Plunkett-Hogge - Make Mine A Martini: 130 Cocktails And Canapes For Fabulous Parties

Introduction

Let me begin by saying this: Im not a bartender, but Ive known a few. And I dont own a bar, but Ive been to my fair share. Ive stolen the keys to the Formosa, danced at the Bamboo Bar, frolicked at The Frolic Room, fallen backwards off my stool at Odeon, and behaved with perfect English rectitude while supping Claridges finest Martini. So I like to think Ive picked up a thing or two about drinks and snacks, not all of it by osmosis.

And if theres one thing Ive learned, its that the cocktail isnt just for when youre out. Theres nothing better at the end of the week than a crisp Martini to round things off. Its better still with a couple of snacks. And, even better than that, in the company of friends.

From my earliest days, Ive always loved a cocktail party. They were a constant feature of my Bangkok childhood. I remember clambering on to my chest of drawers when I was small, and peering out though the shutters to see what all the chattering and laughter was about. There was my mum, looking glamorous in a slinky silk dress; there was Dad, looking smooth in shirtsleeves and skinny trousers; and there were the couples twisting on the terracotta-tiled terrace, everyone sipping cocktails and spearing snacks with sticks. It was convivial, content and oh, so relaxed. And its left me with a hankering for those happy days and nights.

So, in this book, Ive gathered together some classic cocktails with a few of my own inventions, and added a selection of canaps which are easy to make at home and a few tips to make a cocktail party that little bit easier. After all, just the sound of ice being shaken, preferably to a rhythm all of its own, is enough to bring a smile to anyones face. Its the promise of sweet relief, of good times, good friends and good conversation. Just make mine a Martini.

TEQUILA & MEZCAL

The Banderita

Sangrita: should it have tomato in it? Some say yes, some say no. I cant decide. Im not The Arbitrator. So heres The Banderita, featuring a sangrita with tomato.

a shot of tequila

a shot of fresh lime juice

50 ml (1 fl oz) fresh orange juice

50 ml (1 fl oz) fresh tomato juice

a few slugs of the Mexican hot sauce of your choice

a pinch of salt

Line up three shot glasses and fill 1 with tequila and 1 with lime juice. Mix the remaining ingredients in the third glass to make up the colours of the Mexican flag. Down them in that order or, frankly, any way you like. Exclaim loudly in a Woo-hoo! or Venga! sort of a way. Go again.

And heres one without tomato: a shot of Tequila with a sangrita chaser.

a shot of tequila

50 ml (1 fl oz) fresh orange juice, chilled

50 ml (1 fl oz) fresh grapefruit juice, chilled

a good squeeze of fresh lime juice

a few slugs of the Mexican hot sauce of your choice

a pinch of salt

First fill a shot glass with the tequila. Then pour all the other ingredients into a tumbler and stir well. Serve together.

The Margarita

When I lived in Los Angeles, the Margarita was my drink of choice you could say it was one of my Five-a-Day. I was a terror: I used to go to the Formosa Cafe at about half past one in the morning, steal the keys as the owner, Vince, was locking up, and force him to make me one. Id always order another, so in the end he served them to me in a pint glass so he could clean down without interruption something that has proved a solid basis for a life-long friendship.

As to the drink itself, it was either created by Carlos Orozco at Hussongs Cantina in Ensenada, in Baja California, in 1941 and named for the daughter of the German ambassador OR it was invented by bartender Santos Cruz at the Balinese Room in Galveston, Texas, in 1948 and named for Peggy Lee (Peggy being short for Margaret, hence Margarita).

Its a great party drink and perfect at the end of a (Baja) California summers day.

a wedge of lime

salt

30 ml (1 fl oz) fresh lime juice

30 ml (1 fl oz) Cointreau or other triple sec

60 ml (2 fl oz) white tequila

Wipe the lime wedge around the rim of a tumbler, then dip the rim in salt to coat it. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add the lime juice, triple sec and tequila. Shake rhythmically to Peggy Lees Fever until very cold. Fill the tumbler with fresh ice, then strain the drink over the top. Squeeze in the wedge of lime, add it to the drink, and serve.

Note: To make a Frozen Margarita, place the tequila, lime juice and triple sec in a blender with plenty of ice. Blitz until smooth, then serve in a salt-rimmed glass.

The Tequila Sunrise

Ill bet that, when (or if) you think of the Tequila Sunrise, you picture a tall drink of layered colours, reds through oranges, reminiscent ofwella sunrise. Youd be right. And therein hangs a tale. That familiar cocktail was preceded by an earlier, very different beast, said to have been invented by bartender Gene Sulit at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, which opened in those heady pre-Crash days of early 1929. Sulits drink fell out of fashion. But then, in the early 1970s, Billy Rice and Bobby Lozoff at the Trident Restaurant in Sausalito took up the name to make a new drink. In a 2012 interview with writer and bartender Jeff Burkhart, Lozoff says he mixed one for Mick Jagger in 1972, who introduced it to the Rolling Stones, and it was then spread across the USA. And in 1973, the Eagles also named a song for it, and thus it conquered the world. Very rock n roll, man! These are my takes on both of them.

The Arizona Biltmore version

40 ml (1 fl oz) tequila

20 ml ( fl oz) crme de cassis

a squeeze of lime

chilled soda water, to top up

3 slices of lime, to garnish

Fill a glass with cracked ice. Add the tequila,

then the crme de cassis and a squeeze of lime.

Top up with soda and garnish with the lime slices.

The Rolling Stones version

50 ml (1 fl oz) tequila

90 ml (3 fl oz) fresh orange juice

10 ml (2 tsp) grenadine

To garnish:

a slice of orange and/or a maraschino cherry

Fill a glass with ice. Pour in the tequila, then the orange juice, and then add the grenadine. Do not stir. The grenadine will sink to the bottom of the glass. Garnish and serve.

Bun Bang Fai

The Bun Bang Fai (meaning Rocket Festival) is one of the signature drinks at Soul Food Mahanakorn in Bangkok. It was created by its owner, Jarrett Wrisley, and his bartender Markus Bernthaler, to be spicy, sour and good with grilled Thai food. Id serve this with Thai Fishcakes .

2 tiny pieces of birds eye chilli

60 ml (2 fl oz) white tequila

40 ml (1 fl oz) fresh lime juice

30 ml (1 fl oz) Monin Orgeat almond syrup

a dash of egg white

Muddle the chilli in the bottom of a shaker. Add all the liquid ingredients, including the egg white, and shake vigorously to emulsify. Now add some ice and shake again for about 15 seconds, until its really cold. Strain into an ice-filled tumbler and serve.

Note: Choose tequila made from 100 per cent agave if possible.