Gin and Tonic

In today's world, a cocktail is anything with ice and spirits in a glass. But, then, Tommy Bahama shirts are considered appropriate in a casino where, once, only black tie (a tuxedo) would have done.  So spins the world. In any case, the Gin and Tonic is only barely a cocktail by old time qualifications (spirits+sugar+bitters) in that modern tonic water uses quinine (which is traditional) and is sweetened (which is less so).

Oft referred to as a G&T within the British Isles, the Gin and Tonic is a highball, or tall cocktail. James Bond orders one in the novel Goldfinger where Auric Goldfinger quite improbably allows Bond unfettered access to his home in England while he steps out so that he can record by film whatever it is Bond is looking for.  Bond has, by this point in the novel, already interfered with Goldfinger's vacation-oriented hijinks in Miami and Goldfinger knows Bond is up to something; he is just not sure what. He invites Bond to dinner and makes up an excuse to leave for a short while, putting Bond in a position where he can search Goldfinger's estate.  Unbeknownst to 007, Goldfinger has rigged a movie camera to film Bond's every move from behind a two way mirror.  Before searching the house, Bond, quite reasonably, fixes himself a drink. He chooses a Gin and Tonic which, for a heavy drinker, is a logical choice, as it is a tall drink and takes one time to work through.  Bond drinks another (or three, if memory serves) in the novel Doctor No.

As the weather is warming a bit where I am at the moment, I thought the Gin and Tonic might be a worthy drink for this entry.  Ostensibly, just tonic water and gin, the G&T couldn't be an easier cocktail to prepare. It is also somewhat austere as most of Bond's preferred cocktail are.  Originally developed by the army of the British East India Company in India to encourage their staff to drink quinine which was used to prevent malaria. The gin apparently made it more palatable and, I would imagine, more compelling. 

The gin and tonic has many interpretation in terms of proportions but remains fairly simple in terms of ingredients.

In Doctor No, Bond orders a double Gin and Tonic and cuts the lime in two, squeezing the halves into the glass, dropping them in and topping it with ice and tonic. A single G&T is:


A highball (tall) glass filled with ice, pour and stir in:

• 3 measures of gin,
• Fill the glass with tonic water
• squeeze one lime, cut in half, into the glass and drop in as a garnish

 So far as I know, Bond never calls (specifies) the gin although we know from past entries that he very much enjoys whatever it was Gordon's was producing in the 1950s. He also never specifies the tonic, which is probably because most bars don't offer a choice.


That said, I prefer Q Tonic brand to the more common Schweppes brand as it's a much subtler flavor that does not feature high fructose corn syrup as the sweetener (I'm certain Bond's tonic water enjoyed good, old fashioned sugar as the sweetener).


The Legendre Thirst method:

While limes are common and, initially refreshing in the G&T, I prefer to leave them out as I feel they eventually seem to dominate the drink. Instead, I make what is known as a Pink G&T (pictured), omitting the lime, adding 5 or 6 enthusiastic dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters and building the following in an ice-filled highball glass: 

• 3 oz. gin

• Add 6 robust dashes of aromatic bitters 
• fill with Q-Tonic tonic water and stir

If I want a bit of lime in the bouquet (which contrasts the flavor of the bitters beautifully), I'll use a twist of the peel instead of the whole fruit.

I enjoy Old Raj gin in my G&T as it has a stronger herbal quality than most gins while still remaining somewhat citrus forward. The infusion of saffron lends it a certain savory quality in addition to the amber color. Old Raj is probably too high proof and, perhaps, too flavorful for the delicate balance that makes a Martini but it is perfect for a tall, somewhat more forgiving drink like a Gin and Tonic as it brings a surprisingly flavorful companion to the tonic, adding  a pleasant and subtly savory kind of interest..  Unlike in the Pink Gin cocktail, the bitters only play a supporting role in this drink.  The result is pleasantly effervescent with refreshing vegetal notes vaguely reminiscent of the strawberries and cucumbers one might find in a Pimm's Cup (albeit much more dry) with a slight creamy flavor while the mouth feel remains crisp. The citrus notes in the gin are sufficient to add a warm, celebratory note to the cocktail while the bitters bring out and occasionally offset the other herbal notes. (If you cannot find or afford Old Raj, Tanqueray Ten is an acceptable alternative. Somewhat less flavorful but arguably smoother.)

