Come with us to the South of France for the summer, soaking up the glitzy French Riviera, as the arrival of the Cannes Film Festival, each year, truly signals the start of the summertime! Now, in its 77th edition, but still retaining its glamorous edge, the Festival was originally set up to rival the International Venice Film Festival and takes place for two weeks annually in May - it attracts the international glitterati, plus there is lots of sun, sea and fun to experience whilst traipsing up and down the famous La Croisette promenade at Cannes, hoping to see and be seen!
If you are able to book a flight and obtain a ticket to this prized event for the summer, there are free open air evening film screenings at the Beach Cinema that are also available for the public to watch. You can expect to see Hollywood stars for the 77th edition, with Meryl Streep being a guest of honour at the opening ceremony - also director Greta Gerwig, of Barbie fame, heads up the jury and the opening night film will be the comedy The Second Act from French director, Quentin Dupieux starring Léa Seydoux (previously seen in the James Bond film No Time To Die). Judith Godrèche’s short film Moi Aussi (Me Too) will appear at the Un Certain Regard programme’s opening ceremony, with Canadian director Xavier Dolan as the chair of this programme’s jury.
You might be wondering why we’re just focusing on a French film festival, but, did you know that not only does the Cannes Film Festival have official wine and sprits suppliers, such as Campari and Rémy Cointreau, but there are also many cocktail parties occurring throughout the festival? Starting with the exclusive opening night cocktail do, there are many after parties, dinners and drinks events each night of the festival as cocktails, wine and films truly make great pairings! The Carlton Hotel on the Croisette and other venues are known to create special Cannes Film Festival cocktails as part of the excitement for the festival.
Sometimes, there might even be new celebrity drinks’ launches too at Cannes – Brad Pitt launched his French Riviera inspired gin, The Gardener Gin, at the Carlton Hotel during the 76th Cannes Film Festival! However, if you are not visiting the French Riviera for the festival but still wish to experience some of the luxury, and have that excuse to dress up, then we’ve got you covered with our Cannes Film Festival inspired selection of gorgeous cocktails to try in some beautiful cocktail bars or to make at home (or at your accommodation in between film screenings), the choice is yours!
Birdcage
Nestled within an art deco setting in the stylish Palm Court restaurant of the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane, the Birdcage cocktail is representative of the hotel’s history and is also inspired by Charles Beaker’s ‘Jigger, Beaker and Glass’ and ‘Knife, Fork and Spoon’ books. Legend states that the cocktail’s name is in memory of the fact that birds nestled within the eaves of the bar’s roof! That sounds cosy to us and rather apt for a film script, you heard it here first! The cocktail is served within a bird shaped glass and is actually presented in a gilded birdcage to add to the magic of these gorgeous surroundings to make you feel every bit the film star! Created by Salman Ullah and designed to recreate that golden era of travel, it is a tart but soft, well blended cocktail with the botanicals from the gin providing that extra flavour and an orange peel garnish as the bird’s tail. Featuring Melifera gin, Grand Marnier, lemon juice, sage honey and lavender bitters, this cocktail will transport you to the French coast as the French Melifera gin is inspired by the Immortelle flower from an island on the French Atlantic coast!
Price: £20
Address: Piccadilly, London W1J 7BX
Website: https://www.marriott.com/en-gb/hotels/longr-sheraton-grand-london-park-lane/dining/
Tot & Voltaire
A visit to the underground Hokus Pokus bar, in London’s King’s Cross area, unveils an air of mysticism with a steam punk vibe which resembles a sci-fi film setting and is so gorgeous that it will take your breath away! Its focus on creativity within mixology will leave you feeling like a guest of honour at a magical drinks lab! Trust us, this bar has that wow factor and amongst its potions is the Tot & Voltaire cocktail, which contains peach infused Black Tot Carabian Blend Rum, white vermouth, green apple and Xin and Voltaire Aurelie Sorbet. The Xin and Voltaire sorbet provides that deliciously creamy sensation within this refreshing, citrus cocktail and is a French brand offering a frozen whisky cocktail. The added wow comes as Tot & Voltaire is served with a complementary Molecular Sphere of house made orange potion and caviar of pomegranate. This cocktail will provide that ‘je ne sais quoi’ to your evening within an innovative bar!
