Classic Cocktail Series - The Martini & Friends

Yo! Birdwatching is back with our second episode of our cocktail series. This time around, we're tackling the king of classic cocktails, the Martini. This is the perfect cocktail to make to your own tastes, and we go over both the gin and vodka versions this classic. Once we've covered the basics, we cover 2 famous variation on the Martini, James Bond's original Vesper, and the sweeter Cosmopolitan.

The recipe for both the Gin and Vodka Martinis varies widely, depending on who you ask. We've gone slightly away from the original recipe, choosing to forego some of the vermouth called for. Because both gin and vermouth have some complex, herbal flavours, we stir instead of shaking, to preserve the aromas and avoid diluting the cocktail too much. For the vodka version, we're gonna leave the vermouth out entirely, going for what's commonly called an Extra-Dry Martini, and shake. This will slightly aerate the drink, and accentuate the clean, almost "tasteless" taste of the vodka. THe vodka martini gets a dose of olives to garnish, and the gin martini is finished by squeezing a bit of lemon peel over the top.

For our variations this episode, we've gone with James Bond's favourite, the Vesper. Its a much stouter, boozier take on the classic Martini, and isn't for the faint of heart. If you're feeling like a bit friendlier of a cocktail, we also cover the venerable Cosmo. The bright, sweet and citrus notes of this cocktail remind us of grapefruit juice, and its the perfect cocktail for the coming hotter months.

Thanks for watching! Don't forget to comment and share if you liked the video.

-Tyler