Try it both ways.  Imbibes most pleasingly in balmy weather.

In Doctor No, 007 enjoys 3 double G&Ts.  This amounts, to roughly, 18 measures of gin. As the average human liver can only process 1 ounce of alcohol per hour, this writer would like to recommend you start with singles first and work your way up.

Enjoy!

-L.T. 

The Negroni cocktail

If ever there was a post-prohibition cocktail that embodied the butch, steely eyed quality of the early cold-war era, it is the Negroni. According to lore, in Florence, around 1919, Count Camillo Negroni asked the barman at Caffe Giacosa to add some kick to his Americano with some gin. While gin is a brilliant mixer, I believe the Count could have done better but we'll get to that later.

 In the short story Risico (In the collection For Your Eyes Only), which was adapted in part and modified for the film For Your Eyes Only, 007 waits for Kristatos and enjoys a Negroni, specifying (his usual) Gordon's gin. The Negroni is commonly made with equal parts: sweet (aka Italian) vermouth, Campari and gin, usually served over ice, often with a splash of soda with a twist of orange peel. Occasionally an actual orang slice will be used but this is a forgivable offense in a Negroni.

This is all well and good but a few years ago a bartender on the left bank opined to me that, contrary to common belief and wisdom, the amounts of Campari and vermouth do better when they, put together, equal the amount of gin at which point it becomes: 2 parts gin to 1 part Campari and 1 part vermouth. This is an excellent idea and it, following my Parisian barman's advice, it is how I enjoy mine; served up (as shown,, although on the rocks is acceptable) with a twist of orange and partitioned thusly:

• 1.5 oz. gin 
• .75 oz. sweet vermouth (I like Dolin for balance) 
• .75 oz. Campari.Stir for at least 1 minute (dilution is not your enemy, it is, like fire, your powerful friend) 

Twist a strip of orange zest over the top of the drink so the oil covers the surface. Drop the peel in, sip and smile.

The Negroni is another varsity-level cocktail. James Bond was, if anything, a man's man and he proved it with his toughness as, in many ways, a drinker.  With the Negroni, I have had good, hard-drinking friends look at me as though I have served them turpentine when tasting it.  It is not a beginners cocktail. The proportions are irrelevant; Campari is an intense concoction, sweet, smoky, bitter and until you acquire a taste for it, anything made with it is... challenging. The Negroni is sweet upon introduction with the palette and then, quite suddenly, bitter and astringent. This is not exactly a negative critique. It's a fine, elegant cocktail, as is the Americano upon which it is, ostensibly, based. But it is, like any spy might be in or after the cold war, unfriendly to strangers. Courting it's favor is a worthwhile endeavor. It is refreshing, crisp and adds spice to life. 

And we could stop there.

But, that said, in the same way that the Martini and the Manhattan are related (initially only differing in proportions and choice of spirit), the Negroni also has a sibling and it surprises me, given James Bond's proclivity for bourbon (not to mention that of his creator Ian Fleming who, when instructed by his doctor to give up gin, simply took up bourbon instead), that he never once in the books or the films, enjoys a Boulevardier.

 The Boulevardier, was the signature drink of Erskine Gwynne (who, by all accounts, looked a bit like a cross between Roger Moore and Patrick MacGoohan, best known for playing John Drake and was turning down the role of James Bond prior to Sean Connery winning the part), expatriate writer, socialite and nephew of railroad tycoon Alfred Vanderbilt, who edited a magazine in Paris called The Boulevardier. It is, in almost every respect, a superior cocktail to the Negroni but it lacks its elite, macho bravado. Which is to say, it is so much more accessible than the Negroni that I suspect it, like the sweet Martini, is considered less-than by the monied and socially well-placed. After all, being in is only relevant as long as you keep someone out.

