Drink - Victoria Moore toasts a cocktail that tastes of kisses
Published 04 November 2002
Can there be a better recommendation for a drink than that it tastes of kissing?
For my friend Sasha's 30th birthday, I promised to act as barman and make two cocktails that were drunk at the beginning of the last century, to fit in with her 1930s theme.
Naturally, we had to try them out first. It was cold outside, the very beginning of winter: perfect for the drinks we'd chosen. I began to mix a version of the Negroni (sweet vermouth, gin, Campari in equal quantities, plus a splash of soda - because you just can't give people at parties neat spirits - and a thin slice of orange).
Sasha said she'd been shopping for 1930s music at the specialist shop Woods. "The man said that Sidney Bechet's Blues in Thirds was very good. I asked him if it was good party music and there was a long pause before he replied, mournfully, "I don't really know. I haven't been to a party for 10 years."
It was good party music. Actually, it was good cocktail music: elegantly louche and suggestive of extremely coquettish behaviour. Negronis look so beautiful in the glass - the lucent crimson of redcurrants - it almost seems a shame to drink them. Sasha's flatmate Olivia sipped tentatively at hers: "This may be too sophisticated for me. So did you invite the man from Woods to your party?"
It's true that a lot of people find Campari too bitter, but we decided to be selfish and stick to it. The second cocktail was an old favourite of mine that I hadn't had for years: Between the Sheets. It may sound very modern, but it's actually quite old-fashioned and simple enough to make at home.
You mix equal parts of brandy, Cointreau and white rum with a splash of lemon juice and add soda water to taste. I love the combination of citrus and cognac in the months before Christmas, when the evenings are sharp and being inside means escaping the wet drudgery of the pavements. Recently, I've been hankering after classic champagne cocktails that combine orange and brandy flavours with the lovely rich yeastiness of champagne. For a pagan like me, the smell and taste appeals as potently as the incense and waxy soot of candles that creep up your nose in the musty darkness of Roman Catholic churches.
Everyone liked the Between the Sheets, even Olivia. In fact, we liked it so much we thought it would be a shame not to make some more. The second round was quite well advanced when Sasha's boyfriend, George, arrived. He took one sip and pronounced it very strong. Yes, but did he like it?
"It's very strong." We made an effort to appear sober and appeased him with a Negroni, which George liked because "Campari tastes of lipstick".
And can a drink have a better recommendation than that it tastes of kissing?
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