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The 7 Best Drinking Scenes in Modern Film

Hollywood has a way of making vices look incredible sexy. Watch a few minutes of any Humphrey Bogart film and honestly tell me you don’t want a cigarette, I dare you. The same goes with booze, which can take on immortal status through a deftly acted scene or some clever editing.

Many iconic movie characters have enjoyed a good drink or four. From James Bond to Jeff Lebowski, there’s a broad spectrum of characters and scenes that revolve around a signature cocktail or beer-guzzling soiree. Some scenes, naturally, are better than others. If there were an Oscar’s for drinking scenes in modern film, these would be the nominees:

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Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

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This fantastic scene from 1998’s Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is pure, party-fueled shenanigans. It’s got everything, from a piano, backflips, and pulls right from the tap to spiraling camerawork that feels blissfully drunk. It’s hard not to imagine just how much fun you and your best friends would have if you got to close down a bar on your own. Don’t try this at home, unless you know how to cure a hangover.

The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski "Sioux City Sarsaparilla"

There aren’t too many scenes in this classic Coen brothers film that don’t involve a White Russian. Yet, there’s something magical about this moment, where The Dude has a drink at the bowling alley bar with Sam Elliot’s character, The Stranger. Whether its imagined or not takes nothing away from the perfect commentary and world-class acting. It’s fair to say sarsaparilla sales likely went up a bit after this movie came out. 

The Shining

Bar Scene - The Shining

One of the scariest movies of all time also touts one of the best drinking scenes. Here, Jack Nicholson hallucinates to the point of conjuring up the lodge’s old and decidedly dapper barkeep. He enjoys a much-needed Jack Daniels on the rocks while tailspinning into insane waters brought on by isolation (something that feels frighteningly familiar these days). “You were always the best bartender, from Timbuktu to Portland, Maine,” Nicholson famously says. After one sip, things get gloomy fast and the viewer sees the genuine plight of a tortured soul. It’s brilliant and fueled by brown liquor.

Sideways

Sideways - Why Are You So Into Pinot

A dark romantic comedy with loads of wine drinking, Sideways has its share of moments to choose from. While downing wine straight out of the bottle in the vineyard or taking a swig from the spit bucket have their own merits, the best scene goes to Paul Giamatti as he waxes poetic about Pinot Noir. Winos were quick to borrow the adjective “haunting” for their favorite wines after taking in this 2004 movie. 

Lost in Translation

Suntory Time! - Lost in Translation (1/10) Movie CLIP (2003) HD

Bill Murray as a Japanese whisky ambassador is pure filmic gold. This scene in the outstanding 2003 film Lost in Translation encapsulates the genius of Bill Murray and the absurdity that can come with being a foreigner in an unfamiliar place. A drink has never looked so good, in the custody of a tuxedo-clad Murray. It’s frustrating, hilarious, and hyperbolic, much like a night of heavy drinking. 

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark: Meeting Marion (1981) [HD]

Shots! The list would not be complete without a good old fashioned drinking context. This one from arguable the best of the Indiana Jones series takes place in Nepal and features cash, high-tolerance locals, peer pressure, and a communal table. The dimly lit bar where Marion works looks like the perfect place to throw a few back.

Goldfinger

GOLDFINGER - MARTINI

The scene that started it all for 007, in which he orders the first of many, many Martini’s over the course of the movie series. It’s hard to pick a favorite among the giant and booze-soaked James Bond catalogue but there’s something about the first time the iconic drink is spotlighted. And, well, Sean Connery was the best Bond, hands down.

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Fresh beer is better beer. Now, you can have cold draft beer at home or on the go with your own personal beer keg setup.
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There's a wide selection of iconic craft beers and tasty cheap beers available to drink in cans and bottles. But nothing beats a good, heady draft pint served right from a tap or kegerator. As the name implies, a kegerator is a refrigerator that keeps a keg of beer cold and fresh while allowing you to dispense the contents from a built-in pressurized tap system on top.

However, it is a costly appliance, so it’s recommended to do your homework and invest your hard-earned money in a top-notch quality unit that will surely keep your beer fresh. To help you save time on researching the best ones, we’ve rounded up our picks for the best kegerators of 2023, with our selections ranging from on-the-go options to the most innovative dual-tap kegerators.

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The Borg drink is a viral Gen-Z favorite that’s really not all that new
Sorry, kiddos. "Borg" has been around for a while. We just call it something else.
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Every new generation thinks they've invented the wheel when it comes to anything trendy. We're sorry to say, Gen-Z, but "flared leggings" are called yoga pants, most of us were using flip phones before you were born, and don't even think about talking to us about pop punk unless you know who Billie Joe Armstrong is.
When it comes to drinks, most generations have a hallmark party beverage that defines their college years, holding the power to flood them with a rush of nausea and fuzzy memories even decades later. For Gen-Z, that drink is called "Borg." What they haven't realized yet, though, is that this falsely fruity concoction has been around for years under the name "Jungle Juice."
While Jungle Juice was originally invented by U.S. soldiers during the Second World War, it was Millenials who made it the truly trashy, hangover-inducing party swill it is. Most stereotypically mixed in a large bucket or something else that can be found in a dorm garage, Jungle Juice is a mixture of vodka and a cheap, fruity mixer such as Kool-Aid. Naturally, there aren't any hard and fast recipe rules, but that's the usual gist of Jungle Juice.
The Gen-Z twist, Borg, does have some clever upgrades, and for that, we give them due credit. Firstly, the rather gross-sounding name is actually a witty acronym for "Black Out Rage Gallon." We love that there's no beating around the bush with this generation. They know how to call a spade a spade. Second, unlike the communal trough that's used to dole out Jungle Juice, Borg is made and served in individual plastic jugs, cutting down on germ spread. We can appreciate that growing up in the days of COVID has made for some much healthier thinking. We also love that Borg can be capped, making it much more difficult for potential predators to tamper with a drink.
Of course, the optional addition of new ingredients like Liquid IV also help to curb the hangover that will undoubtedly come with drinking vodka from a plastic jug. That sure would have been nice back in the day.

Borg drink recipe

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Is erythritol harmful? What a dietitian says new data means for your Keto diet
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While sugar substitutes have been around for more than a century, they didn't really become mainstream here in the United States until around the mid-70s. According to Carolyn De La Pena, professor of American Studies at UC Davis and author of Empty Pleasures: The Story of Artificial Sweeteners from Saccharin to Splenda, between 1975 and 1984, Americans increased their consumption of artificial sweeteners by 150 percent. This timeline makes sense when you take into account that the late seventies coincided with the start of our crazed diet culture and the revolving door of fad diets.
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A new study has made waves recently because its findings indicate there's a link between erythritol and higher rates of heart attack and stroke (though the study did note that only an association was found — not causation. So should you be worried?
We asked Dan LeMoine, RD, the award-winning author of Fear No Food and the Clinical Director at Phoenix-based Re:vitalize Nutrition, what he had to say about erythritol, including its benefits and potential health risks. "Artificial sweeteners are still sweeteners. While many are non-nutritive or zero-calorie, we tend to view them similarly as we do regular sweeteners or sugars — moderation is key. While many have amazing implications on weight loss – being low to no-calorie options and having little impact on blood sugar, some have their downside," he says.

While some of that sugar substitution has been good for waistlines and health issues that come from obesity, it seems to be causing more and more concern when it comes to other potential health issues. "For example," says LeMoine, "some research indicates the popular sweeteners stevia may have negative effects on the gut microbiome. And the recent study showing correlation between the sugar alcohol, erythritol, and heart attack and stroke."

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