This month’s Movies & Munchies film is Jungle Cruise, a theme park ride inspired Disney film à la Pirates of the Caribbean. Kelly from Simply Inspired Meals is hosting. 
In full transparency, I was not looking forward to this film. I’m not a Disney fanatic. It took me two starts but I did finish the film and ended up liking it. I could see its appeal for the entire family. I also liked Emily Blount’s portrayal of Lily, a brave adventurer and explorer desperately trying to find the elusive Tears of the Moon blooms. (I found her relationship with her brother amusing as well.)
There wasn’t a huge amount of food in the film but there were a lot of things I knew the Movies & Munchies crowd would find inspiration in. Here’s what I spotted:
- Cups of tea
- Whiskey in the skipper’s flask
- “Nice lunch in a hotel and a bath and a cocktail”
- Beer
- Spritzer (but looked like Bourbon)
- 2 beers, 2 steaks
- trunk of liquor
- market with purple potatoes, beans, bananas, melons, coconut
- Fish and peas and lemons
- Piranha
- wine that Proxima laps up
- “an onion of deceit”
- masato (fermented spit)
- honey
It’s been a while since I presented a film-inspired cocktail. (I had to go all the way back to October 2020 for a “Touch of Magic Cocktail to Beat Thyme” for Death Becomes Her.) A cocktail was on my mind though as soon as the “Tears of the Moon” reference was made in the film.
During the pandemic and lockdown, I attended a lot of virtual Yelp events. One was hosted by TheTéSpa. I learned a lot about tea from the company’s owner. I had never heard of Butterfly Pea Blossom tea and I’ve been saving this bit of knowledge for the perfect cocktail.
Tears of the Moon Cocktail
This is an amazing cocktail in taste and appearance.
Ingredients
- 3/4 c. water
- 2 T. dried Butterfly Pea Flowers (loose tea )
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 4-5 mint leaves
- 2 1/2 oz. whiskey
- 1 oz. lemon juice
Instructions
- First, make the tea and the simple syrup. Steep Butterfly Pea Flowers in boiling hot water for 15 minutes. Strain out the flowers with a fine mesh strainer. Add the butterfly flower tea to a saucepan with 3/4 of sugar and heat on medium. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and let cool.
- Place the mint leaves and 1 oz. simple syrup in an old fashioned glass. Muddle well to release the mint oils and aroma.
- Add the whiskey.
- Top with ice and stir.
- Top with lemon juice. Watch, be amazed, and stir.
- Garnish with mint.
Store any leftover simple syrup in the refrigerator.
Yield: 1
Dried Butterfly Pea Blossoms
Butterfly Pea Blossoms are similar to matcha except the tea is a deep “ocean water” color. That is until you introduce lemon juice and then it turns into a lovely lavender-indigo color. This trick was perfect for a cocktail inspired by Jungle Cruise and Tears of the Moon.
Before and after the lemon juice.
This recipe is based on a mint julip recipe. I added the lemon juice (and even added more to cut the sweetness). Be aware that this is a very sweet cocktail.
Will I make it again? Yes, just for the effect.
Kelly, thanks for hosting. I can’t wait to see what everyone posts up.
Please join us for next month’s feature, Servant of the People. Juli is hosting. Here’s her updated announcement:
I still highly recommend watching Russian Ark. However, with everything going on I didn’t want to all be highlighting Russian recipes right now. I switched to a TV Show; it’s not a movie so I hope that is allowed but wanted to highlight a popular Ukrainian classic Servant of the People highlighting President Zelensky. This one can also be found on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ-3YwVQV0M
Consider joining us. More information can be found on the Movies & Munchies FB page.
That is a gorgeous cocktail Debra. Cheers, I”m glad you ended up enjoying the movie.
I’m glad you were able to get through/enjoy the movie a little and I love your inspiration. What a fun cocktail!
i love the colour of butterfly pea. They make an amazing gin here using those flowers. so pretty.
The color is so fun, both before and after the lemon.
A surprising film for Movies & Munchies in that “food” was not memorable. However you did remarkably manage to squeeze an interesting cocktail from it. Have never heard of Butterful Pea Flower tea, but being a daily tea drinker, it’s obviously one I need to check out. Your cocktail is amazing and love how it changed color after adding the lime juice. Good job Deb!
Not sure if I’ll ever see the movie, but this cocktail looks terrific! I don’t often use tea in cocktails (almost never!), but this looks like a delightful combo of flavors. Thanks!
Your post today is full of surprises — a good movie from a Disney ride spin-off? A cocktail made of tea that changes color? A Ukrainian film recco with their great President? Wow!
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Butterfly pea flower gives a beautiful color and this drink sounds awesome!
Genius post for The Jungle Cruise! I think I have everything I need to make it. Soon. Cheers!
[…] You can read more about Butterfly Pea Tea and the magically color changing cocktail here. […]