Name: Left Bank Martini
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 60 ml Gin; 15 ml Elderflower liqueur; 15 ml Chardonnay wine; 7.5 ml Dry vermouth

Left Bank Martini
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Serve in a Martini glass

Ingredients:
2 oz	Hayman's London Dry Gin
¹⁄₂ oz	Elderflower liqueur
¹⁄₂ oz	Chardonnay (Chablis) white wine
¹⁄₄ oz	Strucchi Dry Vermouth

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Martini glass.
Prepare garnish of lime zest twist.
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
Express lime zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Chardonnay (Chablis) white wine, Dry vermouth - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

Aromatic, floral and dry. Modern bartending convention would suggest that this drink should be stirred. However, it's much better shaken. Go easy with the spray of lime zest oils - this delicate cocktail is easily overpowered with more than a fine mist.

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Variant:

Rocky Left Bank

History:

Left Bank hints at the use of wine in the recipe as the term usually refers to the region below the Gironde Estuary in Bordeaux encompassing the Médoc with St-Julien and Margaux. However, in this case, the name refers to Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a district on the left bank (south) of the River Seine in Paris.

Created in 2006 by yours truly at the Cabinet Room in London for the launch of St-Germain elderflower liqueur, originally using Sauvignon Blanc rather than Chardonnay (but both work well, as indeed does any dry white wine). In 2013, I also reduced the elderflower liqueur from ¾ shot to ½ shot and the vermouth from ½ to a ¼ shot.
Martini cocktail and its evolution

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Nutrition:

One serving of Left Bank Martini contains 190 calories

Alcohol content:

1.6 standard drinks
23.28% alc./vol. (23.28° proof)
22.7 grams of pure alcohol

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Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 10 of 29 comments for Left Bank Martini.
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Andrew Parsons

12th April at 19:08

We're a huge fan of this one, but made with Sky Wave London Dry Gin and Lillet Blanc as p to a dry vermouth. It's therefore a little sweeter but nonetheless delicious.

Rob

31st March at 22:27

This is a fantastic drink! Not as boozy as a traditional martini yet interesting to martini drinkers. Even shaken it's clear in the glass and the lime zest is the perfect finish to brighten up the elderflower liqueur.

Simon Sedgley

18th November 2024 at 10:46

A wonderfully sophisticated and delicate Martini. But since we're on the Left Bank of the Seine, we decided to see our good host's recipe and raise it by adding two drops of absinthe. Ooh la la.

Mark Catone

16th September 2024 at 00:04

Went to try this, did not have white wine! Found Lillet Blanc hiding in the fridge and it worked really well. We really like this martini variation.

Gary Hollis

28th July 2024 at 08:19

Made this to celebrate the opening of the Paris Olympics using Tanqueray No 10, Chase elderflower, sauvignon blanc and Cocchi dry vermouth. A beautiful, strong but flavourful cocktail, one of the best drinks you have created, Simon. But one question - why is it shaken?
Can I also take this opportunity, Simon, to thank you for all your knowledge and expertise over the years. It was your "Sauce Guide #2", that first showed me a clear and approachable way to make cocktails. Keep up the good work!

Simon Difford

28th July 2024 at 11:08

Many thanks, Garry. As I say in the review above, it's better shaken. Stirring all cocktails that don't contain juice is a recent bartending law and one that's sometimes best broken.

1 reply

Gui Menegon

18th May 2024 at 16:38

Probably the best variation of dry martini I've tried, with the eldelflower "cutting" the dryness instead of the olive. Although martinis depend a lot on the vermouth, I should mention the San Basile (a brazilian destilery) elderflower liquor tastes great here.

Frederic D.

5th April 2024 at 23:02

Made with Gray Whale gin (one of my favorites), and Lillet blanc instead of the white wine (working with available ingredients at home). It was still a very tasty drink despite the substitution, and my wife who "doesn't really like gin" also kept going back to it and finished her glass.

Simon Difford

6th April 2024 at 06:28

That's great to hear. The recipe is forgiving when it comes to the wine—it tastes good pretty much whatever you use; just affects the style of the finished cocktail.

Chris Haley

19th February 2024 at 01:00

Benjamin Franklin supposedly said that wine "was proof that God loves us". I have mused that if he'd had a Martini he would have said that about them. I love them all from dry through perfect to the Martinez. This one is just plain awesome.

Sterling Diesel

15th January 2024 at 06:43

This is often what I make for people that know they "don't like gin". Most leave loving it, the rest just really like it. Great stuff, thank you. :-)

Simon Difford

15th January 2024 at 07:22

Many thanks for your kind words and support.

Johan Alexandersson

9th November 2023 at 18:45

I wonder if someone has switched the wine to a sparkling wine, blanc de blancs or sparkling wine from sauvignon blanc. Like shaking other ingredients and topping with the sparkling wine.