11 Crime Thrillers and Cocktail Pairings For the Perfect TV Night
There’s nothing better than closing your laptop for the day and getting ready for a night of absolute indoor indulgence: thrillers, takeout, and tipple. Honestly, can you name a better duo than a crime show and a cocktail? We’ll wait. It’s not only the perfect solo activity, but also sets the scene for a flirtatious date night or a rowdy friends’ hang.
So open your takeout apps, peruse the menus, and, like some kind of Greek god, literally wave your finger and send an epicurean feast on its way. As for what’s on the streaming and sipping menu, we’ve got you. Here are 11 crime thriller + cocktail pairings to take after-work relaxation to the next level.
The Bridge + Dry Martini
“The Bridge”’s standout character is the dry and no-fuss Saga Norén. So it’s only appropriate to make a dry and no-fuss cocktail, like a classic martini. All you need are three ingredients: gin or vodka, dry vermouth, and garnish — scratch that, forget the garnish. Can you imagine Saga gingerly placing a lemon peel on the rim of her glass? She’d rather be checking a corpse for rigor mortis.
Get the Recipe (you can forego the garnish)
Follow the Money + Gin and Tonic
Like a Danish “Billions,” this financial crime thriller takes viewers inside the high-stakes, billion-kroner renewable energy industry, where environmental heroes are immoral and clean energy is a dirty business. What should you drink as you follow these power players from boardrooms to luxury hotel rooms? A gin and tonic, of course. They’re classy, button-up, and get straight to business.
Dark Woods + Scotch
This mystery series based on a true crime centers around the 30-year search for a missing woman, but kicks off with a twisted murder deep in the German woods. Watching the show, you can practically smell the damp trees through the screen, and perhaps a faint hint of gunpowder. What better way to evoke this scene than with a simple glass of peaty, smoky scotch on the rocks?
Best Peaty Scotch Recommendations
The Accidental Wolf + Manhattan
When Katie Bonner picks up an unknown call and finds herself on the other line with a dying man pleading for her to help his pregnant wife, Tala, she leaves her upscale life behind to enter a dark web of international cover-ups, corruption, and trafficking. Phew. Someone pour her a drink — and make it a classic Manhattan.
Arctic Circle + Hot Toddy
Like “Frozen” meets “Contagion,” but 95% “Contagion,” “Arctic Circle” follows the hunt for a serial killer amid a deadly pandemic and is set in Finnish Lapland, where snow stretches as far as the eye can see and it’s not uncommon for temperatures to reach -30°C, or -22°F. Seriously, just watching the show might make you shiver. You’ll want to warm yourself up with a hot toddy, perhaps the most winter-proof cocktail there is.
Soul City + Hurricane
There’s no city like New Orleans — Mardi gras, live jazz, Cajun food! Now forget about all that. In Coodie & Chike’s horror anthology “Soul City,” viewers get to tour a very different side of the Big Easy, where the city’s magic turns dark, dreams become nightmares, and the devil never forgets to collect. If you want to visit, channel a proper tourist and make yourself a fruity, boozy hurricane.
Pagan Peak + Peppermint Schnapps
This mystery thriller inspired by “The Bridge” is set in the never-ending Alpine wilderness near the Austrian-German border. But put down the beer — you’re going to need something stronger. (Just wait until you see the killer’s hand-carved wooden masks.) Sip on another beverage that Germany is known for: Schnapps! And make it peppermint to match the wintry vibes.
Lambs of God + Bloody Mary
In this gothic fairytale, a Catholic priest goes in search of a remote convent forgotten by time and comes across three nuns who are living happily untethered to the modern world. They just want to knit, tell stories, and occasionally slaughter a lamb and drink its blood. Is that too much to ask? So naturally, the best libation to go with this must-see series (featuring a breathtakingly unhinged performance by Ann Dowd) is the good, old bloody Mary.
Baron Noir + French 75
If you think American politics are dirty, then this fast-paced thriller proves that dirty politics is just another area in which the French outdo us. “Baron Noir” reveals a world in which the players are shady, the sabotage is ruthless, and revenge is everything. Picture “The West Wing” meets “The Sopranos.” It’s only fitting to learn about French politics while drinking a classic French 75.
An Ordinary Woman + Moscow Mule
One the surface, Marina is a suburban wife and mother who runs a flower shop in Moscow. But underneath, she’s hiding a massive secret: she’s the madam of a lucrative escort service. When one of her girls turns up dead, she’ll have to clean up the mess and hold her family together. Similarly, the Moscow mule is also hiding a shocking secret: it originated in Manhattan! But that doesn’t mean it’s not a delicious accompaniment to the series.
The Miracle + Negroni
When a Madonna statuette weeping tears of human blood is discovered, the miraculous object reveals unimaginable powers that could upend beliefs, society, and humanity itself. Now the church, government, and mafia are all after it. Transport yourself to Italy by pairing this psychological thriller with a sweet and bitter Negroni.
This article was originally published on Topic.
