SiscoVanilla at the Movies

To avoid wasting my stay in place time watching dismal reality TV, I've decided to watch a classic from the late 1960's: The Prisoner.

It seems rather apropos given how trapped we are feeling given the state the bar/restaurant/hospitality business. If I'm going to spend time watching TV, it might as well be quality TV.

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SiscoVanilla Presents Zodiac (2007) Part II. The story of the Zodiac serial killer progresses through the movie without any success. Here attorney Melvin Belli (Brian Cox) is talking to Inspectors Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) about a letter he received from the Zodiac.

The discussion is happening during a Christmas party being held at Belli’s place when he is served a Hot Toddy. As a proper host, he offers the Inspectors a Toddy which they respectfully decline. Being on duty and all that it would be improper. Hot Toddy’s are “winter” drinks that are made of hot water, honey, lemon and usually bourbon or whiskey. The movie jumps four years into the future before we come across Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr) and Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhall) sharing libations.

To Avery’s surprise, Graysmith shows up at his doorsteps and like Belli above, he offers his guest a drink.

The “anything blue” refers to the Aqua Velva cocktail that he shares with Graysmith earlier in the film. He pours a copious amount of a clear spirit that at quick glance is called “Wilke’s”

The label with the red lion in the center with a blue border and white letters is reminiscent of the Booth’s High and Dry Gin that I profiled in my post Ian Fleming Booth's Gin and James Bond April 29, 2020.

By this point, Avery is no longer with the Chronicle and is down and out. The last time we see Avery is in 1979 when he’s sitting at a bar with an oxygen tank next to him while smoking and drinking.

I guess old habits die hard. If you look closely to the gentleman in the corner, he’s having a can of Schlitz beer. Schlitz was a popular American beer whose history harked back to 1849. By the 1980′s the brand was purchased by the Stroh Brewing Company and later sold to the Pabst Brewing Company in the late 1990′s. A beer under the Schlitz name is currently brewed by Pabst.  

That’s it for the booze references in Zodiac. Check back in soon for some more booze and beer references in the movies. ✌️

SiscoVanilla Presents Zodiac (2007)

SiscoVanilla Presents Zodiac (2007) Part I. The movie focuses on the role of Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhall) who is a cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle and becomes an amateur detective while investigating the murders. Graysmith would pen the book Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Hunt for the Nation's Most Elusive Serial Killer that was the basis for the film.

As you can see above, the fictional Morti’s Bar is where the newspapermen and women of the San Francisco Chronicle congregate. The name “Morti’s Bar” is a fictional name for the real bar that is near the Chronicle headquarters. It is believed that since there is some depiction of drug use in the bar in the movie, the owners of the actual bar refused to let the name be used in the film. We’ll go back to the bar for the next set of pictures.

As the story progresses, Chronicle reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr) and Graysmith are in a bar discussing the particulars of the case (among other things) when Avery focuses his attention on the almost neon blue colored drink that sits in front of Goldsmith. When Avery asks what that drink is, Graysmith tells him that it's an Aqua Velva. When Graysmith challenges Avery to give it a try, Avery rises to the occasion.

As you can tell from the amount of glasses being bussed from the table and the amount of glasses let of the table, Avery definitely liked the blue hued cocktail. Man, that has to be one helluva hangover right there. But why blue and why Aqua Velva?

For those of you who are too young to remember, Aqua Velva was an old school aftershave that was popular from the 1950′s to the 1980′s and had Marilyn Monroe and Jimi Hendrix as their spokespersons. Here are a couple of those ads.

Avery would refer to the blue cocktail in a later scene. I recreated the Aqua Velva cocktail in my post Zodiac (2007.) Give it a read and see what my drinker thought of it.

Zodiac (2007) directed by David Fincher and starring Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr. and Jake Gyllenhall tells the story of the unsolved serial killer case known as the Zodiac that was terrorizing the San Francisco Bay area during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Here is how IMDB describes the movie:

The book Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Hunt for the Nation's Most Elusive Serial Killer written by Robert Graysmith (portrayed by Jake Gyllenhall) was the basis for the film. SiscoVanilla Presents Zodiac (2007)

SiscoVanilla Presents Iron Man (2008) Part III. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) barrels up to the bar looking for some liquid bread in the form of Scotch. It is here that Tony meets Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division better known and easier said as S.H.I.E.L.D. 

