"The whole thing tastes like a pickle!" » Are vegetable martinis really the drink of the summer?

Over the years, the martini has become a totem of simple and effortless cool. A clear spirit, vermouth, shaken over ice and poured. It's pure. It's sophisticated. It's a way to get drunk incredibly, incredibly fast. But this year, a new trend has emerged: the vegetable martini. A veggie-flavoured martini might sound gross, but last month the Bloomberg news site called it "London's latest drinking craze", so who am I to argue?

Vegetarian martinis are on the rise: in central London, Eve Bar offers a tomato Brusketta martini and Science + Industry in Manchester offers a Mushroomtini. In Dalston, east London, Three Sheets are making a beet-infused Earth Martini, while Tom Kerridge's Michelin-starred pub The Hand and Flowers in Marlow recently launched a plant-based gin martini in small amount from the chef. Frankly, I wanted to come in. ="dcr-10khgmf">

How did I make it? Visiting fancy bars and chatting with glamorous strangers? No, I did veggie martinis at home on a Tuesday afternoon while my seven-year-old son was bleeding from his nose in the next room. Here's how I did.

Green Spice Martini

The most complicated drink on my tasting menu, the green spice martini is based on a cocktail on the menu in Benares, London. The base is vodka, but lemon juice, ginger juice is added , elderflower syrup and 'cumin and coriander syrup' - which includes toasted cumin seeds and a handful of fresh cilantro I'm not sure how it tastes but it's possible e that I roasted the cumin too much because it was bitter, like a very alcoholic coffee. However, after a bit of experimentation (adding lots of elderflower cordial), it suddenly turned out delicious. I drank it all - in retrospect, pretty stupid. Potentially the drink of the summer. Verdict: potentially the drink of the summer.