From My Kitchen

With the release of No Time To Die this week there’s only one cocktail to make, and that’s a Vesper Martini. I’ll confess that I didn’t enjoy Bond films at all growing up, they were just too formulaic and cheesy for me (it was the time of Roger Moore), but since Daniel Craig came along with his thoughtful Bond who actually has depth of character, I’m totally on board. The key to this drink is to keep everything as ice cold as possible, then hold onto your hat because it’s not for the faint hearted.

Ingredients

3 measures Gordons gin

1 measure vodka

0.5 measure Lillet Blanc

Ice

Lemon zest

Method

1. Before you start, put your gin and vodka in the freezer for a few hours, and the Lillet Blanc (or vermouth) in the fridge. If your freezer has space then pop a martini glass or two in there (mine never does).
2. Combine the gin, vodka, and Lillet Blanc in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice, wrap the shaker in a tea towel so your hands don’t stick to it, and shake furiously for 30 seconds or so.
3. Pour into a martini glass and twist a strip of lemon peel over the top and drop it in.
4. Sit back and enjoy!

Note: Bond originally requested Kina Lillet in his Vesper, but that’s no longer in production (Lillet Blanc is close in taste, vermouth will also do the job) – feel free to add a dash of Angostura Bitters to the above recipe to give it the slight quinine hit that the original would have had. I don’t do that because The Husband doesn’t like the taste.