Barbie cocktails and Oppenheimer martinis: How to throw an awards-worthy Oscar party

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An underrated high quality of this yr’s Oscar contenders? How a lot of their characters can be enjoyable to party with! Poor Things’ Bella Baxter? A riot! Maestro’s Leonard Bernstein? Did you see his strikes on the dance ground? Kitty Oppenheimer? Sozzled in any respect hours! It’s a disgrace that Anatomy of a Fall’s Samuel Maleski plummeted to his demise earlier than giving anybody his Spotify particulars – based mostly on his love of fifty Cent’s “P.I.M.P.”, I’m certain he’d have put collectively a sensational playlist.

Sadly these folks shall be unable to attend your Oscar party this weekend – seeing as they’re completely fictional and/or deceased. But don’t fret! We’re right here to show you how to do the subsequent neatest thing: throw an Oscar gathering so enjoyable that it’ll warrant a bit of gold statue of its personal.

The Oscars happen on Sunday 10 March at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, starting at 4pm PST (11pm GMT), with a dwell broadcast going down for the primary time within the UK on ITV1 and ITVX.

Here’s our step-by-step information to making it an evening to keep in mind…

Send out your invitations

This is an awards ceremony, not a rager, so be selective. You don’t need a huge crowd of individuals chatting away and distracting you from the stunning second that turns into this yr’s equal of Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway saying the unsuitable Best Picture winner, John Travolta mispronouncing a serious star’s identify or the slap heard around the globe. Do because the professionals do: draw up a shortlist of nominees, then choose a handful of winners to obtain an invitation in a tasteful gold envelope. Five to seven attendees is ideal.

Get the pink carpet prepared

Just since you’re staying residence, that’s no cause not to gown to the nines. Whether it’s Cher’s eye-catching jet-black Bob Mackie headpiece from 1986 or Björk’s unforgettable swan gown from 2001, the Oscars are identified for showcasing outrageous style. So what if the present received’t end airing in Britain till well past midnight – there’s no rule saying you may’t pair that headdress together with your pyjamas.

Pick your winners

Print off our useful record of all this yr’s Oscar nominees, then distribute to your company. Pick your winner in every class, then swap sheets so you may mark what number of one another obtained proper. Here, the satan’s within the particulars: certain, you may need a good guess for who’s going to win Best Picture, however what number of of your company can accurately determine the Best Cinematography winner, or who’ll be taking residence the prize for Best Animated Short? A little bit of analysis might seal your victory.

Now drink

Next, get as snug as you may in that swan-shaped gown and get pleasure from a themed cocktail in honour of the evening’s most-nominated movies. May we propose:

J Robert Oppenheimer’s signature martini

He could also be finest identified for cooking up a slightly extra explosive concoction, however J Robert Oppenheimer was additionally well-known for his signature drink. No, not a manhattan in honour of the Manhattan Project, however a martini with a candy, citrus twist. Eagle-eyed viewers could have noticed that Cillian Murphy truly makes one to Oppenheimer’s specs in Christopher Nolan’s hotly tipped biopic. Here’s what you’ll want, in accordance to the Los Alamos National Laboratory: take a calming martini glass, dip the rim in a mix of honey and lime juice, then add 4 ounces of gin and only a sprint of vermouth. Atomic.

Something pink for Barbie

There are loads of suitably pink-hued drinks good for paying tribute to Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s runaway field workplace smash – actually, right here at The Independent, we dreamt up 9 of them impressed by the doll’s traditional outfits. We notably loved the Eighties-inspired “Pink and Fabulous” Barbie cocktail, made with two ounces of raspberry vodka, one ounce of peach schnapps, two ounces of cranberry juice, one ounce of lime juice and one ounce of straightforward syrup. Shake and ice, then pressure into a calming martini glass, and garnish with cotton sweet. A few these and you received’t even have the ability to pronounce “Margot Robbie was robbed!”

A drink match for a Maestro

When Leonard Bernstein was 21, he developed a style for rob roys whereas consuming with Olga Koussevitzky, the spouse of his mentor Serge. It’s a drink price savouring simply as a lot as Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan’s performances in Cooper’s thrilling Bernstein biopic. To make a rob roy, all you want is 2 ounces of scotch (Bernstein most popular Ballantine’s 17-year-old), one ounce of candy vermouth and two dashes of bitters. Garnish with a brandied cherry or a lemon twist, and you’ll be conducting a symphony of your personal very quickly.

American Fiction’s whisky politics

In Cord Jefferson’s caustic race satire American Fiction, writer Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is informed by his agent Arthur (John Ortiz) that literary success is rather a lot like Johnnie Walker scotch. There’s a budget stuff (Johnnie Walker Red), the mid-range stuff (Johnnie Walker Black) and the very nice stuff that comes with a price ticket to match (Johnnie Walker Blue). Monk desires to put out the great things however, as Arthur factors out, they promote an entire lot extra Red than Blue. We’ll depart it up to your discretion (and price range) to resolve which one’s proper to your party.

A ravishing drink for a globetrotting Poor Thing

In Yorgos Lanthimos’s unusual and beguiling Poor Things, a younger girl named Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) is introduced again to life by unorthodox surgeon Dr Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) earlier than travelling the world in quest of stunning experiences which embody, after all, the magic of a martini. For this you’ll want 4 ounces of gin and a splash of vermouth as earlier than, however you may skip the honey and lime rim. Who’s the mad scientist now?

A style of Christmas with The Holdovers

An awards present viewing party is hardly the correct surroundings to cook dinner up a full Christmas dinner with a honey ham as hearty because the one produced by college chef Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) in The Holdovers. Instead, rejoice Alexander Payne’s festive comedy-drama by mixing up peppermint schnapps, half-and-half cream and vodka. If that doesn’t make you merry, nothing will.

Enjoy!

All that’s left is to sit your self safely on the couch, watch the winners roll in, and be grateful Saltburn didn’t get nominated – in any other case, you’d be consuming runny egg juice straight out of the bath. Salut!