Dua Lipa Matches Cocktails to Her Very Favorite Songs in ‘Tasting Notes’

Here’s a fun one: As part of our Toast to Cinema series, we asked pop star Dua Lipa to create cocktails based on her favorite songs.

So, what’s on her menu? First up, a dirty vodka martini (hold the vermouth, please!) inspired by British icon Sade’s “Smooth Operator.” “When a martini is good, it’s smooth and delicious, and listening to Sade’s music at the same time feels like the perfect moment,” Lipa explains. (That sounds about right to us.) What follows is a twist on Belarus, inspired by Lipa’s own song “Houdini,” the first single from her third album, radical optimism. “The advantage of this is that everything happens in the glass. Less cleaning, more fun,” comments the ever-efficient Lipa. (Special ingredient? A dash of sambuca, in addition to Kahlua, and a shot of ice-cold espresso.) And the drink, like the club-ready song goes, has “all the energy you need for the day.”

The third drink in the mix is ​​a highball inspired by Lipa’s “dear friend” Elton John’s classic song “Benny and the Jets.” Her explanation for the pairing? “The night before I performed with Elton, I drank this drink while I was watching Elton perform at Dodger Stadium.” John opened the show with “Benny and the Jets,” from his 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road“Nothing gave me the chills more than that moment,” Lipa recalls. Honestly, we felt them too—and we didn’t even have an ice-cold Highball glass in our hands!

For more of Lipa’s inspired pairings (palomas for “Sweet Dreams”! Basil crush for “Toxic”! Margaritas for Madonna’s “Frozen”!) and more exciting stories from her life as a fun-loving global pop star, watch the full video above.

Director: Gabriel Reich
Director of Photography: Andrew Amin
Editor: Michael Sujeda

Producer: Rahel Gebreyes
Onsite Producer: Michel Bruno
Associate Producer: Leah Donenberg
Bartender: Nathalie Durrieu
Assistant Videographer: Stephen Cullina
Gaffer: Adam Reichardt
Audio: Tony Charles
Production Assistant: Miles Haywood

Production Coordinator: Tania Jones
Production Manager: Christine Helmick
Producer: Natasha Soto-Olbers

Assistant Editor: Andy Morrell
Post-production coordinator: Holly Frew
Supervising Editor: Cameron Key
Post-production supervisor: Alexa Deutsch

Global Entertainment Director: Sergio Kletnoy
Executive Producer: Rahel Gebryes
Senior Director of Video: Romy van den Broeke
Senior Director of Programming: Linda Gittleson
Vice President of Video Programming: Thespena Guatieri

Filming Location: Casa Cipriani New York