The Vesper is another classic cocktail that’s been on my list for some time. Naoto brought home some Lillet on one of his many trips to the liquor store during his surgery recovery (he was drinking vicariously through me) and it’s been sitting on the bar cart just waiting to be opened.
So, when I decided to have our neighbor friends over to watch game six of the Stanley Cup Finals, I decided it was time to try the Vesper.
The original vesper was invented by James Bond in Casino Royale in 1953. It contained gin, Lillet and vodka. But I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t “water” down my good gin with vodka. So I left it out. I found this suggested variation here and I thought it worked nicely. I tried it with two different gins–North Shore No. 6 and Leopold’s–and for this, we (the neighbor friends & I) enjoyed Leopold’s more.
Vesper(-ish) Martini
2 oz dry gin
3/4 oz Lillet Blanc
Add to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake (or stir) until thoroughly chilled. Pour into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon peel. Enjoy while your team wins the Stanley Cup.
[…] (Summer-y ones with in-season ingredients would be awesome!) Two down: the Blue Hawaii and the Vesper, and I have a few more on the […]