Recipes Featured in this Article
Tim Sweeney, head bartender at the famed Pebble Bar in Rockefeller Center, is joining TODAY to shake, strain and stir up four magical movie-inspired cocktails. He shows us how to make a "Casablanca"-themed cocktail with lemon and gin, a fruity tropical drink based on "Trading Places," a chocolate-hazelnut riff on a White Russian as a nod to "The Big Lebowsk," and a Boulevardier — which you could drink over and over and over again — based on "Groundhog Day."
"Trading Places"
"Looking good, Billy Ray!" —Louis Winthorpe III
"Feeling good, Louis." —Billy Ray Valentine
Since about age 10, I would bet that I haven't gone any two-year period without sitting down and watching "Trading Places", the favorite comedy film of my dad's, Mark Sweeney, and quite arguably mine as well ("This Is Spinal Tap" is its stiff competition). This cocktail is named after Eddie Murphy's character and I'm slightly cheating with my drink interpretation. The Billy Ray Valentine is not based on a specific drink from the film like all the other drinks on this list. Rather, this libation is "inspired" by the movie, similar to the flexibility one uses when they say "based on a true story."
Your nonalcoholic components essentially form a ginger-strawberry lemonade. The red complexion is apropos to the "Valentine" surname, so that's why the character was chosen instead of the film title. But the larger reason for using this film is that you can choose what spirit to use with it (vodka, gin, rum, tequila or mezcal). If you don't like one spirit and prefer another, they can ... trade places (rimshot!). Your choice of spirit tailors the cocktail to your taste.
"Groundhog Day"
"Could I have one more of these with some booze in it?" —Phil Connors
At one point in this film, Rita (Andie McDowell) famously orders a sweet vermouth on the rocks with a twist ... which is too simple for this show and also not especially appetizing. Phil (Bill Murray) wants his Jim Beam on ice (with water) ... also too simple for our purposes. So, what combines bourbon and sweet vermouth on the rocks with a twist? The Boulevardier (to wit: a Negroni with whiskey in place of gin). All you have to do is add Campari and stir.
The thesis statement for this classic according to the great Kyle Sweeney (this is my cousin's favorite film of all-time. Obsession is an overused word, but I do find it apt in this scenario) is that Phil takes the worst day of his life and turns it into the best day of his life by the film's end. In the spirit of "Kyle's Law" this cocktail is me trying to take a pretty unappetizing concept in the "Sweet Vermouth on the Rocks" and turning it into the bitter whiskey classic. It has been around for approximately a century and has stayed around for a reason.
"The Big Lebowski"
"Hey, careful man, there's a beverage here!" —The Dude
The Dude (Jeff Bridges) was most certainly lazy, quite possibly the laziest in Los Angeles County, which would place him high in the running for laziest worldwide. All The Dude ever wanted was his rug back ... that and a pair of White Russians, his drink of choice. This riff was created replacing Kahlua with hazelnut, cacao (chocolate) and cold brew.
You're also welcome to add more vodka to this recipe if you'd like it as stiff as the one that Jackie Treehorn made The Dude in Malibu. Whether you're a roadie for Metallica, or obviously not a golfer, or you're out of your element, or had a rough night and you hate the Eagles, do what The Dude would do and fix up The Dude Abides. Because while life does not start and stop at your convenience, you can always go bowling.
"Casablanca"
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." —Rick
"The above is perhaps the most famous booze-based quote in film history. On top of that, Rick's (Humphrey Bogart) old flame, Yvonne (Madeleine Lebeau), orders a gin Champagne cocktail in the film — aka a French 75 (originally named after a French WWI field gun)," says Tim Sweeney, head bartender of Pebble Bar. "I was going to use the original classic cocktail for this movie, but my copilot, Dante, came up with a simple riff that's delicious. And yes, there is also a great film called "The Usual Suspects" (1995) that takes its name from one of Claude Rains' final lines in "Casablanca" ("Round up the usual suspects!"), so I love bringing it back full circle and kind of getting two movies for the price of one with the wink in this title."
If you like those creative cocktails from Pebble Bar, you should also try these:
