Stirred, Not Shaken

When the Club marks the 60th anniversary of the first Bond film, Dr. No, in October, the Cocktail Bar will (of course!) be offering a line-up of martinis new and traditional. We preview four of them.

Words by Josh Sims Photography by Jamie Lau

“PEOPLE SOMETIMES THINK a martini is simple in comparison with many modern cocktails – but getting a martini right is not as easy as it looks,” says the Club’s Cocktail Bar and Club Room Manager, Christophe Chilard. “I love its freshness, its warmth, the way it coats your mouth, and its strength, of course. You really feel a martini. And then there’s the iconic, incredibly elegant martini coupe it’s served in. So it looks as good as it tastes.”

Christophe is not alone in his appreciation. The martini was the drink of choice for one Bond, James Bond. His own version, named after the fictional double agent and Bond love-interest Vesper Lynd, was invented by Ian Fleming and explained in precise detail in 1953’s Casino Royale, Fleming’s first Bond novel. Naturally his very dry martini was licensed, if not to kill, then certainly to numb the extremities; it was made with large measures of both gin and vodka.

But don’t request that your martini is made “shaken and not stirred”. There are many wrong ways to make a dry martini, Christophe explains – with too much vermouth, for example, or served on ice – and shaking it only has the effect of both diluting and oxygenating the drink, so clouding its otherwise aesthetically-pleasing clarity. “It’s great fun to say the phrase but I try to persuade our members to have their martini stirred,” he smiles. “The only benefit of shaking is that it cools the martini faster.”

For all the black tie sophistication it suggests, the martini has a rather rough and tough, if murky, history. One story has it that it was invented at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco for a grizzled gold miner who slammed a nugget on the bar and asked for something special; since the miner was on his way to try his luck in Martinez, California, the bartender created an evolution of the Martinez, an established cocktail.

It’s not until 1888 that the recipe for a martini is listed in Harry Johnson’s Bartender’s Manual, the bible of mixologists. Of course, if you ask a New Yorker they’ll tell you it was invented there, the home of Madison Avenue’s infamous, vision-blurring ‘three martini lunch’.

“Most modern cocktails are rehashed versions of those earlier cocktails, like the martini, that just somehow work particularly well with the human palate,” explains Christophe. “But the martini is also a drink that you sometimes need to learn to enjoy. Younger members tend to like something sweeter but as taste buds develop one comes to appreciate the flavours in the botanicals. Making a martini is like cooking; you need to get the balance right, but after that, you can enjoy the many possible variations.”

The Vesper

by Christophe Chilard

The Club’s celebrations wouldn’t be a proper tribute to Bond without the Vesper – and, just for the Bond fans, this one is even shaken. Likewise, there’s the atypical use of both vodka and gin, the former ‘smoothing over’ the dryness in the latter.

The garnish is not just for decoration: the Sicilian lemons used at the Club have all the fragrance and none of the bitterness found in cooking lemons. The difference is subtle but crucial, and still creates a tipple with punch, says Christophe. “It’s what you might call a ‘big drink’, so you probably shouldn’t have too many! I have a high tolerance but two is my limit if I still want normal conversation. But then our members are resilient and we do have accommodation upstairs!”

The Dr. No

by Jerome Leonard

If close attention to the visual appeal of a cocktail is what’s required, who better to mix it than a bartender who trained as a photographer and video producer? The distinctive shades of yellow and red in Jerome Leonard’s Dr. No are inspired by the bold colours of the eye-catching poster used to promote the film.

The colours are created by the clever use of unusual herbal liqueurs and bitters. That the resulting cocktail isn’t clear, like a more typical martini, isn’t the only unusual thing about it: it’s made by ‘throwing’ the liquid between two tins, one of which contains ice, so aerating the cocktail with a little dilution. “It’s between shaking and stirring,” Leonard explains. “It’s not a commonplace way of mixing a cocktail because it takes time but it gives this version of the martini a subtle silkiness. In fact, if your idea of a martini is a drink that gives you that burning sensation, it really just hasn’t been mixed properly.”

Mix in a shaker: 60ml of Club gin, 30ml of vodka and a dash of the French wine-based aperitif Lillet. Shake and pour into a chilled martini glass. Fragrance the glass with Sicilian lemon and garnish. Mix 50ml of Club gin with 20ml of Liquore Strega in a cocktail tin. Pour at arm’s length from that tin into another, with ice. Pour into a chilled martini glass. Add two dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters and one dash of Tabasco.

The Goldfinger

by Sophie Holland

The 1964 film Goldfinger made a passing nod to the then fledgling movement towards ‘women’s lib’ by introducing a female match for Bond, in the shape of Pussy Galore. And it’s in the Goldfinger, as Assistant Bar Manager Sophie Holland’s cocktail is named, that you’ll find a “lighter, fresher” counter to the Vesper, thanks to the use of a more floral gin and The King’s Ginger liqueur.

“The traditional martini is an acquired taste and too potent for many drinkers, so it’s great to have a more accessible, more summery version,” explains Sophie. “If the Vesper is rather ‘macho’, the variables don’t need much adjustment to create a lighter version. There’s no point having a Vesper and forcing yourself to spend two hours sipping it. The great thing about the martini is that there’s a version for everyone.”

The Club 1914

by Alex Perez Chumillas

During the Second World War, Pall Mall played host to thousands of officers from numerous countries based in London. Although we can’t be sure, it is more than likely that Commander Ian Fleming, who worked for Naval Intelligence a few minutes’ walk from the clubhouse, was among them. The Club 1914 – a bona fide martini classic – was invented at Pall Mall a quarter of a century earlier and has been a stalwart of the cocktail bar ever since: it is still a best-seller today.

Alex Perez Chumillas started in the kitchens at Pall Mall and is still training as a bartender. “The Club 1914 is one of the first cocktails we’re taught, it is so important. The look of a cocktail is all part of the experience, all part of the show,” he enthuses. “You see the 1914 and you’re drinking it with your eyes before you’ve tasted it.”

Mix 35ml of G’Vine Floraison gin, 25ml of Chase marmalade vodka and 15ml of The King’s Ginger liqueur. Stir 10 to 15 times with ice in a stirring glass. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Mix 35ml of gin, 15ml of sweet vermouth and 15ml of Noilly Prat dry vermouth in a mixing glass with a dash of orange bitters. Stir with ice for 30 seconds. Pour into a chilled martini glass. Add a dash of Grenadine and garnish with orange twist.