Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

Toast to the Golden Globes with these movie- and show-inspired cocktails

Raise a glass to your favorite movies and TV shows of the year with these cocktails

By
golden globe cocktails the bear necessity
Image used with permission by copyright holder

With the 2025 Golden Globes taking place tonight, it’s a great excuse to look back at some of the best movies and TV shows of the past year. And if you’re staying in to watch the ceremony with some friends, then you can have fun with themed drinks for your favorite entertainments. Below we have a selection of drinks inspired by some of the biggest box office and TV successes of 2024, whether you loved the new version of Gladiator or you’re a crime fiction aficionado who loved Only Murders in the Building.

Gladiator II & Ginger

Image used with permission by copyright holder

An Irish whiskey-based drink for the Irish star of Gladiator II, Paul Mescal.

Ingredients:

  • 1½ oz Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey
  • 1 oz Ginger Ale
  • ½ oz Simple Syrup
  • ½ oz Lemon Juice
  • 8-10 Mint Leave

Method:

Recommended Videos

Build in a Collins glass filled with crushed ice. Add all ingredients and mix well. Garnish with mint leaves.

The Grand Slam Spritz

Image used with permission by copyright holder

For the drama and elegance of Challengers, a combination of St Germain and Prosecco.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 oz St-Germain elderflower liqueur
  • 2 oz Martini prosecco
  • 2 oz Soda water
  • Mint sprig & Lime wedge for garnish

Method:

Add ice into a wine glass. Pour St-Germain and add approximately eight mint leaves. Top with Sparkling wine and soda water. Stir the drink to combine all the ingredients. Garnish with a mint sprig and lime wedge.

Sands of Time Old Fashioned

Image used with permission by copyright holder

For the latest Prince of Persia movie, an orange rum-based Old Fashioned.

Ingredients:

  • 2 ox BACARDÍ Reserva Ocho Sevillian Orange Cask FInish
  • 1/4 oz Honey Syrup
  • 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Method:

Related: 
How to make a Mountain Mule cocktail during Bourbon Heritage Month

Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice and stir for 10-15 seconds. Pour over a large cube in a cold old fashioned. Garnish with an orange slice.

The Emerald City

Image used with permission by copyright holder

For the green hues of Wicked, a martini variation that’s full of citrus and honey.

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ oz Grey Goose Le Citron Flavored Vodka
  • ¾ oz Martini Bianco Vermouth
  • ¾ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
  • ½ oz Honey Syrup (equal parts Honey & Hot Water)

Method:

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini cocktail glass.

The Crime Scene Sour

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Fans of Only Murders in the Building will appreciate this classic blend of aged Scotch with lemon and maple, plus a touch of blood orange juice for a bloody crime scene.

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz Dewar’s 12-Year
  • Lemon juice
  • Maple syrup
  • Ginger syrup
  • Blood orange juice
  • Angostura bitters

Method:

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into ice filled rocks glass.

The Bear Necessity

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Bear might be the most serious comedy show around, but this drink goes for playful with its use of whiskey, honey, and bitters.

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz Aberfeldy 12 Single Malt Scotch whisky
  • 1 bar spoon of local honey
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters

The Gilded Glow

Image used with permission by copyright holder

And finally, if you just enjoy the glitz and glam of award ceremony, then this drink with its use of gin and Champagne is perfect for raising a toast to any sparkling event.

Ingredients:

  • 1.5oz Bombay Sapphire Premier Cru
  • 0.75oz Lemon Juice
  • 0.75oz Simple Syrup
  • 2 oz Champagne
  • Garnish with a lemon twist

Method:

Add the Bombay Sapphire Premier Cru, lemon juice, and simple syrup to a shaker. Shake, strain, and top with champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.

Georgina Torbet
Georgina Torbet
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Georgina Torbet is a cocktail enthusiast based in Berlin, with an ever-growing gin collection and a love for trying out new…

Editors’ Recommendations

How to mix a mini mezcal Cosmo straight out of the ’90s
A 90s cocktail icon given the agave spirits treatment
Mezcal Union Cosmopolitan.

Labor Day Weekend may be over but the calendar still says summer for another few weeks. Make the most of it with a refreshing drink, whether that's a non-alcoholic beer after a long hike or trying your hand at a frozen cocktail recipe at home. Whatever you're in the mood for, we've likely got it here at The Manual.

Mini cocktails are enjoying the moment, the product of folks wanting to moderate a bit (or just have more smaller drinks). We're seeing them in bars across the land, from Los Angeles to New York City. And we just got a great recipe from an agave spirits brand we like. Best, the drink plays the nostalgia game and throws some love at the 90s.

Read more
Why Calvados is the fall spirit you didn’t know you needed
The French spirit that tastes like sweater weather in a glass
Calvados

If you're still clinging to whiskey like a security blanket once the temperature dips below 70, it’s time we had a little chat. There’s a better, more apple-forward way to drink your way through fall, and it’s not another cloying cider or overpriced cocktail. It’s Calvados — France’s apple brandy that tastes like someone distilled your favorite sweater, your grandma’s pie, and a walk through crunchy autumn leaves. And guess what? It’s been waiting patiently while you've been flirting with bourbon. Let’s fix that.
Calvados has long been pigeonholed as a dusty relic — something your beret-wearing great-uncle might sip while recounting tales of the French countryside. For a while, that stereotype wasn’t entirely off. Calvados did suffer from a bit of an old-school image problem: fusty bottles, confusing regional labels, and the kind of branding that screams “heritage” but whispers “boring.”
But the tides are turning. Modern Calvados producers are leaning into the spirit’s natural versatility, shaking off the mothballs and giving us cleaner, more fruit-forward bottles that play beautifully in cocktails without losing their Old World soul. Bartenders are catching on, and savvy home drinkers? They're starting to stash Calvados right next to their rye, and for good reason.

What is Calvados?

Read more
A bartender’s secrets to making perfect frozen drinks at home
Expert advice on making frozen cocktails at home
Deep Eddy

Sure, summer is almost over. But there’s still time to enjoy everything the season has to offer. There are still a few weeks left to sit in an inner tube while drinking a beer and slowly drifting around a pond, river, or stream. You can still spend an afternoon sitting on a dock with your feet in the water, lounge in the middle of a cornfield in a lawn chair, and even have the most epic backyard frozen cocktail party of all time. And while there’s a case to be made for all of the activities, it’s the latter we’re most interested in today.

I get it, “all time” is a bit of an understatement. But there is still time to enjoy a fun afternoon or evening, indulging in frozen mixed drinks. And you don’t have to find a bar that serves frozen Margaritas or Daiquiris. You can make them at home.

Read more