Shake things up with classic hollywood cocktails
Published
01st Feb 2013
by rachael
A glass of wine or champagne is always a treat when a client is enjoying a blow-dry or glam styling session, but going one step further and mixing a cocktail to serve in a perfectly chilled glass is an additional step that's bound to bring a smile to their face.
Seasonal drinks are great year round - from Pimms in the summer to mulled wine in winter - but while Hollywood is celebrating its greats, classic movie cocktails are a great option. And they'd be perfect for pamper evenings or evening appointments too - setting the tone for a stylish night out.
These five drinks are all inspired by classic Hollywood films - why not put together a menu for your guests to choose from?
All About Eve Martini
The Martini is a classic cocktail, documented in countless classic movies and enjoying a resurgence thanks to the boozy antics in Mad Men. In 1950's All About Eve, Bette Davis plays a martini-swilling Broadway actress - here's how to make a classic one.
2 oz gin or vodka
1/4 oz dry vermouth
2 olives
Fill half a cocktail shaker with ice and shake or stir the gin (or godka) and vermouth. Strain into a chilled Martini glass and garnish with olives skewered on a cocktail stick.
Casablanca Champagne Cocktail
An all-time old Hollywood great, Casablanca (1942), sees the champagne flowing - this classic cocktail captures some of that refined glamour. Here's looking at you, kid!
1 sugar cube
2-3 dashes of bitters
1 oz brandy
Champagne
Orange slice
Soak the suagr cube in the bitters and brandy and place in the bottom of a champagne flute. Top up with Champagne and garnish with an orange slice.
Marilyn's Manhattan
The Manhattan is another classic cocktail, memorably imbibed by Marilyn Monroe in 1959 comedy, Some Like it Hot.
2 oz bourbon or rye
1 oz sweet vermouth
4 dashes of bitters
Maraschino cherry
Stir the rye, vermouth and bitters together with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the cherry.
Seven Year Itch Sour
While we don't recommend drinking a whiskey sour for breakfast, like Richard in the Seven Year Itch (1955), this classic cocktail can't be beat.
2 oz whiskey
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 maraschino cherry
1/2 slice of lemon
ice
Stir together the ice, whiskey, lemon juice and sugar in a glass and stir. Add the slice of lemon, top with cherry and serve.
Masterson's Milk Punch
In Guys and Dolls (1955), Frank Sinatra's Nathan Detroit bets Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) that he can't persuade a girl of his choice to go with him to Havana. Sky takes him on, only to find that Detroit has chosen missionary Sarah Brown. He eventually convinces her to go but spikes a few glasses of milk on the way. "At night they put a kind of preservative in it," he says. "That's interesting. What do they use?" asks Sarah. "Bacardi." "Doesn't that have alcohol in it?" "Well, just enough to stop the milk from turning sour."
2 oz rum
1 teaspoon of sugar
6-8 oz milk
Grated nutmeg
Stir the brandy in a mixing glass filled with ice, then strain into a short glass. Top up with milk, add sugar to taste and sprinkle with grated nutmeg.
Finally, don't forget that your salon needs an alcohol licence if you're going to be serving up drinks - whether that's a free bottle of beer or something more elaborate. You can find out more about getting an alcohol licence for your salon here.
