From the Old Fashioneds of Mad Men to Netflix's cocktail competition, the TV shows that put drinks front and centre - and what to pour while you watch each one.
Some shows use a drink as set dressing. A few make the cocktail a character. Here's the watch-list for anyone who loves a good pour - and what to have in your hand for each one.
1. Mad Men
The definitive cocktail show. Don Draper's Old Fashioned did more for that drink's revival than any bartender, and the series is a masterclass in mid-century drinking - Manhattans, Martinis, and whisky, neat, at 11am. Pour: an Old Fashioned, obviously.
2. Boardwalk Empire
Prohibition-era Atlantic City, where the whole plot runs on illegal booze. It's the golden age of the speakeasy rendered in loving, violent detail. Pour: a rye Manhattan or a Southside.
3. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Late-'50s New York glamour, nightclubs, and a heroine who works the room like a Martini works the palate. Stylish, sharp, and thoroughly boozy. Pour: a Gimlet.
4. Sex and the City
Say what you will - this show single-handedly made the Cosmopolitan the drink of a decade. A genuine piece of cocktail history, for better and pinker. Pour: a Cosmo.
5. Cheers
Not fancy, but essential: the sitcom that made the neighbourhood bar - "where everybody knows your name" - into a cultural ideal. The third place, immortalised. Pour: a beer, honestly, in solidarity.
6. Drink Masters (Netflix)
The modern cocktail competition show - a Top Chef for bartenders, full of wild techniques, foams, and clarifications. The best window into what today's craft actually looks like. Pour: whatever technique it inspires you to try.
7. Bar Rescue
The chaotic, addictive reality show where a failing bar gets torn apart and rebuilt. Trashy and educational in equal measure - you'll learn more about running a bar than you expect. Pour: something stiff.
How to watch like a cocktail lover
Make it a double feature with the drink. Match the pour to the era on screen - a period Manhattan for Boardwalk Empire, a Cosmo for Sex and the City - and a show becomes a tasting. Half the Top 100 shows up on screen once you start noticing.
Pour and press play: and when the credits leave you wanting the big screen too, our films about the bar is the double bill. Everything to mix along is at Cocktail Ceremony.
