Oscars Cocktails: 9 Drinks Inspired by the Best Picture Nominees

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Whether you're throwing an all-out fancy Oscars Party for friends or rooting for your favorite film curled up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, toast your Best Picture pick with one of our Oscars-themed cocktails. Developed by Nitehawk Cinema's Beverage Director Jen Marshall, each of these classy recipes is inspired by the mood, characters, or setting of a 2012 Best Picture Nominee. Does your favorite film match your favorite cocktail?




RECIPE: Minny's Mississippi Punch
This punchy Southern cocktail, inspired by nominee The Help, is sweet but surprisingly strong-just like the characters in the movie.

MAKES 1 COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ oz. rum
1 oz. rye whiskey
1 oz. apple brandy
½ fresh lemon juice
½ tsp. granulated sugar
2 dashes orange bitters

INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain the mixture into a pilsner glass filled with fresh ice.

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RECIPE: Billy's A Team
Inspired by Moneyball, this refreshing herbal drink gets it's money-green hue from muddled mint and basil.

MAKES 1 COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS2 oz. gin
¾ oz. fresh lime juice
½ oz. simple syrup
5 fresh basil leaves
5 fresh mint leaves

INSTRUCTIONS
Muddle the mint and basil together in a cocktail shaker. Top with ice and all other ingredients; shake well and strain the mixture into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a lime wedge.

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RECIPE: The Lumière
This cocktail was inspired by Best-Picture nominee Hugo. The magical sophistication of elderflower, citrus, and green chartreuse mirrors Hugo's and Isabella's enchanting quest through 1930's Paris.

MAKES 1 COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS1 ½ oz. gin
1 oz. elderflower liqueur, like St. Germain
¾ oz. fresh lime juice
¾ green chartreuse
Dash of orange bitters

INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all ingredients in a large glass filled with ice. Stir thoroughly and strain the mixture into a coupe. Garnish with a lime twist.


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RECIPE: Oskar's Key
Bittersweet with spicy, herbal undertones, the complex flavor of this rye cocktail celebrates the complexity of Oskar's character in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

MAKES 1 COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ oz. rye whiskey
½ oz. St. Elizabeth's Allspice Dram
½ oz. fresh lemon juice
½ brown sugar simple syrup
Orange bitters

INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain the mixture into a rocks glass. Top with a few dashes of orange bitters.

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RECIPE: The Orchard
Inspired by Tree of Life, this combination of sweet maple syrup and spicy applejack brandy tastes like an orchard in your glass-and reminds us of the seemingly simple but undeniably tough life of 1950's Texas.

MAKES 1 COCKTAIL

INGREDIENTS2 oz. apple brandy
¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
½ oz. maple syrup
6 drops St. Elizabeth's Allspice Dram

INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake well to fully incorporate the syrup. Strain into a glass and serve.


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RECIPE: The King Family Fortune
With pineapple juice, grenadine, and vanilla vodka, The King Family Fortune plays on the tropical setting of The Descendants.

MAKES 1 COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ oz. vanilla vodka
3 oz. pineapple juice
¼ oz. grenadine

INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain the mixture into a collins glass. Garnish with a cherry.





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RECIPE: No Man's Land
Bourbon, a favorite spirit during World War I, is the star in this dark and piquant cocktail inspired by War Horse.

MAKES 1 COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS2 oz. bourbon
¾ oz. grenadine
½ oz. fresh lemon juice
3 dashes orange bitters

INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain the mixture into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.






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RECIPE: The French Connection

Cognac, fresh raspberries, and sparkling wine combine to make this fizzy, romantic cocktail, based on Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris.

MAKES 1 COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS2 oz. cognac
¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
¾ oz. simple syrup
4 fresh raspberries
Sparkling wine to top

INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker, and shake well to break down the raspberries. Strain the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Top with a splash of sparking wine.


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RECIPE: Beauty Spot
Beauty Spot, composed of gin, sweet vermouth, and green chartreuse, is classic yet completely original at the same time-much like silent film nominee The Artist itself.

MAKES 1 COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS2 oz. gin
1 oz. red vermouth
½ oz. green chartreuse


INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker or large glass. Stir the mixture thoroughly and strain into a coupe. Garnish with an orange twist.



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