Classy drinks from Babylon, the movie

This year (and maybe even longer because I absolutely love it…) Double Strainger will focus on the ‘roaring 20s’. I will spotlight and create prohibition and speakeasy-style drinks and think about how drinks were mixed and served in that specific period in time. 

I’m incredibly thankful that I had the opportunity to work with Paramount Pictures for the Belgian release of their new movie “Babylon”, starring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie.
More info on the movie is below the recipes. 

In this post and the linked socials, I’m spotlighting three iconic classic cocktails starring in this film. I had lots of fun mixing and sipping them. I hope you’ll enjoy them too. Make sure you don’t miss the fun reel on Instagram, where you’ll see me in action, shaking these beauties. 

From the official list of cocktails linked to this movie, I selected three drinks that really represent this era of class and taste: The Classic Martini, The Corpse Reviver and The Orange Blossom.

The Classic Martini is THE iconic drink of this period. The origin of the recipe is a bit unclear, as is the case for most cocktails. This drink was probably served first to John B. Rockefeller in 1911, by a bartender at the Knickerbocker hotel. It’s questionable because Jerry Thomas already mixed Sloe Gin with vermouth and bitters around the 1880s. 

The classic Martini is also one of the favourite base recipes for bartenders to experiment on. It was the original base from which many other modern classics have been developed, like e.g. The Espresso Martini, The Breakfast Martini, The Cosmopolitan, … even the Manhattan and Rob Roy are very similar recipes. 

The gin-based Corpse Reviver (also known as the Corpse Reviver II) is one of the better-known cocktails published in the Savoy Cocktail book, one of the classic references for mixed drinks. 

The Orange Blossom, at last, was one of the more trendy party drinks during the roaring 20s. Good quality spirits were hard to find and bartenders often mixed questionable spirits with juices and fortified wines to hide the poor taste of the badly produced spirits. 

The Classic Martini

Ingredients
60 ml Dry Gin
30 ml Dry Vermouth
1 dash of orange bitters

Method
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir well to chill and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist a piece of lemon peel as a garnish or toss in an olive on a spear. 

The Corpse Reviver (II)

Ingredients
Absinthe, to rinse the glass
25 ml London Dry Gin
25 ml Lillet Blanc
25 ml Orange liqueur
25 ml Freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method
Rinse the inside of a chilled coupe or cocktail glass with absinthe, discard the excess and set the glass aside. Add the gin, Lillet Blanc, orange liqueur and lemon juice to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Fine strain into the prepared glass. 

The Orange Blossom

Ingredients
30 ml Gin
30 ml Sweet vermouth
30 ml Freshly squeezed (blood)orange juice

Method
Add the gin, sweet vermouth and orange juice to a shaker with ice and shake until well chilled. Fine strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a fresh orange wedge. 

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Paramount Pictures Presents - A Marc Platt / Wild Chickens / Organism Pictures Production

A Damien Chazelle Film: “BABYLON”

From Damien Chazelle, BABYLON is an original epic set in 1920s Los Angeles led by Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Diego Calva, with an ensemble cast including Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li and Jean Smart. A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY: Damien Chazelle 

PRODUCED BY: Marc Platt, p.g.a., Matthew Plouffe, p.g.a., Olivia Hamilton, p.g.a.   

EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY: Michael Beugg, Tobey Maguire, Wyck Godfrey, Helen Estabrook, Adam Siegel  

STARRING: Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, P.J. Byrne, Lukas Haas, Olivia Hamilton, Tobey Maguire, Max Minghella, Rory Scovel, Katherine Waterston, Flea, Jeff Garlin, Eric Roberts, Ethan Suplee, Samara Weaving, Olivia Wilde.

In Belgian cinemas starting January 18, 2023.