Luis Buñuel

Luis Buñuel once stated he never had the ‘bad luck’ to miss his daily cocktail: ‘Where certain things are concerned, I plan ahead’. In his autobiography, he confessed that martinis played a “primordial” role in his life. On the ratio of gin to vermouth he remarked that “connoisseurs who like their martinis very dry suggest simply allowing a ray of sunlight to shine through a bottle of Noilly Prat before it hits the bottle of gin”. Here goes his personal martini recipe: “The day before your guests arrive, put all the ingredients – glasses, gin, and shaker – in the refrigerator. Use a thermometer to make sure the ice is about twenty degrees below zero. Don’t take anything out until your friends arrive; then pour a few drops of Noilly Prat and half a demitasse spoon of Angostura bitters over the ice. Stir it, then pour it out, keeping only the ice, which retains a faint taste of both. Then pour straight gin over the ice, stir it again, and serve“.