Toast this awards season around Los Angeles with cocktails as memorable as the personalities and films they’re named after.
By Teena Apeles, adapted from A Taste of Fame in the February 2017 issue of WHERE Los Angeles Magazine
Hollywood has long inspired iconic drinks, from the sweet, nonalcoholic Shirley Temple to the Scotch and amaretto mix that is the Godfather. And the tradition continues with these buzz-worthy cocktails by some of the city’s most creative bartenders. Cheers!
The Howard Hughes
>>The Beverly Hills Hotel
9641 Sunset Blvd., Beverly Hills, 310.276.2251. dorchestercollection.com
“Mr. Hughes was a resident of The Beverly Hills Hotel for over 30 years,” says Robert Rouleau, the hotel’s assistant director of food and beverage. “For this tribute, the classic Aviation and Corpse Reviver No. 2 cocktails combine to pay homage to the Hollywood producer as one of showbiz’s most eclectic characters.”
¾ oz gin
¾ oz Lillet Blanc
¾ oz lemon juice
½ oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
½ oz simple syrup
A touch of absinthe and Crème Yvette
A violet and yellow and orange flowers
Coat rim of glass with absinthe. Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice. Shake and strain into a large, flared martini glass. Pour Crème Yvette lightly on rim of glass to settle on the bottom. Garnish with one violet and four to six yellow and orange flowers.
The Norma Jean
>>The Tuck Room Tavern
10850 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., 310.307.7004. thetuckroom.com
“Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe is buried in the Westwood Cemetery, right behind The Tuck Room Tavern,” notes corporate sommelier/executive bartender Adam Seger, who mentions that the starlet loved strawberries. “This is a liquid love letter to her.”
Serves 12–15
Juice and zest of 6 lemons
1 ½ cup organic agave nectar
1 pt destemmed strawberries
1 qt water
750ml vodka
Fresh mint
Puree lemon juice, agave nectar, and destemmed strawberries in blender and strain into a mixing glass. Add water and vodka, then stir. Pour into chilled tall glass, and garnish with chopped strawberries and fresh mint. “Everything must be cold!”
The Notebook {ryan + gosling}
>>Suburbia
247 Avenida del Norte, Redondo Beach, 424.398.0237. eatsuburbia.com
With critics and audiences alike falling for Ryan Gosling in La La Land, look for the film to receive some Oscar love as well. To celebrate the leading man, Suburbia developed a cocktail named after the film that launched his career, and it is sure to charm.
2 oz black tea–infused vodka
½ oz Mathilde Pêche liqueur
½ oz mint-infused simple syrup
½ oz lemon juice
Mint sprig
Shake ingredients together and strain over ice into a Collins glass. Garnish with a mint sprig and a “Ryan Gosling love note.”
True Grit
>>Hyperion Public
2538 Hyperion Ave., Silver Lake, 323.761.6440. hyperionpublic.com
Inspired by the original 1969 film and 2010 adaptation, this drink took a year to develop. Some attempts included “smoking various types of wood to give the cocktail that smoky essence reminiscent of the films,” shares Franklin T. Bator, Jr., the pub’s director of operations and beverage. “Sipping this cocktail brings you to a campfire in the middle of the Western desert, drinking underneath the stars, while feeling like you are alongside [the characters].”
1½ oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
½ oz Ancho Reyes
¼ oz Peat Monster
1 tsp molasses syrup (1:1)
2 dashes walnut bitters
Orange peel and dried chili pepper
Mix all ingredients in an old-fashioned glass and stir well. Top with walnut bitters and garnish with an orange peel–wrapped dried chili pepper.
Christopher Oaxacan
>>Sassafras Saloon
1233 N. Vine Street, Hollywood, 323.467.2800. sassafrashollywood.com
Get the pun? Say “Oaxacan” out loud and you should. “I have always been one to love a good (or bad) White Russian,” says bartender Chris Welan. “I really wanted to find a way to elevate that cocktail with bigger, bolder flavors. Agave and chocolate have always been a flavor combination I have absolutely adored.”
1½ oz Tequila Ocho Plata
¾ oz El Silencio Black
¾ oz Creme de Cacao a la Vanille
½ oz habanero syrup
1 oz cream
3 dashes Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters
Smoked sea salt
Shaved dark chocolate
“Built in tin—shaken—fine strained into footed cordial glass or coupe.” Garnish with shaved dark chocolate and smoked sea-salt garnish.
