Thought we’d pass along a site that make’s our coveted ‘recommeded reading list’. Oh Gosh is worthy contender in the World Wide Web of Cocktails. With news from the front lines of tradeshows and conventions, Londoner Jay Hepburn’s insight should not be missed - much like our afternoon martini. Now excuse us while we get down to the business in hand.

Who doesn’t love James Bond. The character’s creator Ian Fleming came up with a damn good version of the Martini in his first Bond Novel, Casino Royal. One of the latest film versions of the story even used this drink as a small character development plot device.

I love this drink for a number of reasons. 

First and foremost, it tastes wonderful. It is a complicated drink when completed and you’ll find that the three poured ingredients combine in a flavor that will remind you of a Martini yet by your second sip will tell your tongue that this is something different, much more special. Instead on a Martini’s Dry Vermouth, The Vesper uses a white wine aperitif called Lillet. Lillet has a sweeter flavor than vermouth. You’ll taste the grape. This addition provides the drink with more body. There’s a yum factor that you won’t find in a Martini or Vodka Martini. Lillet is priced a little higher than a good dry vermouth but after trying this one, you’ll be glad you have an opened bottle tucked away in the fridge. It’s a drink you’ll want to come back to.

Another reason why I’m a big fan of The Vesper is because this is a special drink. It uses vodka and gin. Both combine to form a pretty unique flavor, yet you’ll be able to taste each. I’m a martini fan and will on occasion, enjoy a vodka martini too (or two), but with a Vesper, the decision is made for you. Why not use both?  Vodka and Gin get married in this drink and turn out to form a great couple.

Another reason I’ll enjoy a Vesper? The drink does carry an earned wow factor. While behind the bar or hosting in your home, witty banter can only add fuel to the fire of the evening. You don’t have to bore the uninitiated with a James Bond ramble, but it is a hell of a lot of fun to mention to your guest that they’re enjoying a drink created especially for a man who carries a License to Kill. Throw on some Shirley Bassey records and pour the Vespers.

When it comes to Martinis and variations, the booze is only what you’ll be tasting. I use Bombay Gin and Stolichnaya Vodka in this drink: both very good, affordable bottles.

The more expensive, premium gins like Sapphire work against this drink. They fight with the Vodka. You want the two to work together.

Here We Go – 

• 3 Ounces of Dry Gin
• 1 Ounce Vodka
• ½ Ounce Lillet Wine Aperitif

Softly shake combined ingredients with cracked-ice in cocktail shaker (be careful, you don’t want this one clouding up) ‘till your fingers freeze.

Serve up in a martini glass with a strip of lemon peel as a garnish.

A good friend on the Board of The American Cocktail Museum, provided a bit of history on this drink. “A New Orleans Bartender, Walter Bergeron created the drink to honor the New Orlean’s Quarter Vieux Carre’ in the 1930’s. The drink represented the demographic composition of the neighborhood. American whiskey, Italian vermouth, French Cognac. The quarter, at that time, was teaming with Italians, French Creoles and Americans.”
My kind of history…you can drink it.

Here we go –

• ¾ ounce of Rye Whiskey
• ¾ ounce Cognac
• ¾ ounce Sweet Vermouth
• 1 tsp. Benedictine D.O.M.
• 2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Mix all ingredients in a double Old Fashioned glass over cracked ice; stir.

You’ll always have a guest or friend who wants one. Every gathering always has the Rum and Coke guy. He’s usually mustached, wears a dark leather jacket and hangs out near the curtains of your sliding-glass door. If the drinker’s a gal, she’ll have blonde, curly hair and will know 90% of your other guests personally by 12:30. I stopped fighting the Rum and Coke people and learned to love them. So they’re not very adventurous, who cares? The world needs soda-for-life drinkers too. I embrace their love of cola, and channeled that energy into making them the best damn Cuba Libre….okay, Rum and Coke I can.

Here we go-

• 2 ounces Gold Rum
• Icy Coca-Cola
• ½ Lime

Half fill a tall, hi-ball glass with cracked ice. Add rum and squeeze the lime half over the ice and drop her right on in. Fill with the cola and stir. Don’t forget the straw.

