This Sunday all the stars will hit the red carpet for the 2017 Academy Awards. While it would be amazing to be on the streets of Hollywood for the big event, most of us will likely be experiencing the red (or white or gray) carpet in our living room instead for the big day.
If you’re throwing an Oscar Party this year (or even if you’re attending a soiree at a friend’s house) we’ve rounded up a handful of great Oscar-inspired cocktails to help get the party started right.
Sky With No Ceiling
Available at 312 Chicago
Oscar Inspiration from head bartender Jennifer Knot: “This cocktail is inspired by the Oscar nominated movie La La Land. I used cognac, which I view as a romantic spirit because of its origins in France. Then I used Montenegro, which is also a kind of dark, mysterious and dreamy spirit. This cocktail is sweet and sour, and the Port adds a wild and untamed quality that I find in jazz music. While this cocktail is simple, it is also complicated, like being in love. This cocktail lingers on the lips like your first kiss.?”
Ingredients:
1 oz. Montenegro Amaro
1 oz. lemon juice
1 oz. simple syrup
1 oz. Taylor Fladgate 2011 LBV Port
Egg white
Directions: Dry shake with all ingredients except Port, and then add ice and shake all ingredients vigorously except Port. Strain into cocktail glass and float Port on top while swirling it around the top of the egg white.
La La Land in Love
Available at The Restaurant at Mr. C at the Italian-inspired hotel Mr. C Beverly Hills
Oscar Inspiration: Vibrant, fresh, and bursting with flavor, this pink drink is ideal for dreamers to sip on while falling head-over-heels in love with Los Angeles. The purity of the Don Julio Blanco complements the bright, clean grapefruit and lime juice, while the cinnamon simple syrup adds a sweeter note.
Ingredients:
2 oz. Don Julio Blanco
1 oz. Grapefruit Juice
2 tbsp Cinnamon Simple Syrup
1 tbsp Lime Juice
Directions: Mix all ingredients into a glass and stir to combine.
Pandora’s Punch
Available at Lobby Lounge at JW Marriott Chicago from now until end of the month
Oscar Inspiration: Zoe Saldana’s Oscar dress was a beautiful lavender color which inspired the Lobby Lounge team to create a drink with hints of lavender and floral tones. Its name is derived from Zoe’s role in Avatar, where she lived in the land of Pandora. The cocktail has a perfect combination of bitter, with the grapefruit juice, and sweet with the black berries, and mixed with a floral undertone from the rose water and lavender tincture. The recipe includes gin, rose water syrup, dry vermouth, grapefruit juice, lavender tincture, muddled black berries, topped with soda water and a sugared grapefruit.
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. Nolet’s Gin
0.5 oz. Rose Water Syrup
0.25 oz. dry vermouth
1 oz. grapefruit juice
1 bar spoon of lavender tincture
3 muddled black berries
Directions: Mix all ingredients together and then top with soda water. Garnish with a slice of sugared grapefruit.
Song and Dance (La La Land)
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. of Jim Beam black
.5 oz. of Aperol
.75 oz. strawberry syrup
.75 oz. lemon juice
Egg white
Directions: Combine all liquids (except egg white) into a cocktail shaker. Dry shake. Double strain into a clean cocktail shaker. Add egg white and shake until well combined and the egg white has emulsified. Strain into coupe/footed rocks glass and allow the foam to settle. Add confetti firework stencil.
Truly Sparkling Starlet
Ingredients:
6 oz. Truly Spiked & Sparkling Colima Lime
.5 oz. Triple sec
.5 oz. Pomegranate juice
1 oz. Vodka
Directions: Combine vodka, triple sec, and pomegranate juice over ice in a Collins glass. Top with Truly Spiked & Sparkling Colima Lime. Garnish with lime slice.
The Manchester (Manchester by the Sea)
Ingredients:
2 oz. of Jim Beam Black
.5 oz. of simple syrup
2 dash bay bitters
1 dash orange bitters
Directions: Combine all liquids into a pint glass and stir for 60 rotations. Pour into a rocks glass with a large cube. Garnish with a sailboat.
Over the Moon (Moonlight)
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. Jim Beam Black
.5 oz. of St. Germain
.5 oz. of simple syrup
.75 oz. of lemon juice
1 oz. red wine to top
Directions: Combine all liquids into a shaker. Shake well. Double strain into a small Collins glass. Top with one ounce of bold red wine. Garnish with a lemon moon and star.
Red Carpet Cocktail
Ingredients:
2 oz. Jim Beam Black
.75 oz. lemon juice
.75 oz. blossom honey
Directions: Add liquids into a cocktail shaker and shake, double strain into a rocks glass and top with gold flakes.
The Gold Cocktail
By Aisha Sharpe for VDKA 6100
Ingredients:
2 oz. VDKA 6100
1 oz. Fresh lemon juice
1 oz. Simple syrup
Pinch of edible gold dust
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a shaker and add ice. Shake and strain into a chilled glass.