This week on Alcohollywood, we start our May-long ode to legend’s greatest beasts with DRAGON MONTH! (We promise, we’ll take a break from theme months after this one.)
Starting off, returning guest Todd Kuhns joins us to talk 2002’s post-apocalyptic dragon flick Reign of Fire, starring Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey! In the grim future of 2020 – presumably in the fiery wake of President Trump’s first term – dragons rule the earth, and humans are left to huddle in castles and reenact Star Wars in front of children as myth. But when a group of roughneck US troops roll in (including a beardy, bald, bug-eyed McConaughey) to start slaying dragons, our heroes are in for the fight of their lives. Check out our thoughts, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Basecamp as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
LISTEN HERE OR DOWNLOAD:
THIS EPISODE’S DRINK: The Goddamn Van Zan
This week’s fiery drink leans hard into the while dragon thing, and really just seems like the kind of crazy cocktail McConaughey’s Denton Van Zan would drink on the regular.
3 parts gold tequila
3 parts watermelon juice
2 parts roasted red bell pepper/lime syrup
Cholula hot sauce to taste
Combine chopped bell pepper, honey and lime in water and bring to a simmer for a few minutes in a saucepan to make the syrup. Combine in rocks glass and top with Cholula.
DRINKING RULES FOR REIGN OF FIRE:
- Every time you get a nice, meaty closeup of McConaughey’s crazy eyes
- Any time you see fire (preferably dragon’s breath)
- Whenever McConaughey explains things to people in a dumbly poetic way (i.e. Van Zan-splaining)
FINISH YOUR DRINK WHEN:
Van Zan shouts about dragons, “There’s nothin’ magical ‘bout ‘em!”
Join us next week as we ride this dragon train all the way to the end of the line with 1995’s Dragonheart!
