Cocktailblogging: James Bond Edition

Burt Likko

Pseudonymous Portlander. Pursuer of happiness. Bon vivant. Homebrewer. Atheist. Recovering Republican. Recovering Catholic. Recovering divorcé. Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Ordinary Times. Relapsed Lawyer, admitted to practice law (under his real name) in California and Oregon. There's a Twitter account at @burtlikko, but not used for posting on the general feed anymore. House Likko's Words: Scite Verum. Colite Iusticia. Vivere Con Gaudium.

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31 Responses

  1. Tod Kelly says:

    Between you, Boegiboe & Pat I’m going to need a new liver.

    (this comment cross-posted from Not A Potted Plant)Report

  2. Tod Kelly says:

    “The contemporary mixture for Lillet Blanc is sweeter than the way it was made in the 1950?s despite a lower sugar content. ”

    This is fascinating.  How on earth do you know this?Report

    • Burt Likko in reply to Tod Kelly says:

      Elementary, my dear Tod. The Wikipedia article indicated that the 1986 reformulation of Lillet decreased the sugar content but kept the quinine content the same. At the same time the cocktail-snob websites all insisted that the bitters were necessary because of it. Ergo, decreased sugar but more sweetness. The residual sugar is processed all the way out of a dry white wine during fermentation, so by process of elimination the need for the use of bitters must derive from the citrus and herbal distillates added to the wine blend which produces the distinctive taste of contemporary Lillet Blanc.Report

  3. Rose Woodhouse says:

    Awesome! Where does Hendricks gin rank in this metric?Report

    • Burt Likko in reply to Rose Woodhouse says:

      You may use Hendricks for any of superior-quality gin needs. The perfect Hendricks martini is made with six parts ice-cold Hendricks in the shaker, and one part dry vermouth located somewhere in the same time zone — but most certainly not included in the cocktail itself, good Lord why would you want to dilute gin that good?Report

      • BradK in reply to Burt Likko says:

        The truly dedicated have a “Martini mister” that will apply a thin vaporous layer of vermouth to the inside of the glass much like a perfume atomizer.  It’s just enough to call it a proper cocktail (which would imply more than one ingredient) without offending the primary ingredient.  I mean, otherwise you be just drinking straight up booze right?.

        Not that there’s anything wrong with that.Report

      • Rose Woodhouse in reply to Burt Likko says:

        I am a cocktail fan, but a know-nothing about it. The best cocktail I ever had was at Per Se, and it involved Hendricks and some cucumber situation. It was the best drink I’ve ever had by far. I remember the cocktail more than the food, and I LOVE food and know from food. So I’ve been interested in Hendricks cocktails since.Report

        • Burt Likko in reply to Rose Woodhouse says:

          If you were at Per Se and the cocktail was so good it overshadowed the food, that must have been an INCREDIBLE cocktail. I’m incredibly jealous, and happy for you, that you had the pleasure to dine at Per Se. Chef Keller is a god amongst foodies. I have his sous vide cookbook and everything in it is so far beyond my abilities I just look at it and whimper.Report

          • Rose Woodhouse in reply to Burt Likko says:

            I am a foodie and it was my only Keller experience, and easily one of the top 5 food experiences of my life. A total joy. And the cocktail was that freakin’ good!Report

  4. Rose Woodhouse says:

    Litigation aside, which is a totally different matter, I don’t see on what planet it’s morally okay for an employer or potential employer to use coercion and implicit threats to see something you had no intention of showing her. How is this much different than asking to read a diary?Report

  5. BradK says:

    Thank you Burt, for the cite.  I am both flattered and ashamed that I mistyped such a simple recipe.  It is indeed 3 measures of Gin and not 2, though a direct reply to my comment from Alan Scott claimed than even then the taste of the Gin was too strong for him.  When I had first heard the concoction described in C.R. my first thought was Gin and Vodka…together?  But after trying one (or was it three?) it began to grow on me.  While it’s typically Vodka martinis these days I used to enjoy Gin, usually Sapphire (though Tanquery is quite lovely as well).  The Vesper makes for a nice joining of the two.

    And thanks for sharing the research on the Lillet.  I seem to recall reading something about the recipe having changed over the years but not to the degree you found.  That is a shame.

    I might have to disagree with you on the chilling of the bottles (other than the Lillet) however.  When drinking such strong libations, a small amount of water melting from the ice cubes during the brief stirring process (10 – 15 seconds max) helps to thin out the otherwise straight liquor ever so little.  It should never be allowed to sit in the ice though nor should it be shaken as that will “bruise” the poor thing, which is a corksniffer term for ice shards floating on top of the cocktail.  Note that the small amount of water introduced is consistent for the life of the cocktail, unlike something on the rocks where the drink becomes steadily more water and less cocktail in all-too-brief of a time — a situation usually remedied when someone offers to “freshen you drink”.

    But of course the professional Martini drinker will have a dedicated space in the freezer drawer reserved exclusively for keeping the chilled glasses.  You can wing it in a pinch by pouring cold water over ice cubes and allowing the glass to sit for a few minutes, though the final product ends up slippery wet and a bit untidy looking.  Any bartender that strains a Martini into a warm glass should be taken out back and put down for the good of society.

    I’ll look forward to your next mini-dissertation on Absinthe.  Meanwhile, the class assignment is to watch Ken Burns’ very thorough and entertaining documentary Prohibition if you haven’t already.Report

    • Burt Likko in reply to BradK says:

      No worries at all on the recipe; I had a lot of fun digging around to find the James Bond stuff, both old and new, thanks to you.Report

  6. Kimmi says:

    Oy, in honor of Bob’s late passing, can next month be syllabub?Report

  7. Erik Kain says:

    Burt – it looks like the image you’re using is from your sub-blog. To make it work as a thumbnail on the front page, it needs to be uploaded to the main site. Thanks.Report