Welcome to another installment of Stone Skin on the Rocks, our weekly column where our authors provide a liquid pairing suggestion for their short fiction. This week brings us an entry from Dmetri Kakmi, whom you can find on both his website and facebook, in addition to the pages of The New Gothic:
When asked to provide a drink to go with my story ‘The Boy by the Gate’ in The New Gothic anthology, my first thoughts turned to beer. The story is set in wintry coastal Australia after all.
But I’m not a beer drinker and I don’t frequent pubs — it’s a national pastime I’ve never understood. Bars are more my style and I like a sophisticated drink, with complex hints and tantalising undercurrents.
When thinking about the characters in my story, it occurs to me that some of them would share my passion for the classic martini (even the dead ones). And because they are also united by an enthusiasm for the exotic and the far-fetched, I thought a lychee martini would best serve the palate as the story is consumed.
You will need…
Canned lychees
Ice
150 ml gin (I prefer Bombay)
A mere suggestion of extra dry vermouth (I use Noilly Prat)
Put a lychee in a chilled martini glass. Place the other ingredients in a cocktail shaker, with a dash of lychee syrup from the can, and shake. You can also create this brew in an ice jug and stir with a long spoon. You won’t stop at one.
There really is nothing like a martini to help lower your standards, while remaining vaguely classy. Luis Bunuel used the martini as his creative process. E B White called it ‘the elixir of quietude’ and it’s probably the best thing the Americans invented since Brian de Palma.
Don’t blame me if you start seeing spirits after three of these.
That’s it for this week, Stone Skinners–Cheers!
Leave a Reply