Ginspired Film & TV

15 May 2019

From fashion to food and drink to travel – trends are often led by popular culture, whether that be film, TV or music and gin is no exception. Having enjoyed a resurgence in popularity and shaking off it’s ‘granny’s tipple’, mothers ruin tarnish, gin may not always have been glam as it is now, but it has always played a part in popular culture.

We’ve put together a rundown of gin in film and TV with a few ways to ‘ginspire’ you:

Mad Men

Set in the 1960s when vodka was in ascendance, the ladies and gentlemen of Mad Men are pretty much partial to any liquor, at any time of day. The New York-based series centres around an advertising agency and is a showcase of classic drinks, featuring old fashioned gin favourites such as the Gimlet and the Tom Collins. The show had a significant impact on the drinks industry upon its airing, with Bartenders (especially in New York) noticing a rise in demand for previously less popular, ‘passé’ cocktails.

For a fresh Tom Collins recipe that stands the test of time, head to our online recipes: HERE.

Casablanca

Here’s looking at a film full of iconic quotes (see what we did there…) Humphrey Bogart’s line “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine” originates from 1942’s ‘Casablanca’ but has featured in many other film and TV shows such as ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Oceans Eleven’. Notably serving up the French 75 cocktail in Rick’s Café Américain, you too can enjoy this classic drink with 50ml Portobello Road Gin, 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp sugar syrup, topped up with champagne and served on ice with a lemon zest garnish.

Visit our gin joint and make your very own gin blend to make French 75s with and more: CLICK HERE.

Sex and The City

Synonymous with the Cosmopolitan cocktail, New York columnist Carrie Bradshaw and pals were keen drinkers, living a luxe life in Manhattan with an equally glamourous penchant for spirit-based drinks. At times ill-advisedly treating the olives in their martinis as sustenance and making the throwing of dirty martinis in someone’s face as appealing as drinking it, gin has had its share of airtime on the 90s TV show. Try our aptly named ‘Sarah Jessica Parsnip’ cocktail recipe HERE.

James Bond

‘Shaken not stirred’, one of the most famous lines in the film, let alone drink-related dialogue and the line is delivered often. In ‘Casino Royale’ alone, 007 consumes 7 martinis or ‘Vespers’, as created by author Ian Fleming. The drink mixes both vodka and gin to create a version of the classic martini.

Get your classic martini fix HERE.

If you fancy spending a glamourous evening, dining in true Bond style, book your space on The Distillery’s immersive Dining Experience – The Distillery Presents James Bond HERE.

Breakfast at Tiffanys

Along the same lines as Bond, Breakfast at Tiffany’s Holly Golightly also enjoyed vodka with her gin, coined the ‘White Angel’ by writer Truman Capote, “Something new… one-half Vodka, one-half Gin, no Vermouth.” Heavy. This might seem like the point where we recommend a vodka-gin based cocktail and though Bond and Holly champion it, the mix of spirits isn’t actually something we’d particularly advocate due to vodka not really adding anything to the two spirits alone.

If you fancy mastering classic gin cocktails, join us on our
Bon Vivant’s Cocktail Masterclass.