Tony is his usual dismissive self until he feats his eye on Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow.)

Tony swoops in, takes her out for a dance and then things get a little heated between them. This causes Pepper to ask for a cold beverage.

Tony goes right to the bar to order two drinks, one for him and one for Pepper.

Too bad shit hits the fan with Stark Industries weapons being used by warlords in the Middle East, causing neither Tony or Pepper to get those vodka martinis.

Well that’s it for Iron Man (2008). Please check back soon for other movies where I my eye has caught some booze references.

SiscoVanilla Presents Iron Man (2008) Part II. Now we all know Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is a baller. Even a trip to meet military officials in Afghanistan calls for some alcoholic beverages. In a Stark Industries heavy duty cooler no less.

Look at the size of those two martini glasses in the middle 😲. Major league drinking to be had there. Speaking of drinking, I mostly ok with his selection of liquor.

He has one bottle each of Johnnie Walker Blue and Johnnie Walker Black. On the far right he has a bottle of LaPhroaig 1987 Old Malt Cask Scotch Whisky. I go into detail about this particular scotch in my post Iron Man (2008.) Where I have an issue is with the bottle of Jose Cuervo tequila that is located between the bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue and Johnnie Walker Black.  Let me stop here for a moment to let my booze snob out.

There is so much suspension of disbelief that I can have before even I question why the hell a drinker of Tony Stark's caliber has a bottle of Jose Cuervo Tequila. I can see him having a bottle of Clase Azul, Don Julio, Herradura, Espolon and I can go on and on without even mentioning the truly high end tequilas. There is no way at this point in time Tony Stark drinks that rotgut. Getting off my soapbox.

I’ll forgive you this time Tony.

SiscoVanilla Presents Iron Man (2008) Part I. The movie opens up with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) sipping on some scotch while listening to AC/DC’s Back in Black while riding in a Humvee through Afghanistan. Because its Tony Stark.

After the shit hits the fan, the movie goes back to flashback mode which has Tony and Colonel Rhodes (Terence Howard) flying from Las Vegas to Afghanistan.

Knowing Tony, there is no way that this flight was going to be business only no matter what Colonel Rhodes said.

Especially when Hot Sake was ordered. 

Yeah, no business to be had on this flight.

SiscoVanilla Presents Iron Man (2008)

Iron Man (2008). Wow, its been 12 years since the release of Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terence Howard. The success of Iron Man laid the foundation for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that is common place today. But in 2008, there was no guarantee that the MCU would become something known let alone the monstrous success that it has become.

Here is the synopsis for the movie from IMDB.com:

Check out my next post for Tony Stark’s adventures with booze.

SiscoVanilla Presents The Thirteenth Floor (1999). Not many movies can illustrate the feeling of “Flying high in April and shot down in May” as this movie could in a matter of a couple of scenes. Picture this scene here in the image above.

Here you have Mr. Fuller. He's interacting within a simulated world of 1937 Los Angeles. Think of it as a MMORPG or VR game where you are uploaded to a world set in pre-World War Two Los Angeles. He's a member of a swanky private club and has his own table. The bartender knows it by heart "Gin Martini with one olive and likes them frigid ad an eskimo." And he doesn't even have to order his drink to get one. It comes to his table  automatically moments after sitting down. Now that's service aka "Riding high in April."  There is one issue with the scene above.

If this was a proper simulation of 1937 the mentioning of the martini as being a gin martini would be redundant. It wasn’t until after 1950 that vodka martinis would become a regular cocktail ordered in the United States. I talk about this more in my post Cocktail Service in The Thirteenth Floor (1999).  Now let’s go on to the next example below.

Going forward a couple of scenes, Fuller has left the simulated world of 1937 Los Angeles and is back in the "real world." He goes to a dive bar and orders his signature drink. He gets it in a shot glass, with no olives "since the bar is out of olives." Luckily for him the bartender was "generous" enough to offer him some pretzels. Hence "Shot down in May 🤣."

Sometimes the real world sucks for getting a proper cocktail. LOL.

