Every year since it’s inception, the organizers of the  TCM Classic Film Festival have been letting me in without paying. Most of those years, I’ve been celebrating that fact by putting together my own drinks inspired by the films I was lucky enough to see there.

My first 2016 beverage du cinema (please don’t tell if that’s not actual French) is actually drawn from a film I saw on the last day of the fest which, frankly, was rather a last minute choice. An adaptation of a novel by A.J. Cronin, “The Keys of the Kingdom” isn’t a movie even hardcore film geeks hear that much about, even if it netted a young Gregory Peck his first Oscar nomination. As the decades-long tale of an idealistic priest from Scotland who finds himself a missionary in China, I have to admit that I had some qualms about spending my dwindling TCM time on what seemed likely to be a rather draggy bit of classic-era Hollywood Oscar bait from John Stahl, a director best known for making the original 1930s versions of the classic melodramas “Imitation of Life” and “Magnificent Obsession.” (If you know them at all, you’re likely more familiar with the 1950s remakes directed by Douglas Sirk.)

However, I should have more thoroughly considered the talents of two of classic Hollywood’s most skilled and witty screenwriters, Joseph Mankiewicz (“All About Eve”), who also produced, and the hugely versatile Nunnally Johnson (“The Grapes of Wrath,” “How to Marry a Millionaire,” and, get this,”The Dirty Dozen.”) As good as the suprisingly humorous and compelling script turned out to be, I was very pleasantly surprised by the film’s treatment of its many Asian characters. They are well-rounded non-stereotypes and, even more of a surprise, all played by actual Asian actors. That’s more impressive than it should be considering that, up to this very moment, Hollywood seems to be allergic to casting Asian actors in large roles.

“The Keys to the Kingdom” is a bit longish but, otherwise, a terrific example of classic-era Hollywood at it’s humanistic, entertaining, inspiring, and relatively progressive semi-best. Why not make it a cocktail?

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I have no idea why Minneapolis bartender Marco Zappia chose to name his drink the Miner’s Son. The closest thing I can find to a cultural reference in the name is that it’s also the name of a restaurant in North Bay, Ontario — so maybe that’s it, and maybe it isn’t. I do know, however, that Zappia’s concoction makes very nice use of a mixer I haven’t really explored at all.

I like tea probably slightly more than the next person, so I guess it’s somewhat surprising that I haven’t really been on top of the not-really-new trend towards using both hot and cold teas in various mixed drinks. Don’t ask me why I’ve been so remiss, but at least I was finally nudged along by a gloriously free bottle of Famous Grouse Scotch, the best selling Scotch in the UK, paired with something called Owl’s Brew The Famous Mint Tea, a very tasty product designed to be combined with the aforementioned whiskey.

I have to say that I agree with apparently most of the population of the British Isles that the Famous Grouse is an extremely likable Scotch. I just might start using as a default here at Casa de DOTW, and I already mentioned that the Owl’s Brew Mint Tea is pleasant on the tongue — it’s also extremely sweet. However, I’m not at this point 100% sold on combining it with Scotch on its own, as the Owl’s Brew bottle suggests. It’s not bad, it’s just that this mysteriously named recipe, which adds a bit of lemon and seltzer to the mix, is what really seems to bring out the best in all these good products.

The Miner’s Son

1 1/2 ounces The Famous Grouse Blended Scotch Whisky
3/4 ounce Owl’s Brew The Famous Mint Tea
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1/3 ounce fresh lemon juice
2 ounces seltzer water
1 lemon twist (garnish)

Combine all the liquid ingredients in a Collins glass, though I think a double rocks or perhaps a smallish highball glass will also work in a pinch. Stir, and add your lemon twist, which Mr. Zappia would like you to properly express, I suspect. (Here are some good instructions on that score, though I would argue us non-pros are just fine using a vegetable peeler and dispensing with the fancy knife work.)

****

The weather is about as cool as it gets out here on the West Coast right now. Even so, the Miner’s Son makes for a nearly irresistible libation and it’s appeal will only increase when El Nino finally makes his exit. It’s a blend of sweet, tangy, minty, and, uh, tea-y flavors that’s pretty darn hard to resist.

On the theory of not fixing what ain’t remotely broke, I dispensed with my tradition of trying the drink out with a Brand X base spirit. I did, however, try it with half a tablespoon of superfine sugar in place of simple syrup. Despite having exactly the same amount of calories, that came out slightly less sweet …and, arguably, a bit better.

On another experiment, however, I found that, while the terms “seltzer,” “club soda,” and “soda water” tend to be used almost interchangeably at times, in this case it might be best to stick to the strict meaning of seltzer water, which is simply plain carbonated water. Club soda, by contrast, contains some additional sodium. Using it seemed to throw the balance of the drink slightly off. Sometimes tiny differences aren’t all that minuscule.