Shanghai Mist

Whenever I receive a bottle of spirit with a very specific scent or flavour, it’s actually fun to experiment with combinations. 

I know that a sour base always seems to work, but this time I wanted to stay away from that classic path. 

Panda Gin is not your average gin. It’s a Belgian organic gin packed with flavours from the botanicals used in the production process. The juniper berries are crushed and macerated in basic alcohol before they are added to the still. Next comes the infusion with litchi, cherry, orange peel, star anise and a few undisclosed botanicals. 

The result is a spirit with very rich and fruity notes. Delicate plants like rosemary and basil are macerated separately before being added to the mix. This gin is distilled 6 times in a continuous still. In my personal opinion, this gin has a very oriental style and I decided to work on that. 

Another nice gimmick, I fed the description and the list of ingredients into an artificial intelligence chat server and asked for a suggestion for the name of the drink. I think "Shanghai Mist" was just perfect. 

Shanghai Mist

Ingredients

40ml Panda Gin

30ml Lillet Blanc

30ml Déjà-vu Oriental aperitif     

1d orange bitters

Method

Add the three ingredients to a mixing glass with lots of ice. Give it a good stir for 12 to 15 seconds. Strain into a tumbler with a big rock of clear ice. Garnish with dehydrated blood orange or a beautiful flower. 

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Bitter Lemon Negroni

Inspired by the Limoncello Negroni by my friend Natalie Migliarini, I created this cross-over with the ‘White Negroni’. That might sound like a weird combination, but it’s actually delicious. 

Since it’s an even-parts recipe, everyone can mix it at home. Bartenders in every bar or restaurant can serve it fast and easy. This is another recipe I've mixed up for my friends at Paal 26 Grand Café. 

Bitter Lemon Negroni 

Ingredients

30 ml (Homemade and delicious!!!) Limoncello

30 ml Suze bitter

30 ml Lillet Blanc

Method

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with lots of ice. Stir for 15 seconds and strain into your favourite tumbler with fresh ice. Garnish with a wedge of torched lemon.

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Lillet Apero(L)

The iconic Negroni seems to be a source for endless variations. Since I was playing around with the bottle of Lillet Blanc to make the Reverse Vesper, I thought it would be a great idea to use it also for a nice Italian-style aperitif 😉. This cocktail is a light and fruity Negroni-variation. 

Lillet Apero(L)

Ingredients
30 ml Aperol
30 ml Lillet Blanc
30 ml Cinzano sweet vermouth

Method
Stir together in a tumbler or mixing glass. Garnish with dehydrated orange. 

P.S. Next month, for a limited time, this drink will be on the suggestions menu at Paal 26 Grand Café.

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations. This article is a paid partnership with Paal 26 Grand Café.

Reverse Vesper with Lillet Blanc

'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?'

It’s not the first time we talk about the Vesper on this blog. The iconic Dry Martini variation, as featured in the James Bond novel and movie “Casino Royale”, is a spirit-forward drink with world fame. The original recipe called for Kina Lillet as vermouth-style ingredient. In 1986 they removed most of the quinine liqueur from the recipe and changed the name of the bottle to Lillet Blanc. Quinine is very bitter, so the current Lillet is much softer in taste. 

In the movie, Vesper asks Bond if he named the drink after her "because of the bitter aftertaste", James answers "I named it after you because once you have tasted it, you won't drink anything else." 

If you want to serve a Vesper that comes very close to the original recipe, you could swap the Lillet for Cocchi Americano. But that is NOT what we are going to do today. 

The Vesper is a pretty heavy drink. In summer I like my drinks to be slightly lower in alcohol. That’s why the ‘Reverse Vesper’ might be a great idea. With Lillet Blanc as a base you get a totally different drink that’s actually really tasty. The recipe is very much Lillet-forward and has the stronger spirits in a supporting role, which will boost the flavors of the Lillet.  

About the measurements for this drink… There are many different sizes in Martini glasses available. Through history originally Martini glasses were pretty small drinks (so you could drink many of them)… but the size of the glasses always got bigger and bigger. For this reason I’ll give you the recipe also in parts, to adjust the recipe to the size of your glasses.

And yes, I like my drinks “bar-style”, so my recipe is still slightly bolder than what you’ll find on the brand websites for average home use 😉 

Reverse Vesper

Ingredients
40 ml or 3 parts Lillet Blanc
25 ml or 2 parts Filliers Grain Vodka
7 ml or ½ part Beefeater Gin

Method
A Vesper needs to be “shaken, not stirred”… but this Reverse Vesper is a light cocktail that might get too weak when shaken. I prefer this one stirred, just like my other Martini drinks. 

Stir together in a mixing glass with lots of ice. Strain in a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. First give it a squeeze to get some of the oils on your drink. 

P.S. Next month, for a limited time, this drink will be on the suggestions menu at Paal 26 Grand Café.

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations. This article is a paid partnership with Paal 26 Grand Café.