There are some cocktails that we all know. Even if you are strictly a beer or wine drinker you will more than likey be able to distinguish a Martini from a Mojito and there is a good reason for this. Our familiarity with these drinks is to a large extent due to their appearance in widely watched movies and classic novels.

The most obvious example of this is James Bond’s loyalty to the Vodka Martini throughout all the years of his tireless espionage and seduction. Bond’s line “shaken, not stirred” is one of the most famous movie quotes of all time and has cemented the Vodka Martinis place among cocktails as one suited to a professional gentlemen the world around. In the latest bond installment, Quantum of Solace, Bond makes sure we are making our replica Vodka Martinis correct at home by telling the bartender exactly how he likes it, “Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon.”

The Big Lebowski (1998) is another movie in which the main character remains faithful to a specific cocktail. The main character the Dude polishes off countless White Russians throughout this cult classic. Comprised of equal parts of cream, vodka and Kahula, the Dude is less specific than Bond in how he likes his drink prepared, free pouring his cocktails with little regard for accuracy. Prior to this film the White Russian was by no means a popular drink, yet with the success of the film and the popularity of the Dude’s eccentric character this drink has become one of the most popular cocktails of recent times.

The Cosmopolitan and cocktails in general are being enjoyed by many new drinkers thanks to the ladies of Sex and the City and their predilection for spending their time together over a cocktail. This show, which has now gained equally large success as a Movie, has revived to a large degree a culture of cocktails and cocktail parties in recent years, reviving the glamorous and sophisticated image of cocktails.

Novels have also had an influence on our drinking tastes. Writers such as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald always included a great deal of their own preferred drinks of in their literature. Hemingway had a taste for a variety of cocktails and was a religious adherent to his daily aperitif, reflected in his literature with his characters always enjoying their booze in large quantities. It is hard to even read a Hemingway short story and not comes across a description of a character enjoying a drink – very thirsty reading. After spending years tasting his way through the bar lists in Parisian cafes he settled in Havana, Cuba, the birth place of the Mojito. Needless to say he enjoyed many a cocktail here.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, who famously claimed “First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you”, favored gin over other liquors because he believe its scent was undetectable, yet a remarkably low tolerance to alcohol always betrayed his best intentions. Fitzgerald cocktail-of-choice was a Gin Rickey and it is very easy to imagine the characters in his most distinguished novel The Great Gatsby sipping one with pleasure at one of Gatsby’s luxurious parties. If anything Fitzgerald portrayed a society of affluent Americans who like to live fast and drink a lot and when one thinks of his work the image of luxurious cocktail parties is always there.

The movies we watch and books we read influence our lives significantly, more so than most of us are aware of. Whether we to be a classy gentleman like Bond; laid back like the Dude; or sophisticated like the ladies in Sex and the City, we get closer to this image in our mind by adopting their choice of drink, essentially their image. So next time you find yourself ordering a cocktail think for a second and you may just realize where the influence came from.

Author Bio: Cocktail Zen provides cocktails and margarita recipes to any one with a web connection.

Category: Food and Drinks
Keywords: cocktails, margarita, vodka drinks