The 2004 Cannes Festival International du Film
(that’s the Cannes Film Festival to the
rest of us!) takes place between 12-23 May
in the glorious area of Southern France known
as the French Riviera. This year’s Film
Festival has a competition list that’s
pretty wide ranging.
From subjects as diverse
as “the Life and Death of Peter Sellers”,
to a remake of the 1950’s classic “The
Ladykillers” and Shrek 2 - as well as
an abundance of films from France, China, Austria,
Japan and South Korea. Also being shown at
the Festival – although not in the competition – but
prior to general release in Europe is the 2004
epic Troy starring Brad Pitt.
Sorry we can’t physically take you all to
Cannes for one big in-the-spirit cocktail party
to celebrate the Film Festival in real style but
we hope this feature will be the next best thing!
We have developed a range of exciting new cocktail
recipes, inspired by some of the films featured
this year, film stars and the location of the Festival
itself – the fabulous French Riviera.
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For a taste of the Riviera, why not try our Riviera cocktail? Made from gin and
the Noilly Prat (a classic French ingredient from a little further down the
French coast in the Languedoc), together with a couple of dashes of De Kuyper
Crème de Cacao White and De Kuyper Cherry
Brandy. Garnish this classy
cocktail with a zest of orange and enjoy! |
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This year’s Festival is the 57th since it first began in 1939. Films in
competition are shown throughout the Festival to win the prestigious Palme d’Or
award – one of the most sought after film awards in the world. The award
was named after the palm trees which have become so inextricably linked with
our images of the seafront boulevards of Cannes. To celebrate this award revered
by the film industry, in-the-spirit has created the Palme
d’Or cocktail
- made from vodka, lemon juice and lime cordial with a zest of orange to garnish
and finished off with a cocktail cherry! Yummy!
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So who might you be likely to bump into at Cannes 2004? Renowned film director
Quentin Tarantino is the president of the competition jury which also includes
well known French actress Emmanuelle Béart plus American actress Kathleen
Turner and they will be choosing the recipient of the prestigious Palme d’Or.
The cocktail recipe that we thought would best suit the personality of Quentin
Tarantino is the classic Bloody
Mary – made with lashings of tomato juice,
a shot of vodka and a quite a few other ingredients to give it an
unmistakable spicy yet distinctive character! |
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Another
cocktail idea we have discovered is to honour
to one of our favourite characters returning
to the big screen this summer. Never mind Brad
Pitt as Achilles
in Troy, our hero’s film is in the competition in Cannes, he is larger
than life, his best friend is a donkey that sounds like Eddie Murphy and he is
big and green! Yes, Shrek returns in his film sequel and our cocktail Green
Monster is the in-the-spirit way to celebrate our favourite cartoon character.
Shake
together a shot of De Kuyper Crème de Menthe (green) and one and a half
shots of light rum together with a dash of lemon juice and ice and strain into
a cocktail glass.
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Picture yourself in the old port at Cannes and watching the yachts moored in
the marina – and looking out to the deep blue of the Mediterranean sea.
Why not take yourself there in spirit by trying out our Into
The Blue cocktail.
This is a delicious blend of De Kuyper Blue Curaçao and light
rum, with
grapefruit juice and topped up with soda if desired. Just dive in … gorgeous! |
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For a long cool drink whilst you are imagining yourself sitting at a pavement
café bar on the Boulevard de la Croisette near the famous Carlton
Hotel people watching … why not dry this long refreshing cocktail?
An old classic that in-the-spirit has re-discovered called a Gin & French.
The gin part is obvious but the “French” refers to Noilly Prat
Dry. All you need to do is mix a shot each of gin and Noilly
Prat in an ice
filled high ball glass and top up with either soda or tonic water depending
on what you prefer. Decorate it with a sliver of lemon peel and a sprig of
mint for a mouth watering drink. Trust us - after this, you’ll never
want a white wine spritzer again! |