 But let's not let that silly consideration get in our way, shall we? By switching out the gin for bourbon, the Negroni becomes the Boulevardier which is a darker, sultry sibling of the Manhattan; where the vermouth and bourbon compliment the spice in each others flavor profiles, the addition of Campari is an inspiration in that it dampens the vermouth *and* the bourbon enough to bring out the crowd pleasing best in both spirits. Like most bourbon drinks, this is one that enhances and celebrates the flavor of the bourbon over the others but the result is still balanced and, in the opinion of this writer, more successful. The Campari brings out the vanilla notes in the bourbon and the vermouth enhances the spicier notes. If the Negroni is the light, refreshing sophistication of a cocktail party with the elite, the Boulevardier is the warm, sultry embrace of a new lover.  The Negroni might get you places but the Boulevardier will kiss you like a stranger.  The choice is yours. 

 I have to believe James Bond would have approved.

Officially, the Boulevardier is:

• 1.5 oz. bourbon 
• .75 oz. Campari 
• .75 oz. sweet vermouth 

...stirred long, garnished with a cherry and served up in a cocktail coupe.

My personal tweak is to add 2 goodly dashes of aromatic bitters, discard the cherry and employ an orange peel garnish, flaming it if I'm feeling particularly fabulous. (As long as you twist plenty of oil from the peel, the fire is not required.)

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to make or order these two drinks and report back with your findings.

Good luck. And enjoy!

Pink Gin cocktail

There are a few cocktails that are designed for the drinker who, for one reason or another, doesn't care for gin.  These are meant, I imagine, as a kind of gentle gateway tipple to the dark world of gin drinking. The gin is almost always hidden away behind other ingredients so while the overall flavor profile leverages the botanical ingredients, the actual flavor of gin isn't really obvious. The uninitiated can claim bragging rights for having tried and enjoyed a gin-based cocktail without ever having tasted the stuff.  This is, I imagine, not unlike drenching broiled snails in enough garlic and butter that when you enjoy escargot, you are, in effect, not experiencing anything new or particularly dangerous.  If you want such a drink, there are many fine beverages to choose from.  I might recommend the Corpse Reviver #2 which serves as a precursor to the somewhat more pedestrian Lemon Drop. The Fog Cutter is another excellent choice.  With these examples of mixological excellence, you will be guaranteed a delight for your senses that will not, even for a moment, reveal the notorious flavor of gin to your palette. These drinks are, at least in that regard, safe.


The Pink Gin cocktail is not one of those drinks.


 Pink Gin is, in the opinion of this writer, a varsity level cocktail. At it's core, it's really just gin and bitters, served as close to ice cold as you can. It's herbaceous and intense with an aroma not entirely unlike a good Indian curry... little wonder when you consider that this drink was probably concocted by the British military as a way to get the troops to take their bitters promptly before and after consuming a vindaloo whilst occupying India.  It's actually a beautiful cocktail but the gin has nothing to hide behind which is fine, as long as you like gin. Ian Fleming liked gin.  So much of it, he was known to drink a full bottle of the stuff per day. And the Pink Gin cocktail, macho drink that it is, was his favorite.  Little wonder then, that he had 007 quaff one.  The only oddity is that he waited so long to have him order one up.  It isn't until Fleming's final (and never truly finished) novel The Man with the Golden Gun that Bond has one.  And it's a pity because as cocktails go, Pink Gin is far more sophisticated and deserving of world wide recognition than is the "vodka martini".

Something of a misnomer, Pink Gin is more of a muddy orange, owing to the color of the Angostura aromatic bitters in it.

When James Bond orders one as he waits for Francisco Scaramaga, the villain of the piece, he calls the gin, specifying Beefeater and asks for "plenty of bitters".  He's on to something with the bitters but I prefer either Plymouth or Broker's gin.  Not only is Plymouth the traditional choice but it's a slightly sweeter gin and melds better with the bitters.  It's also a better product, in my opinion than the Beefeater.  Broker's is a London Dry style but it's strong citrus notes make it an excellent choice for this drink.

