#12. Vespers

Uhm, it's my girlfriend's 23rd birthday today. Does that count as a new thing for me? I mean, I have to put up with her.

I also made Vespers with Jon. Ever watch the James Bond movies Casino Royale, or Quantum of Solace? Bond creates a martini called a Vesper - and if you watch Quantum carefully, he actually lists the ingredients. We rewound the DVD a couple of times to make sure we got it right, and even then, I'm not sure at all we did, because -wow - this drink is toxic.

If I recall correctly, it's 1 part gin, 1 part vodka, and 1 part Kina Lillet. Oh wait, there we are (thanks Wikipedia!):

 "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."

I can vouch for Bond - this drink is a disaster. I held a mouthful for two seconds and I'm almost positive I could feel the tingle of my tastebuds frying. We've made them before, once, but this time we actually used a proper shaker, so I suppose the experience was slightly more authentic.