#JamesBond’s famous tag line is actually a reversal of the original quote from Fleming’s books. The author used the line “stirred not shaken” to add yet another facet to Bond’s cool image. If a Martini is shaken, the alcohol becomes “bruised” which detracts from the desired flavour – something which agent 007 would of course immediately notice and be suitably repulsed by. It was decided that the line “shaken not stirred” sounded much better, however, and so was adopted for the film – thus creating a character with a good collection of sound bytes, but a slightly odd taste in drinks.

Above Research and Study by Bob French, Clifton, York.

An original Bond Girl. Ursula Andress

Holy Hell! I Do NOT want to suffer impotence. What would I then live for? Romance is THE potion that makes my world go round. Without that: WOE IS ME!!

Make Your Own Olive Brine

Since olive juice is my favorite flavor in a martini, I plan to follow the below article by Colleen Graham (Cocktails Expert) about making my own olive juice or brine (as “they” call it). In fact, I planted an olive seed in my backyard in case, by some miracle, I might grow it into a tree. Read the article if you are interested:

If your local market has an olive bar filled with gourmet olives, use them to make your own olive brine. It is very easy and you can use your own selection of olives, even adding a variety to a single jar.

The best part of this is that you can control the juice, making it exactly the way you want. It can save the die-hard Dirty Martini drinker a considerable amount of money. You also get a custom choice of olives for garnishing all of your Martinis!

2 cups green olives
2 cups water
1/2 cup dry vermouth
2 Tablespoons vinegar
2 Tablespoons salt
Method:

Place the olives in a glass jar with a tight-sealing lid (recycle an old olive jar!).
Gently press the olives with the back of a wooden spoon firmly enough to release their juice.
In a separate bowl, combine the other ingredients and mix well.
Pour the liquid over the olives until they are completely covered. Leave a little room for air at the top of the jar.
Seal the jar and shake it vigorously.
Refrigerate for at least one day (longer is better) and shake before using the juice.
If your juice gets a little low for the olives left in the jar, add more vermouth and give the mix a good shake.

Of course, if you are lucky enough to have your own olive tree, nothing beats fresh olives. In order to make them edible, curing is required. Use these tips for brining fresh olives.

Is there a crack in the freeze of the Republicans in Congress to ignore President Barak Obama’s Supreme Court nomination? Probably not a huge movement, but my opinion is that the Republicans need to do their job and seat a new justice on the Supreme Court.