, and Fireball, and stir to combine. Twist the orange peel over the glass, then drop in.

This movie definitely has some soap opera elements to it, which is probably why I like it so much. Yes, there are the typical scary government guys chasing Bridges to a crater in Arizona, and the standard bumbling scientist who realizes it’s better to let the interplanetary traveler go home than see him get hurt on Earth, but there’s also a terrific pie scene and a secret alien baby that may or may not turn up in a sequel. It’s been forty years, and I am ready for that sequel. Cheers!

*Note to Netflix/Hulu/Amazon, et al.: I do not want to watch How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It’s never going to happen, stop trying to make it happen.

Dramas

Love & Basketball

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: Love & Basketball, 2000

When I watch a movie with ‘love’ in the title, I always hope it’s going to trigger the same kind of feeling I get from reading romance novels. When a story works, every part of me is rooting for these characters I know intimately, even though we only just met. I think about them the next day, and I wonder if they’re still off living their happily-ever-after’s. Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Love & Basketball (Disc/Download) has all the hallmarks of my favorite sports romance novels, but it’s a story that truly comes alive on the screen. If you’re looking for a great Valentine’s Day pick, make some time for Monica and Quincy this year.

Starring Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps as neighbors, friends, lovers, exes, and potentially lovers again, Love & Basketball gets its title from the movie’s signature quote, “All’s fair in love and basketball.” Both characters dream of becoming star athletes, but along the way their slow-burn romance starts to heat up. The audience knows they’re better when they’re together (on the court and off), but of course there would be no movie if the characters knew it too. We follow them from childhood into adulthood, and it’s a romantic journey that feels honest. Neither of these characters is perfect on their own, but the great thing about romance is that it has the power to turn people into the best versions of themselves. Monica and Quincy challenge each other, and that’s why you know they’re meant to be together. They are soulmates who can survive anything—injury, infidelity, distance… even cringe-worthy nineties fashions.

Post-college, Monica lands a spot on an international women’s basketball team based in Barcelona. While Quincy is never far from her thoughts, I imagine she was able to enjoy some of the perks of her foreign city, namely sangria! I’ve never done a rosé sangria on the blog before, so now seems like a great time. While watching Love & Basketball, I recommend drinking a Sparkling Rosé Sangria.

Sparkling Rosé Sangria

½ bottle dry Rosé Wine

½ bottle dry Sparkling Rosé Wine

1 ½ oz Brandy

½ oz Cointreau

Fresh Raspberries

4-5 slices Blood Orange

4-5 slices Cara Cara Orange

Combine Rosé, Brandy, Cointreau, raspberries, and orange slices in a small pitcher. Chill for two hours in the refrigerator. Top with Sparkling Rosé, then pour into ice-filled glasses.

If you enjoy Love & Basketball as much as I do, then I’d highly recommend the Hoops book series by Kennedy Ryan. It’s sad to me that more love stories like this never make it onto the big screen, so I’m even more grateful this one did. And thanks to the tireless preservation and curation work of The Criterion, we can keep watching Monica and Quincy find their way back to each other again and again. Cheers!