by Sandra Crittenden

This is the martini that James Bond makes famous in both the Ian Fleming's book and following movie, Casino Royale. When Bond orders it, he gives specific instructions, "Three measures of Gordon's (gin), one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it is ice cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?" Unfortunately for Bond, the Kina Lillet is no longer available so Lillet Blanc is now substituted. Interestingly, he calls the gin but not a specific vodka leaving that to the bartender. It can be made with your favorite gin and vodka and will still be fragrant and maintain its intended botanical character.  Some cocktail aficionados also prefer to stir rather than shake this drink because of concerns that it will be overly diluted by the melting ice. Since it is a fairly robust drink, I agree with Bond, shake it as the movie's hero suggests, before straining into a martini or coupe glass.  This version was made at Tony's in...

  I almost forgot to add this recipe here. Another quarantine cocktail I made last month was this slightly modified classic from  "The Savoy Cocktail Book” printed in 1930. In it,  Harry Craddock  prescribes this drink ,  “To be taken before 11 a.m., or whenever steam and energy are needed." It was actually originally intended as a hangover remedy.   While I was definitely not hungover, I did need some energy after being in my home with a broken air conditioner in the hot Houston summer. I whipped this up and then went outside to sit in the shade and dip my feet in the pool while I waited on the repairman to arrive.   It worked like magic, I was quickly refreshed, and the repairman arrived early and had everything running again in short order.   The  Corpse Reviver #2  recipe: The original recipe calls for a splash of Absinthe to be swirled around in the glass and then discarded. I did not have Absinthe so I skipped this step. ...

  This is a cocktail that was created and named by me. I have enjoyed this at home before dinner several times this summer. It has a very refreshing lemonade-esque flavor with floral and herbal notes. If you like your drinks sweeter, then increase the St. Germain or add simple syrup.     There are an array of "blonde" cocktails that you can find recipes for online: The Dirty Blonde , The French Blonde , Blonde Redhead , Blonde Russian , etc. and each are unique without too much tying them together, my version is inspired primarily by the French Blonde.   I call it a Bordeaux Blonde because Lillet is made in Bordeaux from the local white grapes, there are towns in Bordeaux called Saint-Germain-du-Puch and Saint-Germain-de-la-Riviere although I believe the liqueur may be made in the French Alps, and the best Gins are from Britain which has a long history with the Bordeaux region, and, although lemons are not indigenous to the region, they have been in the area ...