Put a little love in your heart
- We'll Drink To That
- Dec 4, 2022
- 3 min read
Christmastime has come again! It's the most wonderful time of year that reminds us to celebrate what we cherish most: friends, family…and movies and booze, of course. For me, Christmas couldn't have come soon enough. This year has run me ragged working a full time job, starting graduate school, and trying to maintain some semblance of a personal life. Needless to say, I am ready for a much needed break and a chance to spend some time with the people I love. And it’s that opportunity to slow down and celebrate that makes me love this time of year. In the modern world it's too easy to get caught up in our own lives, we become so busy and too absorbed in the stress of day to day living that we can too easily forget what really matters. Charles Dickens touched on this theme in his literary classic, “A Christmas Carol” which has since inspired countless adaptations of the well loved tale. In 1988 Richard Donner gave the story a modern twist with his film, “Scrooged”.
Bill Murray stars as the tyrannical television president Frank Cross who is overseeing a live production of Charles Dickens’ classic. Frank is the real Scrooge of the story, terrorizing his employees, avoiding his brother, and gifting everyone in his life towels for Christmas. He has pushed everyone who has loved him out of his life, and has ended up greedy, alone, and miserable.
“You're staying here with me. We're working late.” -Frank Cross
“But I have to take my son to the doctor.” -Grace
“GRACE! When I work late, YOU work late!” -Frank Cross
“But I made the appointment two months ago!” -Grace
“I DON'T CARE!” -Frank Cross
After being visited by the ghost of his long dead mentor, he’s warned he must turn his life around and right his wrongs. And as the story we all know goes, Frank is visited by the 3 Christmas spirits: Past (David Johansen), Present (Carol Kane), and Future. And through the lessons he learns he is given a chance to rethink his life choices and make a fresh start.
Christmas Past takes the form of a goblinesque cab driver–which is fitting for the New York City setting. He takes Frank to the start of his career and the night he met the love of his life Claire (Karen Allen). And Frank is forced to see how the choices he’s made ruined his chance at happiness.
Christmas Present takes the form of a cartoonish fairy princess with an appetite for violence. She has little patience for Frank's sour attitude and isn’t afraid to bop him on the nose when he steps out of line. She takes Frank to parts of the city he would never frequent alone, including the home of his devoted secretary and her family who cannot afford a Christmas tree this year.
Christmas Future is the most horrifying of all and shows Frank of what is to come if he continues down this path. And of course we all know how this beloved story ends. But what makes “Scrooged” unique, besides its cartoonish and comedic characters, is Frank's final realization and transformation. We see an unhinged but reborn Frank give a chaotic and rambling speech on live television. The scene is surprisingly moving and Bill Murray acts with such intensity and emotion that the message of the story really hits home: The miracle can happen to you.
“It's Christmas Eve! It's... it's the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we... we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be. It's a... miracle. It's really a sort of a miracle.” -Frank Cross
Our Scrooged cocktail is based on the drink we see Frank order at a business dinner, the Highball. We put a Christmas twist by adding cranberry syrup and turning the ginger up a notch with Canada Dry Bold Ginger Ale which adds a more spicy flavor than traditional ginger ale. For the bourbon we used Double Oak Twice Barreled Jim Beam. The second barreling allows the bourbon to develop an even deeper level of intense spiced oakiness and rich caramel. We garnished the drink with a lemon wedge and fresh cranberries. Named after Claire’s pet name for Frank, we call it Lumpy’s Holiday Highball.
Lumpy’s Holiday Highball
2 oz. Bourbon
.5 oz cranberry syrup
Canada Dry Bold Ginger Ale
Lemon wedge and cranberries for garnish
Instructions:
In a cocktail shaker, pour in bourbon and cranberry syrup.
Add ice and shake for 15 seconds.
Strain over ice in a rocks or a highball glass.
Top with ginger ale and garnish with a fresh lemon wedge and cranberries.
Cranberry Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup cranberries
1 cup water
Place all ingredients in a saucepan, simmer for 10 minutes.
Cool to room temp and double strain using a mesh sieve.
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