May 2, 2011

The Joy of Drinking

A friend once called the Old Fashioned that I was drinking "girlie."[pejorative] I am no longer on speaking terms with him because he is a misogynist fraternity asshole, but also because he obviously has no taste. The Old Fashioned is a classic cocktail and part of my personal Alcoholic Great Awakening. (Or maybe Alcoholic Age of Enlightenment?)

In the past few months, I've discovered a whole world of alcohol beyond the American lager. It's a world of hoppy beers, nuanced tastes, cocktails that require a little bit of work before you can drink them, and research into what was fermented to produce a specific vodka. It's a bit like food but with less mess in the kitchen and nothing gets burned by my incompetence. Well, nothing but brain cells.

My sister and I have decided to attempt the Disney Challenge and watch all 50 Walt Disney Animation Studios features over the coarse of this summer while taking turns reviewing them on our blogs. I have upped the ante by deciding to include a cocktail review with the movies that I review. This means I will learn approximately 20 new cocktails while watching about 30 movies I've never watched before.



The list of who is responsible for which films is as follows:

1Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Stephanie
2Pinocchio: Paul Gin and Tonic
3Fantasia: Stephanie
4Dumbo: Paul Vodka Tonic
5Bambi: Stephanie
6Saludos Amigos: Paul Dry Martini
7The Three Caballeros: Stephanie
8Make Mine Music: Paul Gibson
9Fun and Fancy Free: Stephanie
10Melody Time: Paul Perfect Martini
11The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad: Stephanie
12Cinderella: Paul Vodka Martini
13Alice in Wonderland: Stephanie
14Peter Pan: Paul Dirty Vodka Martini
15Lady and the Tramp: Stephanie
16Sleeping Beauty: Paul Gin Fizz
17One Hundred and One Dalmatians: Stephanie
18The Sword in the Stone: Paul Gimlet
19The Jungle Book: Stephanie
20The Aristocats: Paul Screwdriver
21Robin Hood: Stephanie
22The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Paul Mimosa
23The Rescuers: Stephanie
24The Fox and the Hound: Paul Crown and Coke
25The Black Cauldron: Stephanie
26The Great Mouse Detective: Paul Manhattan
27Oliver & Company: Stephanie
28The Little Mermaid: Stephanie
29The Rescuers Down Under: Paul Dry Manhattan
30Beauty and the Beast: Paul Vesper
31Aladdin: Stephanie
32The Lion King: Paul Tom Collins
33Pocahontas: Stephanie
34The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Paul John Collins
35Hercules: Stephanie
36Mulan: Paul Sidecar
37Tarzan: Stephanie
38Fantasia 2000: Paul Gin Sour
39Dinosaur: Stephanie
40The Emperor's New Groove: Paul Whiskey Sour
41Atlantis: The Lost Empire: Stephanie
42Lilo & Stitch: Paul White Russian
43Treasure Planet: Stephanie
44Brother Bear: Paul Sea Breeze
45Home on the Range: Stephanie
46Chicken Little: Paul Margarita(On the rocks)
47Meet the Robinsons: Stephanie
48Bolt: Paul Red Molly
49The Princess and the Frog: Stephanie
50Tangled: Paul Old Fashioned

9 comments:

  1. This is a really cool idea. I find the fact that you and Steph are watching 50 Disney movies over the summer awesome, and I'm kinda envious.
    If I were of drinking age, I might find the drinking review cooler, but I still think it's a great idea as is.
    When does this start? After finals are done?

    ReplyDelete
  2. We start with Snow White on Saturday.

    ReplyDelete
  3. But what are you drinking with these movies?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh this is a fun idea! We take our film and our drinking seriously at our house, and I look forward to both your blog and Stephanie's.

    We also pooh-pooh your former friend's "girlie" comment. A Cosmo, sure, not an Old-Fashioned, for chrissake. (Plus, I know lots of men who enjoy the Girlie Drinks.) The Spouse is a, well not exactly a mixologist, but certainly a mix-thusiast, so if you're searching for new recipes, let me know. (He also thinks you need to match the drink with the film, but that might be excessive...)

    Have you really not seen 30 of these?

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Airplane: You raised an excellent point. I've added cocktails to the movie list.

    @Abigail: Nothing would be greater than new recipes and general ideas from you and The Spouse. I'm so green, I don't even know exactly what questions I should be asking. The same goes for how to match drinks and films. The idea crossed my mind, but I don't have a clue where to start.

    The 30 movie estimate was a bit high, but having not seen 21 is still a large portion of them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oooh, you're trying the Red Molly? it's pretty tasty! I was there when Ian first made it!
    What gin are you going to use for your gin-based drinks? New Amsterdam is a good inexpensive option, it's a little, hm, "brighter", with a bit of a citrusy taste to it. Hendricks is my all-time favorite, it's a gin drinker's gin. So good.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well, matching drinks to movies can be thematic, or ingredient-based, or country-of-origin, etc. For instance, Peter Pan could be a Gimlet 'cause that's a very British-y drink, and is gin and lime which prevents scurvy so it's piratey. The Little Mermaid could be a Sea Breeze (altho' that's one of Stephanie's). Princess & the Frog could have something with Southern Comfort. Oliver & Co. is your Manhattan, while Great Mouse Detective is the Gin & Tonic.

    Okay, you're getting the idea---let's start with your first film: Pinocchio. It's Italian, so you could go with an amaretto drink, but a Grasshopper is Jiminy Cricket-ish, and a Screwdriver reminds us of Geppetto and building the puppets.

    (If you're having a drink for Stephanie's movies, too, try an Appletini for Snow White. Girlie, but good.)

    The Spouse is offering suggestions on a movie-by-movie basis, if you want. He's getting waaaay too into this---pulled out one of his cocktail books and everything...

    ReplyDelete
  8. @phishnalgene: I've been drinking Bombay Sapphire, but I plan to experiment a bit as part of this.

    @Abigail: Your Sea Breeze, Southern Comfort, and Appletini suggestions have convinced me to have a drink for every movie. There are too many new flavors and ingredients to explore to limit it to twenty five cocktails. Drink matching still intimidates the crap out of me, but I think I have the idea. Nothing would please me more than if you two posted your suggestions, but only if you all want to. I don't want to make work for anyone.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, no work, just fun---though we'll probably offer them a few at a time as opposed to one giant list. You've got all the bar tools at the ready?

    ReplyDelete