The Beetlejuice Cocktail
Beetlejuice (1988). Image via IMDb.
Beetlejuice ... Beetlejuice ... Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-
-fore some of our fabled favorites, a first-time director gave us all an unbelievably iconic piece of cinema: Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. A movie that brought this director into the zeitgeist and—
Oh. Sorry.
His second movie as a director.
In 1988, Tim Burton created a film that would wholly change the trajectory of his career. Beetlejuice is a movie that cemented Burton as a “strange and unusual” individual who would go on to make some of the best movies that muster up endless nostalgia for nearly everyone.
The writing of Beetlejuice began in the early '80s but was far from the story that we all know and love. It was initially much darker, with murder and destruction being a defining point of the plot. Once the studio got their hands on the script, things were changed in a much lighter direction, providing the levity that this (already) death-laden story needed.
March 30, 1988, marked Beetlejuice’s theatrical release and it was an immediate critical and commercial success grossing $74.7 million at the box office. It even won the 1989 Academy Award for Best Makeup. This success has been carried into the modern-day with Beetlejuice being a central pillar of so many people’s “Spooky Season” watchlists.
Sidebar: Did you know that Beetlejuice (the character) is only in the film for 17 minutes? Michael Keaton gave such a grossly ground-breaking performance that we all remember the movie for his character, but, in reality, he’s in less than 20% of the total film.
Alright, so how do we connect alcohol to this masterpiece? Well, let’s take a deep dive into the (horrific) cocktail culture of the '80s:
The 1980s was a bartending decade defined by putting far too much juice and as many strange ingredients in a cocktail as physically possible. The Long Island Iced Tea, The Alabama Slammer, The Slippery Nipple, and The Harvey Wallbanger were all staples. As a bartender myself, these are some of the biggest atrocities to cocktail culture that exist but I digress ...
One of the cocktails that defined this decade was created for the premiere of Saturday Night Fever at Studio 54: The Midori Sour. While its creation came about in 1978, it was widely drunk throughout the '80s. Also, the drink is aggressively green, so it’s only fitting to use it as inspiration.
One year before the release of Beetlejuice, a delicious dry gin hit the market: Bombay Sapphire. A bartender by the name of Chaim Dauermann recently redefined what a Midori Sour could be with his “Insanely Good Midori Sour.” Really. That’s the name. He used gin as the base spirit, and I will follow suit.
My historical rant has come to a conclusion and the time to drink is upon us. So, let’s turn on the juice and see what shakes loose...
The Bioexorcist
1.5 oz Bombay Sapphire
1 oz kiwi, apple, ginger, and lime cordial*
0.5 oz Midori
1 dash of absinthe**
Egg white
Garnished with fake shrimp***
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and dry shake. This is to emulsify the egg white. After you dry shake, add ice to the tin and shake again. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with fake shrimp.
*To make the cordial, add 1 sliced kiwi, 1 sliced apple, the juice of 1 lime, 5 lime peels, 1/2 inch piece of ginger (finely minced), 1 good pinch of salt, 1/2 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of water to a pan. Simmer on low for 10 minutes. Strain out contents and store the liquid in a pour jar of your choosing.
**The dash of absinthe is purely for the nod to the Green Fairy and its supposed “hallucinogenic” properties.
***If you know you know. If you don’t, go rewatch the movie.
Article written by Noah J. Welter
Noah J. Welter is a Pittsburgh based bartender and film artist. His cocktail creations have been featured throughout the world in a multitude of bars and immersive events. Noah takes a distinctly unique approach to the creation of his cocktails by combining his love for film and cocktail culture, historically linking them together. To find more of his work, drink and otherwise, you can visit www.noahjwelter.com.
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