Media plays a great role in influencing the tastes and habits of its viewers. Everything from the food you eat and the clothes you wear are dictated by the food and fashion sense of supposed experts. So much so in the world of alcoholic beverages, media, particularly movies, have become indirect marketing tools to promote a lifestyle or type of drink for general consumption. Here are some drinks made famous in movies and the media.

1) The Cosmopolitan

This is considered as the vogue drink of the woman of the new millennium. Made famous by Carrie in the TV series “Sex and the City,” the drink consists of two parts lemon vodka, or vodka with a half a lemon's squeezed juice, one part Triple Sec or Cointreau, one part Cranberry juice and half a lime. This is served in a tall Martini highball glass. This has become the hottest drink for it signifies a woman's empowerment and independence. Though created in some bar in the Northeast, the mixed drink only increased in popularity when the main characters of “Sex and the City” ordered them in New York City bars.

2) James Bond's shaken not stirred

James Bond is the quintessential man since he is smooth, suave and with a license to kill. He is the epitome of a ladies' man, able to defeat evil and to get the beautiful girl in the end. His signature drink is actually called a Vesper, which consists of Gordon's Dry Gin, half a lime lillet and the mixture is shaken in crushed ice with a lemon peel when served. Thus was born the ultimate macho phrase, “I like it shaken not stirred.” As historians pointed out, this stems from the particular tastes of the creator of the character, Ian Fleming, and was carried over to the character and into the big screen.

3) The dirty martini

The original drink of choice in social circles was the martini, which is gin and vermouth. But in the movies of the 1950's, the dirty martini was born. Since vermouth was quite an expensive ingredient, this was replaced with vodka and the addition of the olive into the drink made it a hit with moviegoers. Famous individuals, like Dean Martin and his Rat Pack ordered these martinis while shooting their films and concerts, and took more drinks backstage or in between takes. Thus, the new nouveau elite drink then is the dirty martini.

As can be seen in media history, these drinks played roles in their movies and so much more into the consciousness of those who emulate the characters in the films. For ultimate female chic, there is the Cosmopolitan, for the macho extreme, the Vesper and the elite's new drink of class, the dirty martini. These drinks are now so popular that they have been enshrined in many drink menus all over the United States and in Europe. After all, it is one way of living the high life for a simple person in a bar.