SiscoVanilla Presents Cocktail Service in the Thirteenth Floor (1999)

The Thirteenth Floor (1999) is a science fiction/thriller movie based on the novel Simulacron-3 which was published by Daniel F. Galouye in 1964. In this movie, reality is not what it seems when a computer scientist is believed to be the main suspect in the murder of his boss and mentor. What does the simulated world of 1937 Los Angeles have to do with it?

While the premise of the film is interesting, it had the misfortune of being released a month after another movie whose plot was based in a simulated world within the real world. Which movie was that? Oh just a movie known as the Matrix.         

SiscoVanilla Presents Dr. No (1962) Part VII. Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman), James Bond (Sean Connery) and Honey Rider (Ursula Andress) are seated at the table after having had dinner. Dr. No sure knows how to entertain. Here is Bond with what looks like a glass of brandy (or whisky.)

To top that, the bubbly is flowing with a bottle of Dom Pérignon ‘55. I go into detail on the backstory on how monk Dom Pérignon discovered champagne in my post Dom Pierre Pérignon Discovers Champagne August 4, 2019.  

Bond tries to make his getaway to save Honey Rider who was taken away but is quickly subdued. 

Instead of worrying about Bond escaping, Dr. No waves off his attempt by stating “That’s a Dom Pérignon ‘55. It would be a pity to break it.” To which Bond retorts “I prefer the ‘53 myself.” Bond always has to have the last word. Dr.  No is not amused.

And with that we come to an end to the booze, beer and cocktail references in Ian Fleming’s Dr. No (1962) Check in soon for some more booze, beer and cocktail references in the movies that I come across.

SiscoVanilla Presents Dr. No (1962) Part VI. Agent 007 James Bond (Sean Connery) and Honey Rider (Ursula Andress) finally come face-to-face with SPECTRE agent Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman).

Bond’s reputation surely must precede him or Dr. No is hooked into quite the network since he knows what kind cocktail Bond likes to drink, down to the spirit. He didn’t bother to ask Honey Rider what she wanted. Take that glass of red wine and drink it 😄😄😄

SiscoVanilla Presents Ian Fleming’s Dr. No (1962)

PSiscoVanilla Presents Dr. No (1962) Part V. Agent 007 James Bond (Sean Connery) is setting a trap for Professor Dent (Anthony Dawson) at the apartment of Miss Taro (Zena Marshall.) Vodka, information and revenge are soon to follow.

You can read more about Smirnoff Vodka in my post Ian Fleming’s Dr. No (1962)

SiscoVanilla Presents Dr. No (1962) Part IV. After a long day of spying and sluething, Bond (Sean Connery) returns to his hotel room for a little rest and relaxation. He is about to pour himself some Smirnoff Vodka over some ice when he decides to be cautious.

He smells the bottle, unsure if someone has tampered with the vodka. Erring on the side of caution, he takes the other bottle of vodka he had stashed in the drawer and pours his drink from there. Hey you can never be too cautious as a superspy.

Bond sits back and kicks his feet up in a rare moment of reflection and contemplation. Bond allows himself to relax.

You can read more about Smirnoff Vodka in my post Ian Fleming’s Dr. No (1962)

SiscoVanilla Presents Dr. No (1962) Part III. Never let it be said that Bond only drinks martinis. Here Bond (Sean Connery) is hanging out at Puss Feller’s place when he notices that his picture is being taken without his permission. While he waits for Quarrel to bring the offending shutterbug to the table, Bond is enjoying himself some Buchanan's Black and White Scotch Whisky neat. 

This scotch whisky was popular here in the United States from the 1930's until the mid 1970's. It stood out due to its distinctive label which had a black and a white Scottish terrier on the label. You can read about it in detail on my post Ian Fleming’s Dr. No (1962)

SiscoVanilla Presents Dr. No (1962) Part II: You can’t have a bar scene set in Jamaica and not have an appearance by Jamaica’s national beer: Red Stripe Lager.

Here we have Quarrel (John Kitzmiller) and the bartender Puss Feller (I wonder how he got THAT name 😄) awaiting the arrival of 007. Red Stripe is representing all the way.  A nice cold Red Stripe would do some good right around now.

Speaking of a cold beer. I reviewed a rare Red Stripe draught on my IG-TV channel in the post SiscoVanilla Has a Red Stripe Lager at Applebee's 06-23-2019.

SiscoVanilla Presents Ian Fleming’s Dr. No (1962)