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Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Squid Mixes: Vesper


A Vesper combines gin, vodka and Lillet Blanc.  I got my recipe from The Geeky Chef Drinks by Cassandra Reeder.  Reeder named the drink after Vesper Lynd, a Bond girl in the original Ian Fleming 007 novel Casino Royale, also the book to introduce the "shaken, not stirred" catchphrase for martinis.  

The Lillet brings a pleasant brightness to the martini-style beverage.  I'm not sure I followed Reeder's instructions for the spiral cut on the lemon quite right but the result wasn't bad.  If I were to work at perfecting the technique, I'd want a thinner strip, I think.

Believe it or not, folks, ol' JB has his martini order all wrong.  You're supposed to stir.  Generally speaking, one only shakes beverages that involve fruit juices.  In honor of the super-spy, though, Reeder calls for shaking the Vesper.
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9 comments:

  1. Andrew LeonSeptember 23, 2021 at 1:00 PM

    I thought the shaking had to do with the ice?
    Most of my cocktail recipes that call for shaking have crushed ice in them, maybe all of them? I'd have to go though the book and see.
    I'm not likely to start spiral cutting anything, though.

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    Replies
    1. The Armchair SquidSeptember 25, 2021 at 3:23 PM

      You stir with ice, too. The two main reasons to do either are combining the ingredients, obviously, and chilling the drink. As to why do one and not the other? Liquors all tend to have approximately the same density. Mixers like juices, milk or eggs are quite different so the more vigorous shaking is more effective in combining them. Shaking also aerates the drink, bringing a froth, especially important for the egg drinks.

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    2. Andrew LeonSeptember 25, 2021 at 4:09 PM

      Tiki drinks are almost always shaken. I suppose it's the lime, then, that necessitates that? I almost never shake, though, mostly because I don't bother with crushing any ice AND because, when I have done all of that extra stuff, I can't discern any actual flavor difference. It's not worth all of the extra work to me if I can't get a significant difference from it.

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    3. The Armchair SquidSeptember 26, 2021 at 3:34 PM

      Yes, it would be because of the lime.

      To be honest, I don't crush my ice. To your reasoning, I don't see that it makes a huge difference in the final result.

      Plus, if you're serving your drinks on the rocks, a quick stir with a tea spoon to combine the ingredients is probably sufficient.

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    4. Andrew LeonSeptember 26, 2021 at 4:32 PM

      I don't even bother with a spoon. I just swirl it in the glass.

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    5. The Armchair SquidSeptember 26, 2021 at 4:45 PM

      Whatever works.

      Delete
  2. Jeff September 24, 2021 at 8:02 AM

    Vespers sounds like a good name for a bar. What wife can say no to a man who says, "I"m going to Vespers" :)

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  3. The Armchair SquidSeptember 25, 2021 at 3:17 PM

    Definitely strong - both vodka and gin is unusual, too, though not unpleasant.

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