Price: £18
Address: The Megaro Hotel, 1 Belgrove Street Underneath, London WC1H 8AB
Website: https://www.hokuspokus.co.uk/menu
Peach Bamboo
Step inside the downstairs bar of the multi-level Dram Bar as a new addition to the London cocktail bar scene which opened in November 2023. Using sustainable ingredients within its cocktails, the Peach Bamboo created by Chris Tanner is a tasty fusion of fruit from the naturally fermented peach alongside Tio Pepe, Carpano Bianco and the renowned French St Germain Elderflower Liqueur. This is a twist on the classic Bamboo Cocktail with that distinct flavour of the vermouth and the fino sherry combining to create a refreshing and light profile to tantalise your taste buds. Its elegant, luxurious taste will evoke that Mediterranean desire and you can even sit outside on the terrace to enjoy the Peach Bamboo or indulge in a game of pool, there are many options at Dram Bar!
Price: £14
Address: 7 Denmark St, London WC2H 8LZ
Website: https://www.drambar.co.uk/
Royal Vesper
This is a sparkling cocktail developed in the glamorous Sheraton Grand London’s Palm Court restaurant and has film star history carved into it! The Royal Vesper is an adaptation of the Vesper cocktail of James Bond fame from Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale novel, and the subsequent films, and is named after Bond’s first love. This cocktail contains gin, of course, Sauvelle Vodka, Lillet Blanc, Supasawa, lavender syrup and champagne for that truly French connection! Tangy and fruity like a rosé champagne cocktail with a dried lime garnish, its balanced but strong flavour profile holds its own against savoury snacks such as rice crackers and wasabi.
Price: £20
Address: Piccadilly, London W1J 7BX
Website: https://www.marriott.com/en-gb/hotels/longr-sheraton-grand-london-park-lane/dining/
French Riviera
Of course, this French Riviera cocktail is aptly named for our selection and it was created in a cocktail class at TT Liquor Bar (now known as TT) in Shoreditch, London. Its inspiration comes from the South of France and also a classic cocktail bearing the same name, which was created by head bartender Tom Byrne in 2015 at the former Charlotte’s Bistro in Chiswick. Its ingredients include Hennessy and honey with the French Cognac depicting the South of France’s charm and the honey providing the sweetness to the palate. The French Riviera is a refreshing citrus blend that you can re-create at home to take out in to the garden and showcase your cocktail making flair!
Ingredients
40ml Hennessy
15ml White Rum
15ml Lemon Juice
1 Spoonful of Apricot Jam
1 Spoonful of Runny Honey
Method
Add the cognac, rum and lemon juice to your cocktail shaker.
Add a big spoonful of apricot jam and a big spoonful of the honey to the mixture and stir all ingredients vigorously.
Fill the cocktail shaker with ice cubes and shake hard for approximately 10-15 seconds. Strain the mixture in to a glass and add new ice cubes.
Add a dehydrated orange slice to garnish.
You can also pop in to TT, as it has a cinema and a shop, and you can be taken downstairs to its renowned Cellar Bar and visit its caverns and indulge in more cocktails! Presently, there is a hip hop inspired cocktail menu for music lovers, where the delicious Liquid Swords cocktail can be sampled. This blend of Hennessy, Pedro Ximenez Sherry, maraschino and Moët champagne, sounds sweet but as it is connected to the rapper GZA and the 1995 Liquid Swords album it will definitely surprise many! This cocktail will appeal to Kir Royale lovers with its sweet and sour profile and don’t forget to keep the music pumping!
Price: £14 (Liquid Swords)
Address: 17B Kingsland Rd, London E2 8AA
Website: https://tt-london.co.uk/cocktail-bar-shoreditch/
French Garden
Here’s another French based cocktail that you could make at home to capture that French Riviera glamour. The French Garden cocktail was created by Raphaelle Chaize, who is the Beverage Expert at Giffard. Giffard is a recognised French liqueur and syrups specialist and its rhubarb liqueur features within this cocktail and offsets the lemon juice perfectly to create a nicely tangy blend.
The French Garden is a light tasting cocktail, that is not overly sweet, and the sparkling wine adds that extra kick to this concoction. This will be an ideal cocktail for those balmy, late summer evenings, whilst dancing to Europop classics, and will appeal to fans of the classic French 75 cocktail.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon pink berries
20ml Melifera Gin
20ml Giffard Rhubarb Liqueur
15ml Lemon Juice
10ml Honey Syrup
Champagne/ Crémant to top
Method
Crush the pink berries in the cocktail shaker and combine with the honey syrup.
