"Button Drop Martini" (Inspired by "Coraline") (BOTB 2022 Day 30) Recipe

 

Bring Out the Boos 2022

Day 30: "Button Drop Martini" (Inspired by "Coraline")

By: The Film Bartender

    "Coraline" is a very famous film during the Halloween season, adding that creepy and unsettling effect of horror movies that is combined with the family friendly qualities for the entire family to enjoy together. One of the most famous (perhaps, infamous) scenes and plot devices used in this movie is the inclusion of the button eyes on the main antagonists, terrifying younger children and permanently engraving that vision in their head. Due to that, it is the inspiration of the cocktail for Day 30, the "Button Drop Martini"! Keep reading to check out the full plot and details of the classic Tim Burton film, as well as the full recipe for this devilishly good drink!

    "Coraline" is a 2009 animated film that was written and directed by Henry Selick, and produced by Tim Burton. The movie stars Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Ian McShane, Jennifer Saunders, Keith David, Dawn French, and George Selick. The film follows the titular character, who is a young girl who is forced by her parents to move with them to an old, run-down house. She starts to feel bored and neglected by her parents, which causes her to want to find a way to leave her old life behind and find something new and fun. 

    She then finds a hidden door with a bricked-up passage in the house, which leads to a parallel world where everyone around her has buttons for eyes. What she realizes though is that she stepped into a world of caring parents and where all of her dreams come true, making it much more appealing than her real life back home with her parents. However, this "Other Mother" invites Coraline to move into this world with her forever, forgetting all about her real parents and the life she has back home. When Coraline refuses, she discovers that she is trapped in this alternate world, which was created only to lure her in and keep her there forever. 

    When the film was first released, it had to beat, or at least be comparable, to the widely successful "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" to be successful. At the time, the aforementioned film grossed $16 million its opening weekend and made more than $192 million worldwide for its theatrical run. Film analysis were saying that "Coraline" should be happy if they only grossed $10 million its opening weekend. 

    However, "Coraline" proved it was there to be a hit, grossing over $16 million its opening weekend, and earned the third spot at the the box office that weekend. It went on to gross over $120 million worldwide through its theatrical run, with huge numbers coming in from the 3D presentations of the film. At the same time, critics and audiences were praising this film, giving it raving reviews and saying how it was groundbreaking in horror animation. Critics like Roger Ebert and David Edelstein cited that it was a work of art about severely horrible people. 

    Since its release, "Coraline" has developed a cult status that may make it even more popular than it was when it was first released. It was able to entertain and thrill fans of all ages, and even terrified those who were younger and seeing their first horror film for the first time. Every year, people young and old dress as the iconic characters from this film, button eyes and all.

    Speaking of buttons, that serves as the direct inspiration for our drink today. Everyone thinks of the terrifying shots of the Other Mother with the button eyes, so our drink today had to be a delicious purple beverage that perfectly fits the theme of the button eyes and Tim Burton's crazy worlds that he creates in his head. Keep scrolling below to find the full recipe for the "Button Drop Martini"!

Ingredients:

For Lemonade

- 2 1/2 oz Lemon Juice

- 3 spoonfuls of Sugar

- 1 cup Water

For Cocktail

- 1 1/2 oz Vodka

- 3 oz Lemonade

- 1/2 oz Blue Curaçao

- 1/4 oz Grenadine

- Purple Sugar (Rim)

- Buttons (Garnish)

Directions:

1. In a cocktail shaker, add ice and the Lemon Juice. Then, add the sugar and the cup of water, and either stir or shake the ingredients together until well combined. Set aside.

2. Take a martini glass. Using a lemon slice, rub the juice on the rim. Then dip the rim of the glass into a plate of purple sugar sprinkles. Set aside.

3. In another cocktail shaker, add the Vodka, the Lemonade you just previously prepared, the Blue Curaçao, and the Grenadine. Shake vigorously, and then strain into the prepared martini glass. Serve.

Film Fact: For filming "Coraline", over 130 sets were built across 52 different stages at the studios. Spanning 183,000 square feet, the 52 different stages were the most ever deployed for a stop-motion animation feature. 

    You have now made your very own drink based off the iconic and cult classic Tim Burton film, "Coraline"! Let me know what you think of this film and this cocktail in the comments below! Today is the 30th day of my Bring Out the Boos 2022 event, and there is only one day left for this year's series of drinks! You can check back on all of my horror-inspired drinks on the homepage, and check back tomorrow for Day 31, which you don't want to miss! Comment below your guesses on what it will be! Until then, happy drinking!