Two weeks ago we hit the theater to check out Baby Driver and I didn’t quite know what to expect. In fact, for being a bit of a movie buff, I hadn’t even heard of it until the hubby brought it up. I’ll tell you one thing, I had no clue how impressive this soundtrack would be and I ordered it on vinyl that same day. (What really did it for me, is one of my favorite Beck songs planted perfectly a short way into the film – Debra.) Now I’ll go ahead and tell you another thing – I didn’t fully appreciate how connected every note from every song was to each detail of the movie until we went back to see it a second time the very next weekend.
There are a number of excellent reviews and write ups about the film and the music behind it by writers that are far better versed than I could ever be, so I’ve listed a handful for you below. I recommend that you see the movie once, listen to the full album, read one or two of these reviews, and then go back and see it again – in that order.
If you read just one of these, don’t miss this article over at Den of Geek (stolen from a friend’s FB page):
Edgar Wright’s Musical Inspiration for the Baby Driver Soundtrack
Variety – A getaway driver who steers to the beat of his own playlist.
The Telegraph – An infectious car chase thriller.
Rolling Stone – The car chase musical you need.
Twice the movie called for twice the cocktails – I hope you enjoy his inspiration below!
-Her
Well, Baby Driver is – without doubt – a smash hit of this summer.
When I think of cocktails and summer in the South, I inevitably think of the venerable bourbon and Coke. The fact that this movie is set in Atlanta, GA, makes choosing that drink even more of a no-brainer. If you and I had a nickel for every bourbon and Coke that had been consumed in the South, we’d have more money than Baby has stashed beneath the floorboards of his apartment.
Add in the fact that I’ve been itching to give this fancied-up version I found in Garden & Gun a try. What other choice did we have than to make both versions of the drink to pair with this amazing soundtrack?
The Classic
Bourbon and Coke
Ingredients:
3 oz of bourbon (I like to use a slightly lower ABV everyday sipper like Maker’s or Woodford)
6 oz of Coca-Cola
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
Lemon slice for garnish
Preparation:
Using the glassware of your choice, add ice, bourbon and bitters. Then top with Coke. I like to add the bitters an lemon garnish to pump the aromatics up a little bit and bring a bit of interest to this old stand-by.
The Newcomer
Bourbon and Coke – From Garden and Gun magazine
Ingredients:
For the Coke syrup:
¼ cup of Coca-Cola
¼ cup of sugar
For the Cocktail:
3 oz of bourbon (we used Michter’s)
½ oz of Coke syrup
Preparation:
Coke syrup –
Bring the Coke to simmer in a very small saucepan. Add in the sugar and stir until dissolved.
Cocktail –
Combine bourbon, syrup and bitters in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and then strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
I encourage you to give both versions a try and let us know which you prefer!
-Him
It turned out that the shop was in the midst of making a move to a location down the block, but most of the vinyl was still in this original location, along with a handful of listening stations set up, which the owner encouraged us to use while he bounced back and forth between the locations. I appreciated the trust to leave us alone in the store, and while I realize we don’t exactly look shady, I suspect vinyl folks tend to be generally trustworthy. I mean, what kind of jackass would try to steal vinyl?
of checking out the condition, because this vinyl was so clean. It was obvious that the owner cared about what he was offering up in the shop. The hardest part was deciding what to take with me, given that whatever it was would need to make it’s way back on the plane with me. After forcing myself to limit the haul to 6 spontaneously selected albums, we said our goodbyes and headed back out to make the steep uphill trek towards some of the best whiskey cocktails we had in the city. We had worked up quite a thirst by then, those hills are no joke! If you find yourself in the Haight, stop by the 
looking for anything in particular. When I told him that I was a member of their Whiskey Explorer’s club, he immediately set off to see if he had anything special in the back, and brought out a couple of bottles that neither of us had come across before – Parker’s Heritage and Elmer T. Lee. Sold. Also sold on the Cask Exclusive Gordon & MacPhail Caol Ila single malt – which might be the smartest purchase I made while in the city. One taste and I was in heaven, so it’s a good thing that my husband isn’t as much of a scotch fan as I am because I’ll be hanging on to this one for as long as possible. I also suspect that these beauties will make their way into a Whiskey Vinyl Vibe one of these days.
Vinyl Loves Whiskey 