Vesper

[scorched_porch]

"Vesper" was James Bond's original girlfriends name in the Ian Flemming book "Casino Royale". This was his original Martini, he named it after her. She was a double agent and was killed. If you have never read it, check it out.Here's an excerpt.

"A dry martini," Bond said. "One. In a deep champagne goblet."

"Oui, monsieur."

"Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"

"Certainly, monsieur." The barman seemed pleased with the idea. "Gosh, that's certainly a drink," said Leiter.

Bond laughed. "When I'm...er...concentrating," he explained, "I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I can think of a good name."


3 measures of Gordon's Gin
1 measure of vodka
1/2 measure Kina Lillet
Lemon peel for garnish

Fill a shaker with plenty of ice, add the booze. Swirl to chill and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with peel. This is a grown up drink, so handle with care.

[Breadhead]

My favorite drink is... Ice, 1 part vodka, 1 part tonic, in a large glass, so you don't have go back to your bar to pour a new one to often. If you have lime's add a squeeze of lime. Don't waste a lot of money buying fancy high priced vodka. After you add the tonic and a squeeze of lime, you can't tell the difference between the $10 1.75 liter at Albertsons or a $50 1.75 liter of the fancy dancy stuff. They are all 80 proof. If you drink your vodka straight up on ice buy the better stuff.

[BruceB]

For "white water" drinks, it's either vodka and tonic w/lime as above, or gin and tonic, but it's harder to find a less expensive gin that tastes good.

Forvodka on the ricks or straight up from the freezer, I much prefer potato vodka.

FWIW, I've heard multiple times that the cheapest vodka can be improved considerably by running it through a water filter carafe such as a Brita a few times. It's really the impurities that make the cheap stuff taste cheap.

[Breadhead]

Once I get the tonic and lime into it... I can't taste the vodka. But... I won't drink the cheap stuff on the rocks.