This is kind of an embarrassing situation when, the morning after St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to whip up a batch of Corpse Reviver No. 2's. Not finding a recipe where the Reviver is made with Cocchi Americano (which I bought when I ran out of Lillet, as the more modern replacement for Kina Lillet of "Vesper" fame), I resorted to some hair-of-the-dog Jameson and Ginger highballs. Not exactly preferred.
But it got me thinking: what makes the best modern Vesper? The original recipe, of course, calls for Kina Lillet, which hasn't been available since the 1980s. What about the replacements? Inspired by my fellow cocktail afficianado Ted -- and all my best cocktail ideas come from Ted -- I got myself another bottle of Blanc (hey, it's not going to go bad, right? I made a lot of Corpse Revivers!) and decided to taste test both recipes.
* 3 oz. dry London gin (I chose Tanqueray this time)
* 1 oz. vodka (I picked 100-proof Smirnoff, as I think that's more along the lines of where James Bond was actually going with this.)
* 1/2 oz. Cocchi Americano / Lillet Blanc
* Shake over ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with a thick lemon twist
Both are outstanding. The one made with Lillet Blanc is just a touch sweeter, maybe with just a tad more citrus. The one made with Cocchi Americano allows the dryness of the alcohol to come through just a little bit more. But they're difficult to distinguish when they're not right next to each other. I think I'd say that, which the Cocchi cocktail arguably tastes like James Bond's original recipe a little bit more, the cocktail made with Lillet Blanc instead is excellent, too -- a little bit more well-rounded, a little bit more complex. I'm hard pressed to identify a favorite.
