Macauley Culkin slaps his own cheeks and screams in the bathroom mirror. Buddy the Elf turns the department store toy section into a Christmas fever dream for Santa's arrival. Flick takes the dare and gets his tongue stuck to a frosty pole. John McClane utters the timeless festive greeting: "Yippee Ki Yay..." well, you know the rest.
Christmas movies are part of the modern holiday tradition, and while there are hundreds to help you feel warm and bright, one Vancouver cocktail bar narrowed it down to a dozen classics and came up with the absolutely perfect drinks to match each one, all for your spirited sipping this festive season.
Award-winning bartender Andrew Kong is shaking and stirring things up this holiday season at H Tasting Lounge with his inventive roster called the "12 Cocktails of Christmas Movies." Featuring familiar films and lots of festive flavours, the imaginative line-up of boozy (and some not-boozy versions) bevs is sure to get cocktail lovers feeling the holiday spirit.
Focused predominantly on the holiday flicks you love from the 80s and 90s - with room for the enduring charm of the beloved stop-motion animated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - you can cozy up by the H Tasting Lounge fireplace and drink boozy tributes to movies like Love Actually, Scrooged, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
For some of his whimsical creations, Kong got quite literal, like with the "lactose intolerant girl" in The Santa Clause: The "Lactose Intolerant" cocktail is a creamy non-dairy concoction of Maker’s Mark Bourbon, lactose-free cream cheese, soy milk, rooibos tea, lemon, and vanilla.
And it's hard to forget naive Buddy in Elf picking the gum off the subway station railing and giving it a taste; that's how Kong came to create the "Free Subway Bubblegum," a bright blue beverage featuring El Tequileño Reposado tequila, Stump gin, lemon, bubblegum, and mint. (A kid-friendly or non-imbiber version pares it down to lemon, bubblegum, and mint with the addition of soda and grapefruit for a fun option called "Sugarfree Bubblegum.")
Kong says he got to work on the holiday drink list of the summer, which has involved making all sorts of components in-house, like the Pepsi reduction that comes into play in the "Thief Trap" - inspired by Home Alone.
To help guests navigate the terrain, a beautiful story-book like guidebook serves as the menu, and the drinks are even plotted out like a map so that you know where on the intensity and flavour profile scale you might land.
Not surprisingly, one of the more potent options is the "Rye Hard," which is inspired by - you guessed it, Die Hard - that has a fun DIY component: You get to pull off the tiny bottle of Underberg bitters strapped to your individual glass-bottled cocktail and do the final pour yourself. "Yippe Ki Yay," indeed!
Full menu of the "12 Cocktails of Christmas Movies" at H Tasting Lounge
1. Network President (Scrooged)
‘Champagne’ Mionetto Treviso Brut Prosecco, Demerara, Menta Branca, Bitters, Black Olive Brine
2. Total Agony of Love (Love Actually)
Smirnoff Vanilla Vodka, Frangelico, Love Buzz Sour Reduction, Lemon, Oat Milk, Pinot Noir Soda
3. Yukon Cornelius (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer)
Tanqueray 10, Stump Gin, Yellow Chartreuse, Elderflower Cordial, Wintergreen, Gold Dust
4. 39-and-a-Half Foot Pole (The Grinch)
Noteworthy Gin, Crème de Cacao, Mint, Mint Chocolate Ice Cream
5. Glacier Gulch (Polar Express)
Bornholmer Akvavit, Bitter Bianco, Esquimalt Dry Vermouth, Juniper Condensed Milk, Nordic Tea Blend, Skyr, Cranberry Bitters
6. Thief Trap (Home Alone)
Olmeca Altos Plata Tequila, Galliano Ristretto, Pepsi Reduction, Whey & Collagen Powder, Cherry Soda
7. Free Subway Bubblegum (Elf)
El Tequileño Reposado Tequila, Stump Gin, Lemon, Bubblegum, Mint
8. Don’t Hog the Nog (National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation)
Maker’s Mark Bourbon, Hennessy VS Cognac, Torres 5yr Brandy, Goslings Black Seal Rum, Hart & Sons 151 Rum, Cream & Milk, Egg Yolks, Spices
9. Lactose Intolerant (The Santa Clause)
Maker’s Mark Bourbon, Lactose-Free Cream Cheese, Soy Milk, Rooibos Tea, Lemon, Vanilla
10. Rye Hard (Die Hard)
Rittenhouse Rye, Cherry Heering, Jägermeister, Underberg
11. Oh Fudge (A Christmas Story)
Angostura 5 yr Rum, Fernet Branca, Lucano Caffé, Brown Butter Falernum, Housemade Hot Chocolate, Bitters
12. Pumpkin Grog (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
Sparrow Rum, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Hart & Sons 151 Rum, Pumpkin Spice, Cold Brew Coffee
The "12 Cocktails of Christmas Movies" are available at H Tasting Lounge (at the Westin Bayshore) now through Dec. 25, 2021.
