The Bank Holiday weekend is upon us, and I was going to write something soothing about the importance of good sleep, and the restorative powers of mindfulness. But I’m hopeless at mindfulness, and as far as sleep is concerned, I’m like one of those old-fashioned china dolls – as soon as I’m horizontal, my eyes close and I’m out like a light (weird dreams at the moment, though – anyone else?). So I’ve fallen back on my strengths and given you another cocktail recipe: The Breakfast Martini. This is inspired by a luscious Savoy marmalade which is so good, I’ve been hiding it in the understairs cupboard, so that no one else in the house can have any, and the cocktail’s success does depend on the quality of the marmalade, so don’t skimp on this ingredient. 

It was invented about 25 years ago by the king of the contemporary cocktail, Salvatore Calabrese and it really oughtn’t to be drunk at breakfast, well, not unless you’re willing to write off the whole day. But then, I’ve never had a Bloody Mary for breakfast either, so what do I know. I used Beefeater 24, which is a very elegant, well-mannered gin, made by the world’s most experienced Master gin distiller, Desmond Payne. The 24 refers to the number of hours the botanicals are steeped in alcohol before distillation: grapefruit, bitter almond, orris root and Japanese Sencha and Chinese green tea are key botanical ingredients and it’s my preferred gin for a Negroni – and the Breakfast Martini – because it complements other ingredients rather than getting into a punch-up, as some other gins, less polite about sharing the limelight, do. 

If you want a demonstration, do look at my video on IGTV on @walpoleceo but I recommend you make your own – you’ll already own the ingredients, though you may need to pop to the shop for a lemon.

The Breakfast Martini

Ingredients

50ml Beefeater 24 gin
15ml Cointreau
15ml Lemon juice
A generous spoonful of good marmalade 

Method

Add gin and marmalade to a cocktail shaker and stir the marmalade into the gin until it’s dissolved.
Add the Cointreau (or Triple Sec, or Grand Marnier) and lemon juice.
Put ice in the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously to blend and chill the ingredients
Strain into a martini glass (I use a champagne coupe: the lockdown has caught me without the full complement of barware, but do remember you can get 20% off Richard Brendon’s with the code WALPOLE20)

It’s sweet, and bitter, and orangey and boozy and I love it.