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The lure of Lillet

Michael Harden
Michael Harden

Lillet: A must-have on the shelves of cocktail makers.
Lillet: A must-have on the shelves of cocktail makers.Michael Clayton-Jones

There are times when it's easy to be seriously jealous of the French. As a group of people they seem to successfully participate in a variety of activities - beret wearing and chain-smoking foul-smelling cigarettes among them - that, attempted by anybody else, would be laughable or obnoxious or both. And though this enviable (and slightly annoying) ability rarely translates, there are some activities that bring a slightly elevated level of French elan even to the non-French. One of these is drinking Lillet.

Lillet is a French aperitif wine made in the mistelle style, meaning that spirit is added to the grape juice before it's matured in oak barrels. With Lillet, the spirit is mostly citrus liqueur made from the peel of both ripe and bitter green oranges plus a little Peruvian bark liqueur that adds flavour and quinine to the mix. The result is a wonderfully delicate, pretty creation that can make you feel both slightly frivolous and a little more sophisticated when drinking it.

The most recognisable and most widely drunk Lillet, Lillet Blanc (there's also Lillet Rouge and Lillet Rose), has aromas of candied oranges, a little honey, maybe even some pine, and is perfectly refreshing served over ice with a slice of orange, lemon or lime.

This is the way most French have drunk the stuff since brothers Paul and Raymond Lillet began making it in 1872 in France's Bordeaux region and they've obviously looked good doing it, too.

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But Lillet's allure has also been attracting the attention of American bartenders since mid-last century and has become something of a must-have ingredient on the shelves of more discerning cocktail makers.

The most famous cocktail using Lillet was actually concocted by author Ian Fleming in the James Bond novel Casino Royale. Ordering the drink, Bond asks for a martini that's three parts gin to one part vodka and one half-part Lillet, shaken with ice, strained into a champagne goblet and garnished with a generous lemon twist. Agent 007 later names this drink the Vesper, after double agent Vesper Lynd.

Not to second-guess Bond or anything but many cocktail experts agree that his version is a bit clunky and drowns out the clever substitution of Lillet for the usual vermouth. Some suggest reversing the ratios of vodka and gin so that the Lillet has more say. Others make a Reverse Vesper and swap the quantities of the Lillet and gin. It may be wise to take notes if you're going to be experimenting with your Vespers, given the industrial quantities of gin involved.

Another variation on the Bond Vesper on which the experts almost unanimously agree is that you would never, ever shake a drink like this, instead stirring the ingredients with ice until they reach the right amount of chill.

Either way, you're drinking Lillet. And that, mon ami, is never a bad thing.

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