How to Make the Cocktail All the Celebs Will Drink at Sunday’s Golden Globes
Sure, the Oscars is the most prestigious film awards ceremony, but ask the screen siren or the wheeling-dealing producer which Hollywood night delivers the most fun and they’ll tell you it’s the Golden Globes.
In 1955, the Globes’ inaugural year, the awards welcomed show-goers to the Beverly Hilton (the hallowed Hollywood hotel has played host to the Globes ever since) with elephants painted pink for the occasion, led around by scantily-clad women. Another year, Olympic champion swimmer Esther Williams elegantly paddled through floating gardenias in Beverly Hilton’s pool. Decades later, Angelina Jolie promised to take a plunge if she took home Best Performance by an Actress for 1999’s Gia. (She did and she did.) In 2001, a tipsy—nay, overserved!—Elizabeth Taylor slurred her presentation of the year’s Best Drama, nearly announcing the winner before even listing the nominees. In 2003, Jack Nicholson admitted to being high on Valium after his acceptance speech for Best Actor in a Motion Picture. And one can imagine all the antics that went without publicity.
The event is associated with A-list mischief and an un-buttoned-up (even in black-tie) flair because unlike the Oscars award ceremony, during which the room is dry in many senses (though some resourceful attendees—Benedict Cumberbatch, Awkwafina—come equipped with flasks to tide them over before the Vanity Fair after-party), the Golden Globes flow with Champagne throughout dinner—thanks to Moët & Chandon, the official Champagne of the Golden Globes for over a quarter-century.
Every year, the Champagne house selects an individual to create a specialty cocktail for the night, then doled out to all the guests in attendance. This year’s chosen “mixologist” is designer LaQuan Smith, who dubbed his pineapple Champagne cocktail creation the Golden Hour, named after that time of day when the setting sun bathes everything with a gilt light that almost resembles the color of, well, Champagne.
The young designer, who’s built a following (Kylie Jenner just slinked onto Instagram in his leopard bodysuit) for his dancing-on-the-nightclub-table-ready looks, explained his poetic source of inspiration. “It’s those intimate moments when you’re getting ready before hitting the red carpet for one of Hollywood’s biggest nights. It’s the countless hours of preparation, fittings, and glam that many people hardly ever get to see and to me, those are the special golden hour moments.”
Of creating the delightfully simple recipe (the ingredients are Moët Imperial, Belvedere vodka, fresh pineapple juice, simple syrup, pineapple, and smoked salt), Smith explains, “I love Champagne and usually never drink it in a cocktail, so I had to get creative with additional ingredients that would taste great. So I just thought about other spirits and mixers that I enjoy sipping—vodka and fresh pineapple juice immediately came to mind.”
So what does it taste like? Per its maker: “It’s a delicious cocktail with significant notes of citrus that lands very smooth on the palate. I’ve actually made the recipe with friends over the holidays and they absolutely loved it.”
This Sunday, the drink will be tried out by another discerning bunch at the Golden Globes—its measure of success could very well be whether or not someone ends up in the pool.
The Moët Golden Hour
1.5oz Moet Imperial Brut 0.8oz Belvedere Pink Grapefruit Vodka 1.1oz Fresh Pineapple Juice 0.35oz simple syrup
Garnish: Pineapple sprinkled with Smoked Salt Served: Coupe glass
Preparation: Combine and shake the vodka, pineapple juice and simple syrup in a shaker. Pour the mixture into a coupe and top with Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut. Garnish with a fresh pineapple chunk sprinkled with smoked salt.
Originally Appeared on Vogue
