Friday cocktail: Bank holiday martini

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The ultimate no-mucking about cocktail is the martini: gin, a bit of vermouth, and maybe a splash of bitters and that’s it. But it needs a good gin – there’s nowhere for it to hide, so this isn’t a job for the cooking gin.

Happily, the nice people at Sipsmith, the small-batch London distillery, have sent me a new gin to play with, called VJOP (Very Junipery Overproof). ‘Overproof’ because it’s more than 100 proof (a whopping 57.7% alcohol by volume) and ‘very junipery’ because it’s, er, very junipery – as a good gin should be.

It’s a bit of a stunner, previously only available to the Japanese (lucky Japanese) but now available over here.

Let the holiday weekend begin…

Sipsmith VJOP London Dry Gin, £38.95, leaandsandeman.co.uk

Martini

SERVES 1

1. Chill a cocktail glass or coupe in the freezer. Meanwhile put some ice in a cocktail shaker, add 50ml very good gin and stir.

2. Take your glass out of the freezer, add a splash of dry (white) vermouth, and slosh around to cover the inside of the glass. Pour away any excess (I know, it hurts).

3. Strain the gin into the glass and, if you like, add a couple of drops of Angostura bitters. Finish with a twist of lemon.