Hollywood's Hold on The Drink Industry

By Remy Fine, Creative Strategist

Hollywood has a profound influence on the world around us, shaping trends and interests through the content it produces. Whether it’s sports, hobbies, fashion, or even what we drink, movies and television have the power to impact our choices and behaviors. For example, just three weeks after the release of The Queen’s Gambit, chess book sales rose 603%. Drive to Survive surcharged Americans’ interest in Formula 1 with a 50% increase in race attendance and two extra US-based races added to the calendar. So in honor of the Oscars this past month, and because here at Sidecar, we’re drinks obsessed, I wanted to take a look back at some of my favorite examples of how the film and television industry has shaped the world of drinks.

Starting at the beginning, Hollywood’s first major influence on the drinks industry came with the release of The Thin Man in 1934. After prohibition, cocktails were already on the rise as they were used to mask the flavoring of unfavorable spirits during the decade prior. However, the movie featuring a married couple, Nick and Nora, that made drinks and solved crimes added an extra aspect of glamour to the cocktail culture. So much so that the martini glass featured in the movie became so popular that the shape used was coined the Nick and Nora glass, which is still used today almost 90 years later.

In addition to the glass, the movie’s success is cited with helping bring bartenders back to bars as most had fled to Europe or changed careers during prohibition. The Thin Man’s energy and excitement about bartending, including a scene that even teaches the audience how to shake a drink with pizzazz, reinvigorated passion and pride for the job, and soon after, bartenders returned to their posts.

While The Thin Man pleased many bartenders, not all movies produced the same result. In fact, one of the most famous cocktail connoisseurs in cinematic history got the order wrong, causing a lasting impact on the recipe. Before James Bond's rise to fame, martinis were predominantly made with gin and always stirred, never shaken. However, Bond's preference for shaken vodka martinis soon became the norm despite protesting bartenders who knew this method watered down the drink and made them cloudy. In fact, one bartender who was friends with the creator of the James Bond franchise refused to participate in the film because he didn't want to be associated with crafting martinis in this manner. However, Hollywood’s influence held strong, and at the end of the day, Mr. Bond’s shaken martini is now the standard of how martinis are made today.?

Despite this slightly controversial influence, Hollywood continued to shape the drinks industry in significant ways. One prime example is the Cosmopolitan, which gained popularity thanks to the television show Sex and the City. The drink had actually been around for decades before the show aired, but it wasn’t until Carrie sipped the pink concoction that it became a cultural phenomenon. The show also helped popularize the idea of brunch and its accompanying drink, the Bloody Mary. Brunch, once upon a time, was just a reference to fancy omelets. But after Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte sat together every weekend to catch up, women across the country soon followed. Now brunch is a ritual and one of the most popular drinking occasions.?

More recently, the Netflix series Stranger Things brought back Coca-Cola’s most failed drink from the 1980s - New Coke. In the show, the characters drink New Coke while trying to solve a mystery, prompting Coca-Cola to re-release New Coke for a limited time as a tie-in promotion. The drink quickly sold out in stores, which starkly contrasts the backlash it received after its initial release, showing just how powerful Hollywood’s influence can be.

Hollywood has also had a significant impact on the wine industry. In the 2004 movie Sideways, the main character famously declared his disdain for Merlot and his love for Pinot Noir. This caused a sharp decline in Merlot sales and a surge in Pinot Noir sales. The impact was so significant that it became known as the “Sideways effect.”

The above examples are just the tip of the iceberg. The entertainment industry has always had a profound impact on the drinks industry, from normalizing cocktails to popularizing specific drinks and even changing how they’re made. While not all influences have been positive, the cultural impact of Hollywood on the drinks industry cannot be denied.

Most importantly, brands can use these trends to their benefit. While some brands have the capability and dollars to insert themselves into TV and films, a more authentic approach is to keep up with trending content and tie references into your social channels through formats such as recipes or sound bites on TikTok and Reels. If Emily in Paris is sipping a Kir Royale, showcase your interpretation of the drink. And next time you’re sipping a cocktail, take a moment to consider if Hollywood played a role in your choice and how you can use that knowledge to help your brand!