We’re kicking off our TV & Movies category with a clips from AMC’s Mad Men. A blast from the past where you smoked at work and the afternoon cocktail was required by employee manuals everywhere. Check out the first season of Mad Men at Amazon.com, and don’t miss the soundtrack.

Here we go –

• 2 ounces gin
• 2/3 tsp. of white Crème de Menthe
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake all of the ingredients in a shaker with cracked ice. Strain into a small, pre-chilled cocktail/martini glass and add maraschino cherry as a garnish.

I realize that most of you barflies know how to mix a decent Martini, but I can’t very well have a name like “Mr. Booze” and not mention this building block of the bar world.

You absolutely have to know how to mix a proper one. This knowledge walks hand in hand with the Heimlich maneuver and changing a flat as fundamentally necessary. If you mix drinks for friends or enemies, a Martini should be like breathing, you just do it.

First and foremost – the Martini is a Gin based drink. If you prefer Vodka, which I realize many do, then you call that drink a Vodka Martini. It sorta bugs me when I go into a bar and order a Martini and the whipper-snapper behind the bar asks gin or vodka? I’ve been known to just sigh, grab my crime story paperback and walk back out into 6:30 p.m.

Serve ‘em cold, cold and cold. This drink, especially after more than one, will cause even the most tight-lipped Joe to chirp like a canary for blocks of time. Martinis are the great equalizer. After three, everyone’s an expert on everything. If you can keep your Martini or your guest’s Martini cold longer, everyone wins. They/you can yammer away and dive back into a chilly pool. There is nothing worse than taking a bite of a warm one. No thank-you, sir. 

For the love of Pete, do not skimp on the Vermouth! It makes the Martini! A kiss of a woody dry white wine does nothing more but enhance. I think it was back in the 80’s when everyone started drinking them uber-dry. If I wanted a glass of cold gin, that’s what I would have ordered! Vermouth is delicious and is the spirit of this classic. Mr. Booze’s favorite is Noilly Prat. You can really taste the oak cask.  Seek it out.

Here We Go – 

(I like ‘em big to slosh around and spill out of my glass while I’m telling my guests what I really think about their cosmetic surgery)

• 2 ½ Ounces of a nice Gin (Bombay or Plymouth come to mind).  If you prefer Vodka, then substitute.
• ¾ Ounce of dry Vermouth

Shake the two together in a big, beautiful shaker with enough chipped ice to make the drink thick with cold. Pour generously into a big piece of classic stemware and sink a couple fat Spanish Olives. Don’t sip it, take bites but be careful – 

One Martini
Two Martinis
Three Martinis
…Floor. 

This one takes a bit of time and trouble to make but she drinks well and is a drink absolutely conducive to conversation. 3 friends plus 6 old fashioned = 2+ hours of bar talk. There’s just something about bourbon that loosens lips.

Here We Go –

• 2 ounces Bourbon (this drink was made for Early Times)
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• 1 White Sugar Cube
• Soda Water.

Place sugar cube in an old fashioned glass and soak with the bitters. Add a splash of soda to cover the cube and crush cube with a bar spoon. Add cracked ice to near top of glass. Add bourbon to fill. Stir and garnish with a slice of orange and a maraschino cherry. I add a twist of lemon peel. Enjoy and gab away.

I mention this drink for three reasons - the first being that it’s old and is considered a classic. Second, I once had a hell of an evening traveling with a friend from bar to bar requesting this drink. Only a few in-the-know bartenders could make it, and for those that could, I was damned impressed. She’s not an easy cocktail to mix. Third, it drinks well. This drink is tasty.

The Pink Lady is a wonderful drink to have in your arsenal. It makes guests smile when you mention it. If you’re entertaining ladies or more adventurous gentlemen, ask if you can mix a Pink Lady. You’ll usually get at least one taker. After you mix one, others will demand their own. The drink is something else to look at. It’s gorgeous. And don’t be scared of the egg white.

Here we go –

2 ounces gin
2-3 dashes grenadine (Roses is fine)
1 egg white

Pour all the ingredients into a shaker containing plenty of cracked ice. Shake hard and rapidly ‘til frothy and cold. Strain into a highball or martini glass. Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry.