Dukes Hotel & No 3 Gin is a match made in heaven.
No 3 is the London Dry Gin band owned by Berry Bros & Rudd, London’s oldest wine and spirit merchant. It takes its name from the address in St James’s Street which has been their home since 1698. Created to a secret recipe, with juniper at its heart, it contains six botanicals distilled in traditional copper pot stills.
If you love a Martini then you’re in great hands, Alessandro Palazzi is the head bartender here and Master of the Martini.
James Bond
It’s the bar, James Bond fans flock to find out how the famous phrase ‘shaken not stirred’ came about. When the author Ian Fleming began writing, Martinis were only ever served as an apéritif before dinner and two white spirits were never. Cocktails were always stirred.
In his first novel in the Casino Royale series, Bond offers specific instructions to the barman on how to prepare his drink. This would later become known as the Vesper. The recipe: three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet, and a slice of lemon. Shaken. At Dukes, the Vesper recipe uses No 3 London Dry Gin, Lillet Blanc, Angostura bitters, and Potocki vodka, a Polish vodka, in honour of the real-life inspiration for Vesper Lynd, Polish-born Christine Granville, wartime spy and allegedly Fleming’s lover.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
You may have seen bottles of No 3 Gin throughout the latest Matthew Vaughn film Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Now the wine merchant has bottled a limited edition expression, bottled at 49% abv and limited to 5,000 bottles.
“The qualities needed to make a Kingsman are not dissimilar from those required of our London Dry Gin,” said creative director Geordie Willis. “Sophistication, integrity and style are paramount.”
Here’s their recipe for The Golden Circle using the limited edition Gin.
Or Alessandro’s Classic Dry
Duke’s Classic Dry Martini
Ingredients
- 1 tsp Extra Dry Vermouth
- 85ml No.3 Gin
- 1 Amalfi lemon
Method
Pour the Extra Dry Vermouth into a frozen martini glass (either 7oz or 5.5oz glass) and coat in a circular motion. Top up the glass with ice-cold No 3 gin. Pare the rind of an Amalfi lemon, and give it a twist to extract the oils into the glass.
Fancy something to eat? Head up St James’s to Cafe Murano for some spectacular Italian food.
