Cocktail recipe
Left Bank Martini
Gin, dry wine and elderflower meet in a restrained floral aperitif with a Parisian accent.
Ingredients
- 60 ml (2 oz) London dry gin
- 15 ml (½ oz) elderflower liqueur
- 15 ml (½ oz) dry Sauvignon Blanc or other crisp dry white wine
- 7.5 ml (¼ oz) dry vermouth
- Garnish: 1 small lime twist
Preparation
Stir gin, elderflower liqueur, dry white wine and vermouth over dense ice until cold and lightly diluted. Strain into a frosted coupe. Express the smallest mist of lime oil over the surface and discard the peel; a heavy citrus spray will smother the elderflower.
Glassware
Chilled coupe
History
Simon Difford gives a first-person account of creating the Left Bank Martini in London in 2006 at the Cabinet Room for the launch of St-Germain elderflower liqueur. His original used Sauvignon Blanc; Chardonnay also works. Difford says he originally shook the drink, but now prefers stirring for a drier, more aromatic presentation, and that in 2013 he reduced the elderflower and vermouth measures. The name refers to Saint-Germain-des-Prés on the Left Bank of the Seine, not Bordeaux’s wine-producing Left Bank. Our proportions and stirred technique are a contemporary house interpretation, not a verbatim recreation of the first event recipe.
Mixology View
A sophisticated floral Martini variation must stay dry enough to deserve the association. We follow the creator’s later preference for stirring, with elderflower as an accent rather than perfume.