Here’s a wet Martini with a very Victorian accent.
“When setting up Daphne, we knew we wanted to focus on Martinis,” says the drink’s creator, Sam Peasnell. “My go-to martini serve is an extremely wet 50/50 martini with Fords Dry Gin, Dolin Vermouth and some orange bitters. I wanted to list something like this on our first menu and decided to champion some amazing Victorian products for a uniquely Victorian serve.”
“[The] sous chef at our sister restaurant, Etta, makes amazing koji and that provided the main botanical base for our sake vermouth. Melbourne Sake Co KH Sake has quite a vinous profile (as it’s made with sushi rice) so this was used to replace wine in a traditional dry vermouth.”
“MGC single shot has a slightly higher proof and enhanced botanical profile so we blend this with their signature Dry and the result was a dangerously easy drink, crisp, citrus forward martini with a ricey, nutty creaminess and rich mouthfeel. It’s our best selling drink at Daphne.”
50/50 Martini
Ingredients:
- 20ml MGC Dry Gin
- 20ml MGC Single Shot Gin
- 40ml house-made sake vermouth
- 2 dash orange bitters
For the sake vermouth:
- 700ml Melbourne Sake Co KH Sake
- 300ml infused Reed & Co Shochu
- 30g white sugar
For the infused shochu:
- 700ml Reed & Co Shochu
- peel of 1 orange
- peel of 1 lemon
- 100g koji
- 2 drops bergamot essence
Method:
- For the infused shochu, combine the shochu with the orange and lemon peel, koji and bergamot essence, infuse, then strain.
- For the sake vermouth, combine the sake, infused shochu and sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Stir the gins, sake vermouth and bitters over ice.
- Strain into a chilled Martini glass.
- Garnish with an orange twist.
Recipe by Sam Peasnell with Lisa Rosie, Daphne
