Mint Julep

I'd say his Julep is tart enough for him.

Once upon a time in the 1700's, there was, in the United States of America, a vibrant mixed drink culture with a truly staggering array of different classifications of beverages designed to make the best use of the limited spirits and ingredients available at the time. There were punches, collinses, fizzes, flips, noggs, daisies, sours, coolers, cobblers, sangarees, toddies and slings. Bartenders and customers alike were expected to know, more or less, the difference between these drinks, which were served hot, which were served cold and which were served at room temperature (as ice was difficult and expensive to both obtain and maintain and dental technology not all that advanced, super cold drinks were not necessarily a given). Failure on the part of the bartender to get it right could result in termination- literally, by way of lead poisoning, blunt object or a blade across the throat. Tough times.

What you don't see in the list above are juleps. That's because juleps were medicinal in nature. Think "serum". You wouldn't order something called a Mint Serum would you (you might, I don't know you but I would certainly think twice)?  It sounds like something meant to cure what ails you. Again, literally.

But at some point in the 1790's, a drink quite correctly called a Mint Smash became known as a Mint Julep. Perhaps because drinking one made you feel as though it was curing what ailed you (figuratively, of course).  Or maybe there was a piece of glassware lost to history called the "julep glass"?

For whatever reason, the Julep became a category on it's own (something like a super-sized Smash) and the addition of mint helped popularize icy drinks in the 1800's.

Something about watching James Bond and Goldfinger sipping Mint Juleps in the shade captured my imagination many years before I could order one for myself. The only indication of what it might taste like, besides the presence of mint, are when Bond specifies "Sour mash and not too sweet"and Goldfinger politely asks "Is your Julep tart enough?" Imagine my surprise and momentary disappointment that the Mint Julep isn't even a little bit tart. 

The Mint Julep is a pretty simple drink in terms of flavor. The tobacco, spice and vanilla notes in the bourbon compliment the freshness of the mint and the small amount sugar helps integrate the flavors and soften the harshness of the spirits.  Creamy?  Perhaps. Minty? Definitely. Sweet? Certainly. Tart? Absolutely not.  But it is absolutely delicious and on a long, hot day there is nothing like it.If the Mint Julep has a failing it is also its strength in that it isn't complex. In cooler weather, a busier flavor profile might be a better choice but in the heat, simpler drinks are more refreshing.

But why does Bond specify "Sour mash, and not too sweet"?  By the 1960's, the Mint Julep had been a bourbon (or at least sour mash whiskey) drink for at least a hundred years but in the early days, the Julep could be ordered with gin (Dutch genever, not London dry), brandy or sour mash whiskey (either bourbon or Tennessee whiskey), all with mint but some featuring fruits and additional liqueurs. One recipe features a mix of rye and cognac instead of the bourbon, which is a delightful enhancement.  In any case, James Bond is either a little out of step or showing off how incredibly picky he can be by specifying the spirit the bartender would almost certainly use anyway.

The Mint Julep 

• 2. oz. spirit (I like mine with 1.5 oz. Bulleit bourbon which is high in rye content with .5 oz. Courvoisier V.S. cognac),
• 1 teaspoon superfine sugar
• 5 to 8 spearmint leaves
• 1 oz. water
• crushed ice
• 1 mint sprig for garnish

 Put mint, water and superfine sugar in the bottom of the glass, muddle and set aside for a few minutes. By using superfine sugar, the granules will help abrade the mint leaves before the water turns them into syrup. Simple syrup will work for flavor but won't help express the flavor from the leaves as efficiently. The longer you leave the mint in the syrup, the more mint flavor you will extract.

If you do not have a device to crush the ice, another (and possibly better option) is to put the ice in a canvas bag known as a Lewis Bag and pound away on it with a rubber or wood mallet (I'm not kidding. It's very cathartic) until powdery. The bag will absorb any water so the ice stays dry and won't turn to slush before its time.

Fill your glass with the crushed ice, pour in the bourbon, stir until the glass starts to frost and top with more ice.  Top with a sprig of mint and enjoy on the veranda with a narrow straw, a dangerous blonde and a plans of world domination to warm your heart of gold.

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!