Add all of the ingredients, save for the champagne, into a shaker.
Fill the shaker with ice cubes to the two thirds level. Shake the mixture vigorously for approximately 7 to 10 seconds.
Strain into a chilled glass and top with a champagne or crémant float
Bees Knees
As you sit by the beach or else on a party boat cruising up and down the Côte d’Azur or perhaps you might be indoors preparing for an al fresco summer party, you can quickly prepare the Bees Knees cocktail to add a sting to your plan! This cocktail uses the French Melifera gin, honey water and lemon juice – it really is as simple as that! The lemon and honey provide a sharply sweet contrast as a refreshing flavour against the juniper taste within the gin. This will be the ideal cocktail to make and bring to an outdoor cinema screening, on the beach or elsewhere! Bees Knees will pair perfectly with some mackerel based canapés or sliders!
Ingredients
50 ml of Melifera gin
10 ml of lemon juice
15 ml of honey water (a spoonful of honey diluted in hot water)
Method
Pour all of the ingredients into a shaker. Add ice cubes and shake the ingredients vigorously. Pour the cocktail through a sieve in to a glass and serve.
Clarendelle Rosé Spritz
French rosé wine truly epitomises that essence of the French Riviera and its lifestyle as well as being that renowned pale pink Provençal style of rosé, which hails from the South of France. Clarendelle Rosé also neatly falls in to our selection and flexes its wine muscles as it was a wine partner for the Oscars film awards! Domaine Clarence Dillon is Clarendelle’s family company and supplied all of the wines for the awards ceremony. But, as we are talking about cocktails, you can’t go wrong with a rosé spritz- make it yourself or opt for a Cannes specialty of a rosé and champagne cocktail near the Croisette! This rosé spritz is intended to evoke that special spark for your dining experience, it is sensual, not overly sweet and the added presence of bubbles amplifies that sense of occasion! The fruitiness of the rosé is not diluted within this cocktail and pairs well with the elderflower as that match made in Heaven! A twist on a Hugo Rosé Spritz and a French Spritz, you can indulge in this well balanced cocktail before an afternoon of retail therapy!
Ingredients
25 ml Giffard Elderflower Syrup or St Germain Elderflower Liqueur
75 ml Clarendelle Rosé wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
50ml Champagne/ crémant to top
Splash of sparkling water to top
Mint leaves (if required)
Add lime wedge garnish (if required)
Method
Mix the rosé wine, elderflower syrup and fresh lemon juice and gently stir.
Add ice cubes to a glass and pour in the rosé mixture. Top with champagne/ crémant. Add sparkling water (or elderflower flavoured tonic water) to taste, as a float.
Stir all of the ingredients.
Garnish each glass with mint and lime wedges, if required.
As we like to spoil you, we have one more addition to our Cannes Film Festival inspired selection! For that extra special French luxury treat which will lavish you with that royal treatment and wrap you up in its effervescence in Cannes or at home, you just can’t beat a glass of classic champagne, such as Pommery Brut Royal!
Pommery Brut Royal
An elegant, cool glass of Champagne brings out that excitement in everyone, as the quintessential drink of luxury which instantly conjures up images of being pampered! A flute of Pommery is ideal for those red carpet style moments and celebrations. This Champagne house utilises the traditional method with a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
It is a pale lemon colour non vintage Champagne and those notes of biscuit and brioche are instantly on the nose combined with the green apple and pear aromas. Pommery’s fine, dry but smooth finish ensures that a glass will be perfect as an aperitif for those formal evening events and it will ensure that your night starts on the right notes!
Size: 750ml
ABV: 12.5%
Price: £45 (currently on special offer at £35.99 until 21 May 2024)
Et voilà, these cocktails should conjure up the spirit of the joy of the French Riviera and the glitz of the Cannes Film Festival for you, whether or not you decide to travel to France! Plus, it is the ideal opportunity to try some new cocktail bars and French drinks, which sounds good to us too, during the summer months with or without a film pairing session. There’s no excuse needed really – Santé!
By Latoya Austin
