Oscar Night isn't just about the three (er, three-and-a-half-ish) hours that the movie show unfolds upon our televisions.
Oscar Night is, in fact, Oscar Two Months, which doesn't have quite the catchy ring but is truer, nonetheless.
The flurry of filmic doings start way in advance, with For Your Consideration ads popping up hither and yon, and end long after, as the final box office is tallied. And in the middle? We fans have our photocopied ballots, our themed cupcakes, and the all-important cocktails, cocktails that are, at least for an evening, symbolically tied to the cinema.
Loews Hollywood Hotel is helping film fans get a jump on the traditional beverage-meets-movie scene by presenting an octet of icy libations, each with a tie to a Best Picture nominee. Indeed, this is the very hotel that is abuzz with stars and press and managers and producers and everybody come Oscar night, given its cheek-by-jowl proximity to the Dolby Theatre.
Starting on Sunday, Feb. 1, and wrapping upon Sunday, Feb. 22 -- the day of the Academy Awards -- the hotel's H² Kitchen & Bar will feature eight drinks that salute, via a mixture of high-end spirits, this year's top class of flicks.
The beverage created in honor of "Birdman," the Michael Keaton-starrer which just spread its wings (i.e. won big) at the Jan. 25 Screen Actors Guild Awards? A beverage called The Flight of Fancy, which contains Bulleit Rye, Ruffino Proseco, agave, and cherry.
And the Lobby Boy salutes "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (picture, via your palate, a drink containing Hennessey, St. Germain, lemon, and agave).
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Want to, for luck and for fun, raise a glass to the film you want to win? It's tradition around Southern California, the edible/drinkable themed treat come Oscar time. And while at-home libations'll be plentiful, sipping cinematic spirits at the hotel tied mostly closely to the awards adds a dimension to the drink.
Will the cocktail that's ordered the most predict the winner? Oscar fans, discuss now.
