Celebrate What Would Have Been Marilyn Monroe's 100th Birthday With the Drinks She Loved Most

"Dolores, do you still have that bottle of vermouth?... We've got bourbon, we can make Manhattans!"

Playing the role of Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk in the 1950s classic Billy Wilder madcap movie Some Like it Hot, Marilyn Monroe utters these words to her co-star Jack Lemmon. She then proceeds to mix up some drinks for them using a hot water bottle as a makeshift cocktail shaker. It's one of the most memorable and comedic movie moments in Monroe's short but iconic career.

From chugging beer in Clash by Night to eating hot dogs with Champagne in How to Marry a Millionaire, drinking on screen was a common occurrence for Monroe. On-screen booze added an extra layer to her characters and was a clever and often comedic device that she expertly employed.

Born Norma Jeane Mortenson on 1 June 1926 in Los Angeles, CA, today would've been her 100th birthday. Sadly, she died long before this centennial milestone at the young age of 36 in 1962. So, in honor of Monroe's birthday, we raise a glass to the memory of one of Hollywood's brightest stars and explore the drinks that defined her.

Christie's epic 1999 auction of items from Monroe's personal estate give some insight into what and how she liked to imbibe at home. The sale included several lots of fine glassware made by Baccarat, Lenox, and Cartier. Her 1961 copy of the book Stoned Like a Statue: A Complete Survey of Drinking Cliches, Primitive, Classical and Modern, by Howard Kandel and Don Safran, which was gifted to her by Rat Pack legend Dean Martin, was also auctioned off by Christie's in the same sale and went for an incredible $13,800.

A recent exhibition of items from Marilyn Monroe Institute founder Ted Stampfer's private collection in London featured a sterling silver martini pitcher made by American artist William Spratling. She was a big collector of his work and when he passed away he was working on a set of chairs for her.

Several of her biographers have noted that Monroe enjoyed drinking whiskey sours at Hollywood gatherings and, of course, her association with bourbon was cemented in the aforementioned Billy Wilder's Some Like it Hot.

Monroe was regularly photographed with a drink in hand. A particularly famous image taken in 1956 shows Monroe at Shannon Airport in Ireland on a layover with then husband playwright Arthur Miller drinking an Irish Coffee. The cocktail was invented by resident chef, Joe Sheridan, about a decade earlier and became a sensation in the United States.

But her one true love, though, was Champagne. It's the drink she's featured most with on screen, too. One of the most famous instances of her drinking it is in The Seven Year Itch, in which her character suggests dunking a potato chip in bubbly. "It's real crazy!"

She personally liked to drink Dom Pérignon Champagne as well as Piper-Heidsieck, which recently launched a charity series to mark Monroe's centennial birthday. Staff at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego who looked after the star during her filming of Some Like it Hot noted her love for Champagne as well as the 1950s classic Champagne Cocktail (Champagne, a sugar cube, Angostura Bitters and a lemon twist). "Something with bubbles, but not too strong" was said to be her standing order at the hotel.

Then there is the Marilyn Monroe Cocktail that was invented at New York's Waldorf Astoria to honor her role in The Seven Year Itch, which includes a famous scene filmed a few blocks from the hotel. The recipe naturally features Champagne mixed with apple brandy and grenadine. It's garnished with a maraschino cherry.

Monroe's love of bubbles is also referenced in numerous articles about her. In her final interview, "A Last Long Talk with a Lonely Girl" published posthumously in LifeMagazine on 17 August 1962, writer Richard Meryman notes: "In the living room, seated on a nondescript chair and sofa, we went on talking - after Marilyn poured herself a glass of champagne."

And famously Vogue photographer Bert Stern had a case of Dom Pérignon on hand for what would be her last photoshoot, which took place at the Bel-Air Hotel in Beverly Hills. The bubbly was a way to curry favor with the star and make her feel comfortable about shedding her clothes.

Monroe's enduring star quality has meant that her association with drinks has continued long after her death. In 1987, beer brand Holsten Pils released a roaringly successful TV commercial in the UK, which edited her scene in Some Like it Hot to look like she was having an exchange with comedian Gryff Rhys Jones to promote its product. A few years later, the executors of Monroe's estate gave Pabst Blue Ribbon permission to use her image to promote the beer on billboards and in advertising campaigns.

When Coca-Cola's trademark contour glass bottle celebrated its own 100th birthday in 2015, the brand used the famous photo captured by Life photographer Edward Clark of Monroe swigging from one on the set of her 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The accompanying tagline was naturally "I've kissed Marilyn." Her image has also been used for an eponymous wine brand and to promote whisky. Most recently a rare photograph of her taken by Shaw was featured on a bottle of Ladyburn 1966 Single Malt Scotch. It was sold at the Distillers One of One auction and set a new record by selling for $281,000.

An entire century after her birth and it seems we're all still enchanted by the woman behind the star. Be sure to raise a coupe of something sparkling tonight toast Monroe's legacy!

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the Drink section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 11:40 AM.