Business of booze: Destinations for 10 Hollywood-inspired drinks

With “The Great Gatsby” about to hit screens globally, cocktails are being touted as back in vogue.

Online travel consultants Cheapflights.com has compiled a list of cocktails made famous by Hollywood and where you can buy them. Reuters has not endorsed this list:

1. French 75 – “Casablanca” – Paris, France

Recreate your own “Casablanca” classic with the French 75, a mix of gin, champagne, lemon juice and sugar. Said to have been first conceived at the New York Bar in Paris in 1915, the French 75 has inspired many derivatives since its inception. For those looking for the original, head to Paris where the New York Bar is now called Harry’s New York Bar or find the French 75 at other historic treasures like The Hemingway Bar.

2. Vodka Martini – James Bond Movies – London, England

Many martini purists will tell you a true martini is made with gin, not vodka, but those three words — shaken, not stirred — have transformed modern-day martini culture. A vodka martini made of vodka and dry vermouth isn’t difficult to concoct but if you find yourself in London, try a martini at the Icebar by Icehotel London off Regents Street. As London’s only year-round ice bar, you can enjoy your vodka martini at a frosty 23 degrees Fahrenheit no matter what the temperature is outside.

3. Red Eye – “Cocktail” – Tokyo, Japan

The bartending skills of New York business student Brian Flanagan were center stage in 1988’s “Cocktail” where Tom Cruise made mixology look cool and a little reckless. The movie’s signature cocktail Red Eye was the cure for hangovers, a mix of beer, tomato juice and egg. To find a perfect combination, try Tokyo and the Yankee Stadium beverage at the Park Hyatt Tokyo.

4. Old Fashioned – “Mad Men” – Louisville, United States

A sugar cube dissolved in bitters mixed with bourbon whiskey and garnished with a cherry and orange, this classic cocktail has seen a recent revival thanks to “Mad Men,” the television series based on the advertising industry in the 1960s. If whiskey bourbon is the key, then Kentucky is the place to get the best. Check out the Kentucky Bourbon Trail for distillery tours and don’t miss the Urban Bourbon Trail where you can visit the best bars and restaurants in Louisville.

5. Cosmopolitan – “Sex and the City” – San Francisco

While New York City seems the perfect place to indulge in this sweet and citrusy cocktail, most signs point to San Francisco as being the first city to put it on the map. There are also accounts of the cocktail being invented in Miami, but it’s rumored that San Francisco elevated the elements from overly sweet to a fresh, light and slightly tangy version.

6. Mai Tai – “Blue Hawaii” – Honolulu, Hawaii

Before Strawberry Daiquiris and Piña Coladas were the go-to beverage for vacationers, the Mai Tai dominated the tropical island drinking scene. It is said to have been first invented in California and in the early 1950s it made its way to Hawaii. It still remains a staple at most bars across the Hawaiian Islands, and although the cocktail is generally made of rum, orange curacao and lime, the versions are endless.

7. White Russian – “The Big Lebowski” – Reykjavik, Iceland

Equal parts vodka and coffee liqueur, the Black Russian hit the cocktail scene in the early 1950s, and, by the 1960s, it had been transformed by adding milk or cream and became the beloved White Russian. Today the varieties of White Russians are endless and to sample them all, there’s no better place than the Lebowski Bar in Reykjavik that has 17 versions of the drink.

8. Manhattan – “Some Like It Hot” – New York

A blend of whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters, the Manhattan is best left to those who can handle their liquor. It’s believed that the drink first appeared in New York City in the 1870s at the exclusive Manhattan club, for which it is named. Since its inception, the Manhattan has inspired many derivatives like the Rob Roy, the Cuban Manhattan and the Southern Manhattan.

9. Mojito – “Miami Vice” – Havana, Cuba

Although the Mojito, favored beverage of “Miami Vice’s” detective Sonny Crocket, only became popular among cocktail drinkers in recent decades, it can be traced as a staple of Cuban culture as far back at the late 1500s. A true mojito takes lime, sugar and mint, a large amount of rum and a splash or soda water. It was in Cuba at the La Bodeguita del Medio where Ernest Hemingway wrote on the wall of the bar “My mojito in La Bodeguita, my daiquiri in La Floridita.”

10. Singapore Sling – “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” – Singapore

This sweet, fruity beverage was the brainchild of Raffles Hotel Singapore and is thought to have been invented before 1915. While the recipe has been altered over the years, a true Singapore Sling consists of gin, cherry liqueur, orange liqueur, Benedictine, grenadine, bitters and pineapple juice. The Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel Singapore still stands today and continues to serve the beverage it has become famous for.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)