Lady Lunchalot

On Sunday night I was lucky enough to be invited to a martini tasting at the Gin Palace. Zoeball’s boss, Vernon Chalker, (proprietor of some of my favourite bars in Melbourne including the Gin Palace and the rather fancy Madame Brussels) treated us to a showcase of martinis that made my tongue boggle and my balance wobble.

Vernon is one of those people that is soooo passionate about one subject it makes you realise how little you know about… well, anything! I can’t believe I ever thought a martini was just something you drank. Vernon explained the whole history of the martini, including how gin impacted the British economy, the origins of the vodka martini, and whether 007 was just being pedantic in his preference for shaken rather than stirred.

Thanks to Vernon I am stocked up with cocktail party trivia for years to come.

Altogether we tasted a whopping NINE martinis (I stress, “tasted”, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to manage my way out the door), from the classic In & Out martini (gin, vermouth and two green olives) to the more adventurous Warsaw (vodka, creme de cacao and a chocolate bullet).

It was incredible how a slightly different garnish could tweak the martini in a whole new direction. My favourite was the Bison: Zubrowka vodka stirred over ice, strained into a chilled martini glass and garnished with a marinated garlic clove.

Yes, you heard me, a garlic clove. Oh, stop screwing up your nose! I was actually terrified to take a sip of this one, but the sweet flavour of the garlic clove proved to be the perfect bite against the vodka.

Just don’t try that one on a first date ; )

Many thanks to Zoeball for inviting me, and to Vernon for hosting such an entertaining Sunday night!