Vesper's are Forever

The Vesper Martini is one of the cocktail worlds most famous libations, the recipe first appeared in Ian Flemmings 1953 book Casino Royal and was given a new lease of life in the 2006 movie of the same name.


In Casino Royal (2006), Bonds whilst indulging in one of his glorious vices, this time gambling, switches his now famed Vodka Martini for a Vesper, the recipe for which he recites; 'Three measures of Gordon's; one of vodka; half a measure of Kina Lillet Shaken over ice' with a thin slice of lemon peel. 


True to his character Bond is 'Keeping the British end up' with his choice of gin although there has been a fair few very British brands released since the original 1953 recipe, i'm thinking for a reasonable juniper hit but a little more complexity Plymouth Gin, a softer style of gin is a delicious choice. Ian Flemming recommends a nice Polish vodka for the Vesper, one can assume either Rye or Potato which I find a 'trifle over powering', my preference is for something a little more subtle and given the British nature of the drink Tanqueray Sterling is a fine choice. 
Kina Lillet is a bitter aperitif which is no longer available and has been replaced by Lillet Blanc, I usually opt for a carefully controlled tear drop of Angostura Bitters in an attempt to recreate the classic recipe.


As for this 'Shaken, not Stirred' business, my preference for a stirred martini was made clear in my post about the Gin Martini although there is a rather interesting study in favour of the shaken martini I feel compelled to share with you. The Department of Biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario in Canada suggests a shaken martini is more effective in deactivating hydrogen peroxide than the stirred variety, thereby helping prevent diseases associated with ageing. Any one interested in checking this study out please click here.


It would seem I am beginning to digress so without further interruption;


The Vesper Martini

Plymouth Gin 45ml
Tanqueray Sterling Vodka 15ml
Lillet Blanc 10ml
Angostura Bitters 1 tear drop


Stir or shake over ice (dependant on age and health) strain in to a chilled Martini glass and garnish with a thin slice of lemon peel.

The Vesper is a rather interesting twist in the classic gin martini, at first I was rather sceptical of vodka's use when mixed with gin, assuming it would simply dilute and weaken the flavour, turns out it plays it's part rather well. The vodka smoothes out the gin just enough to take the edge off, the lillet being slightly sweeter than the usual dry vermouth works wonderfully with the toned down gin with the hint of bitterness balancing out the sweetness.


A while back I treated myself to a bottle of Chase Marmalade Vodka,a lovely if not slightly sweet vodka flavoured with Seville Orange Marmalade and Seville Orange Peel. As nice as this is I was at a bit of a loss of how to mix it when it occurred to me that the sweet orange notes of the vodka would combine perfectly those of Whitley Neill and The Breakfast Vesper an amalganation of the Breakfast Martini, a delightful libation containing gin, cointreau, lemon juice and marmalade and the Vesper Martini was born.


The Breakfast Vesper

Whitley Neill - 45ml

Chase Marmalade Vodka - 15ml

Campari - 5ml

Stir all ingredients in a large mixing vessel, ensuring the drink is ice cold, strain in to a chilled Martini glass and garnish with a thin slice of pink grapefruit zest.

The Breakfast Vesper, Photographed by Sofia Miranda

As expected the Whitley Neill is a perfect pairing with the Marmalade Vodka, however with a reasonable sweetness already present I wanted to avoid using Lillet. Rather than going back down the vermouth route I popped in a little Campari for something to to balance the sweetness, it turns out Campari's bitterness was just the ticket. The Whitley Neill shines through followed by very subtle orange marmalade flavour with little sweetness, the campari is only just detectable plays its part of balancing the sweetness well. A rather cheeky twist on the Vesper but probably a little too hard core for breakfast... only just.

So thinking this post was over with I stumbled over a rather rare vodka, Chase Smoked, the first flavour released by the Herefordshire Distillery, a flavour I had the pleasure of tasting when I visited the distillery a year or so back. When I first tasted the vodka I immediately had the urge for a smoky martini, with gin of course. Usually made with scotch in addition to gin and vermouth I was looking forward to using this cleaner smoked spirit... wait a second, gin, vodka... oh here comes another Vesper Twist...


The Smoked Vesper

William Chase Gin 45ml

Chase Smoked Vodka 15ml

Noilly Prat Vermouth 15ml

Stir all ingredients over ice and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with a lime twist.

The Smoked Vesper, Photographed by yours truly.

As much as this drink makes me look like a whore to Chase Distilleries, the William Chase gin and smoked vodka are a sensational pairing, something about smokey apples really seems to work, I went for a Noilly Prat as the spicy botanical mix works well with the complexity of William Chase Gin.The aroma of this drink is sensational, fresh lime lest with a hint of smoke, a type of smoke I would describe as cleaner than that of a scotch, some really floral elderflower notes shine through as well as some crisp green apple.

We Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown