DRINKS WITH A HINT OF WINSTON CHURCHILL
The Churchill Martini (75ml Whitley Neill Gin, two Nocerella Olives, and champagne coupe glass)
Churchill was said to enjoy a Martini without vermouth, often quoted as saying, “Glance at the Vermouth bottle briefly, while pouring the juniper distillate freely.”
Method: Pour the gin into a mixing glass, add cubed ice and stir for approx 20 seconds. Double strain into a chilled glass and garnish with olives.
The Aristocratini (50ml Stolichnaya
Elit Vodka, 15ml
Cocchi Americano, two dashes Angostura Bitters, one olive in syrup and champagne coupe glass)
This deliciously decadent cocktail (inset, right) has been crafted to represent the aristocratic family – The SpencerChurchills – into which Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace, Oxon, on November 30, 1874.
Method: Add the ingredients in a mixing glass (Cocchi Americano is a quinine-flavoured aperitif wine), add cubed ice and stir for approximately 20 seconds. Double strain into a chilled glass and garnish with an olive preserved in syrup.
The Clementine (30ml Martell Cognac, four dashes Angostura Bitters, brown sugar cube, Pol Roger Champagne, orange peel, and champagne flute)
Churchill proposed to Clementine Hozier at the Temple of Diana in the grounds of Blenheim. They enjoyed 56 years of marriage. This contains a hint of orange in honour of his beloved Clemmie.
Method: Soak the brown sugar cube with four dashes of bitters, then transfer into a chilled glass. Add cognac and top up with champagne, placing orange peel on
rim as a garnish.
The Artist (60ml Mount Gay Rum XO, 25ml Luxardo Sangue Morlacco, 25ml maple syrup, 25ml pineapple juice, 15ml lemon juice, 35ml almond milk, one tea bag, grated nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon, and a tea cup)
During his so-called “wilderness years” out of politics, Churchill took up painting, eventually creating more than 550 canvases, today sought by collectors. This punch-style cocktail (inset, above left)
evokes the countryside he loved. Method: Combine all the ingredients except almond milk in an airtight container and leave for an hour in the fridge. Warm almond milk in a pan to a simmer then pour in the container, curdling the milk. Pour through coffee filter and refrigerate. Drink within five days.
●●Recipes extracted from Churchill’s Cocktails (Imperial War Museums, £12.99), out now