Day 55. Cool Cocktails

All week I’ve been focusing on my pre-Tiki obsession with martini culture. Today I revisit a book from 2000: Cool Cocktails by British mixologist Ben Reed. This was published around the time the craft cocktail resurgence began. I must admit I was initially attracted to this book by the cool, clean martini on the cover. And the blue bottle! There were some interesting recipes here, though I don’t recall making many of them. The section on rum drinks is short but pretty good. Mr. Reed’s Mai-Tai takes some liberties with Trader Vic’s original 1944 recipe, but that’s okay. I will have to go back and try that one, knowing what I now know about Tiki drinks. Okole maluna!

 

[andypanda]

And here is Ben Reed‘s take on the Mai-Tai, in case you’re curious:

 

[Kahikina]

Maybe I'm just being "snooty" but there is something very civilized about drinking a martini. I feel like Mr Howell. And drinking a Mai Tai out of a martini glass? Outstanding!

 

[andypanda]

Maybe I'm just being "snooty" but there is something very civilized about drinking a martini. I feel like Mr Howell. And drinking a Mai Tai out of a martini glass? Outstanding!

View attachment 1141

Yes, a Bombay Sapphire gin martini is tough to beat. I once paid $20 for a martini at a bar in Chicago. It was one of those classy joints where you sat on leather couches. The waitress came up to our seat wearing a low-cut black dress and shook that thing right in front of me. That was the best martini I’ve ever had!