Cocktails Inspired by Legendary TV Shows – Cheers to TV: by Will Francis and Stacey Marsh
There is something about cocktails that makes me feel very happy. Whether a trigger of fond memories from my youth or perhaps just the wonderful flavour combinations that can be achieved when mixing a cocktail drink.
On the search for new and exciting recipes Women Talking came across the book Cheers to TV – Cocktails Inspired by Iconic Television Characters by the publisher Prestel.
The book contains the perfect pop culture pairing, with a diverse collection of drinks inspired by iconic television characters that blend old and new, spicy, sweet, strong, and mellow.
Cheers to TV connects sixty cocktails to the stars of the small screen. Some are invented specifically for that character, such as the Bloody Ending, inspired by Game of Thrones’ Daenerys Targaryen, or the Stringer Bell, an ode to The Wire. Others deliver a TV twist to an established cocktail—a Rusty Nail for Better Call Saul’s titular hero, for instance. Some are cocktails created by the show itself—Absolutely Fabulous’ Stoli-Bolli is sure to outlive its boozy inventor, Patsy Stone.
For those looking for a unique non-alcoholic mix, there are mocktails like the Banana Stand (honouring George Michael Bluth from Arrested Development), coffee-tinged drinks such as the Central Perk (for Friends’ Rachel), and even a rainbow slushie inspired by Pose’s Blanca Evangelista.
Along with clever, original illustrations, straightforward recipes, and engaging texts about the shows and characters, the authors cover the mixology basics: bar equipment; types of spirits, liqueurs, juices, and bitters; garnishes and glassware.
So if you fancy a bit of mixing, stirring and shaking, why not try these ones at home:
Fleabag Cocktail
Fleabag /Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Fleabag can be a prickly character at times, so a brambly twist on her favourite drink seems fitting. This is an impressive yet simple way to elevate a standard gin and tonic, both in terms of aesthetic beauty and with the extra depth of flavour that comes from fresh blackberries (defrosted from frozen is fine too) and a hint of rosemary.
Ingredients
Handful of blackberries
1 shot of fresh lemon juice.
1½ shots gin
½ shot sugar syrup
3 shots of tonic water
Garnish: 1 blackberry in a shaker, muddle most of the blackberries with lemon juice. Add gin and sugar syrup and shake with ice. Strain into an ice-filled copa de balon (gin balloon) and top with tonic water. Submerge a few blackberries in the drink, with a sprig or two of rosemary running around the glass to give the illusion of brambles (and that fantastic aroma).
Friends Cocktail
Rachel Green/Jennifer Aniston
The two best-known coffee-based drinks at any bar are the Espresso Martini and the Irish Coffee. They’re both delicious ways to enjoy café culture in a cocktail glass, so which one to choose? Well, with this drink, you can have both.
The amaro adds botanical depth, giving the cocktail a somewhat medicinal edge. This Italian herbal liqueur is traditionally consumed neat after dinner. It’s sweet and packed with flavours from the herbs, roots, flowers, bark, and citrus peels that traditionally go into it. Any Italian brand of amaro will work, but they are all different, prepared using recipes that originated in monasteries or pharmacies hundreds of years ago.
Ingredients
1½ shots of Irish whiskey
½ shot amaro
½ shot of coffee liqueur
½ shot espresso
Garnish: 3 coffee beans. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish.
Game of Thrones Cocktail
Daenerys Targaryen/Emilia Clarke
Westeros is an unforgiving place, with no one heroic enough to be spared. This blood-red cocktail brings together the fire of reposado tequila with the ice and zesty respite of lime and blood orange. Peel the blood orange slices and mount them on the rim for that extra grisly effect.
Ingredients
2 shots reposado tequila
3 shots of blood orange juice
1 shot of fresh lime juice.
1 shot sugar syrup or agave syrup.
Garnish: blood orange slices; lime and salt for rimming glass. Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a coupe glass and serve.
Poppy Watt