Welcome to Liber Adest my rambling newsletter.
This has come about partly because I have rather too much time on my hands, but also because this year has been rather bleak and to sit and write this gives a sense of escape to an imagined time of drinks and chat and general merriment. The title should be read almost as a command (never mind that the grammar doesn’t fit that) and was chosen as according to a friend I am ‘O Bacchus of Exeter’ — definitely not because I couldn’t think of anything that would actually fit well. I hope you find it just as entertaining to read, and the recipes useful for keeping a spark of fun going – plus it’s always good to know that people can be relied upon when you ask them to fix you a drink...
It will be a rather disordered collection of thoughts about drinks, recipes and the odd review. There will be a fair few cocktails involved, some of which will involve wine and beer (and so perhaps mixed drink is a better term than cocktail really), but also a decent amount of my thoughts and suggestions about beer, wine, cider and so on. Also as drinks can get messy without food I will cover the odd bit.
I aim to write something once a week and will start most weeks with a focus on one drink or a recipe, and then segue onto other ramblings. As things go I will most likely drastically change how this works, but will try to keep any recipes basic enough that you can make them without buying loads more ingredients each time. They should also all be possible with just a shaker (a large jar would work) and no other specific kit. Where possible I will also note what can be substituted out, but to be honest, recipes are just guides so play about with what you have.
As this is the initial one it is rather out of place, for Tuesday nights are not peak drinking times, and so I will settle of a more suitable night and try to be consistent from next time onwards.
To start off I think it would be remiss of me to not cover the most well-known cocktail and so here is my favoured Martini recipe:
50ml Gin,
20ml Dry Vermouth (e.g. Martini Extra Dry or Dolin)
10 ml Sweet Vermouth (or similar sweet fortified wine)
Stir with lots of ice until extremely cold (for at least a minute) and then strain into a chilled glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
Martini glasses might be traditional, but many are rather too large and this is the sort of drink that demands quick drinking while it is still cold, and (to paraphrase Harry Craddock) still laughing at you. As such I tend to use a coupe glass instead. Plus the more rounded soft curves of a coupe feel more at home with the well balanced nature of a good Martini – save the angular Martini glass for spirit heavy drinks that are excuses for almost neat gin, and are almost clinical in their route to drunkenness.
This is my ideal general Martini – and with the blend of vermouths is closer to a perfect Martini than the dry Martinis that are common currently. However, as vermouth does go off, albeit slowly, I tend not to have multiple vermouths on the go at once and so often make simpler Martinis. In general, I like them rather wet with almost a 3:4 ratio of vermouth to gin and would suggest playing about with the ratio to see what you prefer.
I also rather like the perfumed notes from a good twist of citrus, and rubbing the glass with extra peel just before serving. This can be umphed up with a dash of orange bitters (quite common in older recipes) and is especially useful if you are out of vermouth and are having to make do with sherry or even dry white wine.
Of course, I cannot mention a Martini without bringing in Bond. Unlike others I do not think that shaking a Martini is particularly a sin, it gets the drink cold quickly and shaking a drink will always look better than patiently stirring it. It, of course, does have its downsides as the drink will have a slight cloudiness from the aeration, but that is just a cosmetic issue, really.
The one sin Bond, or more truthfully the films and their beholdeness to sponsorship, is guilty of is the frequency of vodka Martinis. They do not even have any real basis in the books for in Casino Royale, famous for the Vesper Martini, there are 3 measures of gin for each of vodka in his chosen drink. As Felix Leiter remarks, it is “certainly a drink” and without refinement, might look elegant, but is unbalanced and has an overly strong undercurrent of booze. So perhaps fits Bond rather well.
What I do love about the Vesper Martini is its name. It is said that Fleming got the idea when staying at a friend's house in Jamaica in which the butler would bring cocktails in the evening and announce that Vespers were served. I do rather like the idea that a cocktail is tied into a specific time and so becomes ritualistic, just like the canonical hours, of which Vespers is one.
Food-wise I have not really got into the Wintry/Christmassy vibe yet. I have rather been enjoying Rachel Roddy's piadina recipe (from The Guardian) which works well as a way to use up leftovers as it is nice and versatile, whilst adding a bit of imagined Italian warmth. Once I have finally accepted that this year is almost over I will indulge in a few more festive recipes.
If interested in more drink-related stuff let me recommend:
Pellicle, for all things beer and cider
J’adore Le Plonk, for a lovely irreverant take on wine
Burum Collective, for all things beer, cider, wine
The Spirits, for all things cocktails
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In the meantime, tell your friends!