Here's how I like mine:

• 3 oz. Plymouth or Broker's gin
• 6 goodly dashes of Angostura bitters (sometimes if I'm feeling frisky, I'll add a couple dashes of orange bitters)

Shaken and served up.

I know what you're thinking.   You're thinking the old boy has forgotten his own rule about stirring the clear drinks and shaking the opaque.  And you are certainly welcome to stir. However, I find that the oxygenation (aka "brusing") that takes place when you shake this cocktail actually mellows it out a little bit.  Usually I'd argue against doing away with any of the flavor but as I said before, this is an intense drink.  A little buffing off of the edges is a fine thing.

Some bartenders will garnish with a twist of lemon and while this makes for a somewhat gentler experience, I find the lemon interrupts the delicate interplay between the gin and the bitters. If you find you must have one for courage, then at least try your second round without.

Cheers!

Martini

 Although James Bond is known, primarily through the films, as an aficionado, nay, a devotee to the Vodka "Martini", "shaken not stirred, in the books and even in the films, he drinks Martinis (a cocktail based on gin) as well as "Vodka Martinis".

In recent years, the trend has been to make a Martini as "dry" as possible; meaning: to use as little vermouth as possible.  This will certainly get you drunk quicker but will also produce a flavorless product.  The result is not improved with shaking, which aerates the beverage to such a degree that each sip of it, while still cold, yields a lighter, less flavorful experience.  This is great, if what you're after is a bland drink.  This is vodkas sweet spot: lack of flavor- each new brand guarantees a more pure and less flavorful product than the previously leading product. And fear of flavor is a very modern thing.

But I digress.  The Martini is not about vodka and it is not about lack of flavor. Quite the opposite, in fact.  The Martini is all about flavor, starting with the gin; a distilled spirit similar to vodka (at least in it's modern incarnation) but different in that the grain spirits that make it up are distilled with juniper, citrus elements and other herbal ingredients. And, of course, vermouth.  Dry vermouth.  Not the long-gone-rancid vinegar-like concoction on top of your dear old aunt Mildred's side bar but vermouth; a slightly sweet, slightly dry, slightly dry, herbal bitter of great complexity, beauty and delicacy based on a white wine and formulated with other secret herbs, across the world (initially France).

Today, a Martini is any cocktail served up in a triangular glass, regardless of the ingredients.  In the 1980's and '90's, it was a triangular glass, rinsed with the smallest amount of vermouth possible and filled to the brim with gin or vodka, shaken, not stirred, as the most famous super spy would demand.

Love 007 as we do, it hurts us more than it would him to say this but... James Bond was wrong.  Shaking a spirits-based drink isn't sacrilege, it's just ill-advised; you waste what's best about the drink and, paradoxically, don't get something as cold as you might like, nor do you get the dilution necessary to let the flavors in through the burn of the alcohol.

Okay, enough pontificating.  Let's get to the drink, shall we?

In the 1950's, when the majority of the stories were written, the Martini was quite a bit wetter than what would pass muster today.  And that's good.  It makes for less macho, less painful drink but more delicious and sophisticated experience.

According to Doctor Cocktail in Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, the standard 1950's Martini cocktail was:

• 2.5 parts dry gin
• 1 part dry vermouth
• 1 dash orange bitters 
• with an olive or a twist of lemon
• stirred with ice for at least 30 seconds
• and served up or on the rocks

That's it.  And it's a fine drink. But nowhere in Ian Fleming's writings does he make mention of orange bitters, so we may assume what James Bond is drinking is akin to what the Savoy was serving at the time:

• 2/3 gin 
• 1/3 french (dry) vermouth

Shaken well and strained into a cocktail glass.

