Recipe

• 2oz London Dry gin (Portobello Road Gin)
• .75oz dry vermouth (Dolin)
• .25oz Strega
• 2 dashes orange bitters (Regans)

Stir all ingredients with ice then strain into a chilled coupe. Express a lemon peel over top.

About

I’ve been drinking a TON of martinis lately. Looking to switch it up a bit, I turned to the wonderful Cocktail Codex book by the Death&Co team. If you don’t already own this book, it’s definitely worth picking up, as it focuses on the fundamental templates of cocktail recipes to help you understand how to apply structure to innovating successful and balanced new drinks.

Anyway, this cocktail is inspired by the Poet’s Dream, which is made with the same specs as above except using Bénédictine instead of Strega. Both these liqueurs are herbal, strong (40% abv), and complex.

With this recipe, the book stresses the important role of how “seemingly minor adjustments can create distinctive new variations.” We have a basic martini template here and add a dash of an herbal liqueur in the form of Strega. Strega is a complex Italian liqueur that falls somewhat in the realm of Yellow Chartreuse, albeit a bit milder – thinner in sweetness as well as herbal intensity. It really works well in this drink, bringing you the martini you love with a bit of extra oomph.