Martinis and Up

The cocktails in the first column of the table that are contained within this chapter can all be classified as martinis or cocktails that are served straight up (i.e., with no ice). They're pretty serious in terms of their booze-heavy makeup, so you won't find any mixers or citrus here (with the exception of the Harvard, which has a dash of soda in it).

As they're mostly classic cocktails from bygone eras, drinking these drinks is akin to leafing through the pages of cocktail history, imbibing its past as you go and following a similar formula: a spirit, sweetener (vermouth, liqueur, or syrup), and a bitter or herbal element, often in the form of cocktail bitters. The cocktails in this chapter are therefore almost exclusively stirred, the exception being the classic Martini, which can be made "Bond style" and shaken if you like, although traditionally would only have been made stirred.

The key to all of them is to use a good-quality base spirit, as this often makes up the majority of the drink.

You also need to make sure that they're well chilled and properly diluted to make the alcohol "sing" — and make them palatably sippable.

They say a classic Martini should be consumed in three or four sips. I can see why: You don't want the drink to sit for too long and warm up to room temperature. However, as I mentioned, these are seriously boozy drinks, which most people (myself included) are likely to take more time over. There's a trick I've picked up from bars along the way, which is handy for drinks like this. Place a small vessel — a mini wine carafe looks the part, but may be difficult to get hold of, so a small bottle will also do — in a glass of crushed ice to keep it cool. Pour half of your cocktail into it and the other half into the glass you're serving the drink in. This has the benefit of keeping half of the drink properly chilled without further diluting it, leaving you all the time in the world to savor your Martini, topping your glass up with the other half when you're done. Clever, eh?

Column 1

Hp HANKY PANKY

The Hanky Panky was created by Ada Coleman at The Savoy Hotel in London. Ada, or "Coley" as she was affectionately known, was the first female head bartender of the American Bar in The Savoy in the early 1900s, at a time when women weren't allowed to drink in the bar. A bit of a rock star of her time, both for the cocktails she created and for leading the way as a woman in a male-dominated industry, it is the Hanky Panky for which she is best known.

Consisting of gin, sweet vermouth, and the Italian amaro Fernet Branca (a bitter aromatic spirit), the Hanky Panky is stirred down over ice, then strained and served straight up.

Created especially for Savoy patron Sir Charles Hawtrey, an English actor, director, producer, and manager, Coley recalled the story behind the cocktail to the newspaper the People in 1925:

The late Charles Hawtrey ... was one of the best judges of cocktails that I knew. Some years ago, when he was overworking, he used to come into the bar and say, "Coley, I am tired. Give me something with a bit of punch in it." It was for him that I spent hours experimenting until I had invented a new cocktail. The next time he came in, told him I had a new drink for him. He sipped it, and, draining the glass, he said, "By Jove! That is the real hanky-panky!" And Hanky Panky it has been called ever since.

Ingredients

1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce gin
2 dashes Fernet Branca

Method

Put all the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or Champagne coupe and garnish with a strip of orange zest.

Mz MARTINEZ

The Martinez is often touted as the precursor to the Martini. Whereas a Martini these days is made with dry vermouth and gin, the Martinez is a combination of sweet vermouth and gin (with added sweet liqueurs). When you consider that palates and tastes have moved from sweet to dry over the years, you can see why the Martinez is the perfect candidate to be the "father" of the Martini.

Not only is there confusion as to its origins and its link to the classic Martini, so, too, is there confusion as to what exactly should go into a Martinez. Recipes for the cocktail appear in a multitude of classic cocktail books from as far back as 1884, in publications such as O. H. Byron's The Modern Bartender's Guide (currently thought to be the oldest recipe in print), Jerry Thomas's The Bartender's Guide: How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon Vivants Companion, Stuart's Fancy Drinks and How to Mix Them by Thomas Stuart (1896), and Harry Craddock's The Savoy Cocktail Book, among others. Each has a slightly different recipe for the Martinez; some even use dry vermouth rather than sweet. So, which should you make?

The recipe below is the way that I make a Martinez. I identify the cocktail as a sweet-vermouth-led cocktail that's designed to be a sweet cocktail overall.

Ingredients

11/3 ounces sweet vermouth
2/3 ounce gin
1 teaspoon maraschino liqueur
1 teaspoon orange curaçao
1 dash Angostura bitters

Method

Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass. Add ice and stir until well chilled. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or Champagne coupe and garnish with a small twist of orange zest.

V VESPER

The Vesper cocktail was immortalized in Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, Casino Royale. It is unique in terms of the cocktails featured in the Bond series in that it was created specifically for the book.

Some attribute the drink to Gilberto Preti, a bartender at Duke's Hotel in London, where Fleming often stayed. However, the dates don't seem to add up: Cocktail historian Ted Haigh has found no record of Preti working behind the bar in London until at least 1960 — well after the book was published. Despite the hazy history of its conception (an unsurprisingly common occurrence in cocktail history), Fleming enjoyed the Vesper so much that he included it in his first James Bond novel, going so far as to specify the exact ingredients, method, and garnish.

A mix of vodka, gin, and the now-discontinued aperitif wine Kina Lillet, the Vesper is shaken, not stirred, as is typical of the fictional British agent when it comes to his martinis. Since 1953, both Kina Lillet and Gordon's have been reformulated: The gin now has a lower proof and the closest Lillet equivalent is less bitter due to a reduced quinine content; therefore perhaps it makes sense to modify the ingredients slightly. You can use Lillet Blanc as the nearest substitute for the Kina, and any classic London dry gin will work in a modern version of the Vesper. It is best served as cold as you can possibly get it, with the lemon twist over the top providing...