Personally, I prefer a 5 to 1 ratio (2.5 oz. gin to .5 oz. vermouth) with no bitters (as they there is plenty going on between the gin and vermouth) and an olive or two but the wetter version as documented in The Savoy Cocktail Book, is lovely and should be tried, if only for historical accuracy.  Whatever you do, do not cheat on the vermouth, either in quantity or quality. You will want to use fresh vermouth, putting it in the refrigerator when you're done. Vermouth is just fortified wine and will spoil like wine if left open at room temperature for more than a day or so.

Broker's Gin and Plymouth Gin both advertise themselves as being pure London Dry Gins and both are very fine products.  For American palettes (that is to say, in the U.S.), I prefer Broker's and enjoy Tanqueray Ten, particularly with Dolin vermouth. Is this what James Bond enjoyed? No. He drank Booth's House of Lord's gin, which is no longer available and he never had the brilliant Dolin products.  Sad for 007.  A company called Booth's still makes gin and you are welcome to give it a try. Please write in with your opinions.  Should we do the same, we will publish an update.

In the books, James Bond enjoyed a Martini (that is to say, NOT a vodka "martini") in Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds are Forever, From Russia with Love and Thunderball... almost always with his eating/drinking buddy Felix Leiter.

I suggest you enjoy one with a beautiful woman or a good friend who will have your back, come what may.  Ideally, your friend will look great in a sequined dress, fitting both categories.

Enjoy!

Vesper

As the first entry to this blog, it makes sense to start at the beginning.  The most famous cocktail 007 drinks is the one he creates in the first novel Casino Royale: The Vesper.


From Casino Royale, the passage reads thusly:

"A dry martini," [Bond] said. "One. In a deep champagne goblet."

"Oui, monsieur."

"Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"

"Certainly, monsieur." The barman seemed pleased with the idea.

The barman wasn't wrong.  The Vesper is a beautiful drink, balancing sweet, dry, bitter and floral elements in a tightly constructed, dangerous little package.  Spicier than a dry gin martini, the Vesper promises sex, violence and high living in a way few other cocktails do. It was the perfect drink to launch Ian Fleming's stylish yet brutal series of novels and a worthy addition to the menu of any self respecting bar but it's not without it's problems.


The first problem with the Vesper, aside from the fact that most bartenders don't know how to make it is that the key ingredient that transforms it from a standard martini into the Vesper, Kina Lillet, doesn't exist anymore.  Lillet Blanc, the company's current offering is a very nice fortified wine, but just doesn't have the complexity or quinine elements to stand up to three parts of gin, even as diluted with one part vodka. And, at the time of this writing, no one else really offers a Kina. In fact, there is only one product on the market that claims to duplicate what Kina Lillet once was; Cocchi Aperitivo Americano.  Small batch distillers Tempus Fugit are coming to market with their own exhaustively researched Kina sometime soon so there will soon be more options to choose from. 


The second problem with the Vesper is that, according to those who seem to know, Gordon's gin isn't the same product in the U.S. as it is in the U.K. Many manufacturers adjust their recipes to meet local tastes and, over the years, often change recipes completely.  The U.S. product is, in the opinion of this blogger, simply disappointing.  Another gin is called for.  Of the gins I have tried, Plymouth, Tanqueray Ten, and Miller's are the most enjoyable mainstream gins and the Voyager brand from Tempus Fugit Spirits  is probably my favorite small batch gin for this drink.


And, his license to kill be damned, James Bond is wrong about the shaking.  A shaken spirits-based cocktail is less cold and less flavorful than one stirred because of the extreme oxygenation brought on by the shaking.  Also, dilution is an important factor in any mixed drink. Spirits forward drinks should almost always be stirred. Drinks with juice, milk or eggs should be shaken.  
Here's how I like my Vesper.


Stir with ice for 60 seconds:


3 oz. Voyager Gin or Miller's Gin
1 oz. Hangar One Vodka 
.5 oz. Cocchi Aperitivo Americano


Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass and cut a fresh twist of lemon zest over the top so the oils from the peel coat the surface of the drink and enjoy in the company of beautiful women.