The Substance is one of this year’s most provocative, visually stimulating releases…now in cocktail form.
Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? Younger, more beautiful, more perfect. One single injection unlocks your DNA, starting a new cellular division, that will release another version of yourself. This is the Substance. You are the matrix. Everything comes from you. Everything is you. This is simply a better version of yourself. You just have to share. One week for one and one week for the other. A perfect balance of seven days each. The one and only thing not to forget: You. Are. One. You can’t escape from yourself.
What is The Substance About?
This monologue from Coralie Fargeat’s 2024 body horror film The Substance is the selling point for the youth serum Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) injects herself with, whispered over a crackly phone speaker by a sinister unknown presence. We asked Lo Bar Cocktail Services to turn this mind-bending spectacle of a film into a cocktail.
There are a lot of different aesthetic directions to go—the maroon splotches of the blood spatters, the shimmery, plastic pink of Sparkle’s serum-induced alter ego Sue (Margaret Qualley)’s workout outfits, or but the ladies at Lo Bar leaned into one of the movie’s most poignant symbols: the ghoulish, electric green of The Substance itself.
For the visuals and design choices alone, this movie is a work of art. (Just look at some of the costumes like Elisabeth Sparkle’s yellow coat). But it’s up for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars, one of the most experimental films in 2025’s lineup.
You have got to try this new cocktail. It changed my life….
The Activator, A Cocktail for The Substance
Description
You’ve got to try this cocktail…
Ingredients
- 2 oz gin
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 oz white pepper simple syrup
- An eye dropper of fresh celery juice or add as much as you prefer!
For the white pepper simple syrup:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
Instructions
- Shake over ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Add more celery if desired!
For the white pepper simply syrup:
- Dissolve ingredients over heat while mixing then let cool.
Recipe by Lo Bar Cocktail Services
Photography and Styling by Kylie Thomas
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