Left Bank Martini
A Left Bank Martini is 60ml London Dry gin, 15ml elderflower liqueur, 15ml unoaked dry white wine and 7.5ml dry vermouth, stirred over ice for 20 to 30 seconds and strained into a chilled coupe, with a lime twist. It is a gin Martini with elderflower and white wine in it: dry, floral and cold, at about 3.0 UK units. Difford’s Guide records that Simon Difford created it in 2006 at the Cabinet Room in London, for the launch of St-Germain elderflower liqueur. It says the name points at Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the Paris district on the left bank of the Seine. Difford’s says his first version used Sauvignon Blanc, with more elderflower and more vermouth; he cut both in 2013, and the current recipe takes a Chardonnay, Chablis in his specification. The wine is what sets it apart. It brings acidity and a little fruit without the herbs of a full vermouth measure, so the elderflower reads as blossom rather than sugar.
Glassware: Coupe Glass
Garnish: Lime twist
Ingredients
60ml
A London Dry at 40% ABV or more. At 60ml it is most of the drink, and its juniper keeps the elderflower from turning the glass into a liqueur.
15ml
St-Germain, the liqueur the drink was created to launch and 20% ABV on its own FAQ, or another at around that strength. Measure it: 15ml scents the drink without sweetening it.
15ml
Unoaked, cold and freshly opened. The current recipe names Chablis, a Chardonnay which in our experience is usually made without new oak; Difford’s says Sauvignon Blanc was used in the 2006 original, and in our view it gives a sharper, greener drink.
7.5ml
A French-style dry vermouth such as Noilly Prat or Dolin, kept in the fridge, where we use it within about four weeks. At 7.5ml it adds herbs and a dry edge under the wine.
Instructions
Chill a coupe in the freezer or with ice water.
Add the gin, elderflower liqueur, white wine and dry vermouth to a mixing glass.
Fill the mixing glass with cubed ice and stir for 20 to 30 seconds.
Discard the ice from the coupe and strain the drink into it.
Express a lime twist over the surface and drop it in.
Source: Difford's Guide (The creator’s current specification, as revised in 2013; method ours). Last checked 9 October 2026.
Expert Tip
Measure the elderflower. At 15ml it scents the drink; free-poured, it soon reaches 25ml or more, the sweetness takes over and the gin goes quiet. St-Germain is 20% ABV on its own FAQ and, in our view, carries a lot of sugar. Open the wine for the drink, or use a bottle opened in the last day or two and kept in the fridge. Oak puts vanilla against the blossom, and a tired white tastes flat in a drink this clear. Stir it, as you would a gin Martini: 20 to 30 seconds on cubed ice, until the mixing glass is frosted. A shaken Left Bank comes out cloudy and thin.
Behind the Left Bank Martini
Flavour Profile
Where It Comes From
Difford’s Guide records that Simon Difford created the Left Bank in 2006 at the Cabinet Room in London, for the launch of St-Germain, a French elderflower liqueur. The name refers to Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the district on the left bank of the Seine.
The first version used Sauvignon Blanc and carried more elderflower and more vermouth. In 2013, Difford’s Guide says, he cut the elderflower from three-quarters of a shot to half, and the vermouth from half a shot to a quarter, and the current recipe takes Chablis.
The Structure
A gin Martini is gin and dry vermouth, stirred cold. The Left Bank keeps that frame and splits the modifier three ways.
Left Bank Martini: what each ingredient does
London Dry gin
- Measure
- 60ml
- ABV
- 40%
- Its job
- The body and the juniper
Elderflower liqueur
- Measure
- 15ml
- ABV
- About 20%
- Its job
- Blossom, and most of the sweetness
Unoaked dry white wine
- Measure
- 15ml
- ABV
- About 12%
- Its job
- Acidity and fruit, with no herbs
Dry vermouth
- Measure
- 7.5ml
- ABV
- About 18%
- Its job
- A herbal, faintly bitter edge
| Ingredient | Measure | ABV | Its job |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Dry gin | 60ml | 40% | The body and the juniper |
| Elderflower liqueur | 15ml | About 20% | Blossom, and most of the sweetness |
| Unoaked dry white wine | 15ml | About 12% | Acidity and fruit, with no herbs |
| Dry vermouth | 7.5ml | About 18% | A herbal, faintly bitter edge |
Elderflower is delicate, and a full Martini measure of vermouth would bury it under wormwood and roots. The wine does part of the vermouth’s job, adding acidity and wine character, while the small measure of vermouth keeps a dry, herbal line under the blossom.
That makes about 3.0 UK units in a drink of around 120ml once stirred: close to a gin Martini in strength, softer in taste.
The Elderflower Measure
St-Germain is sweet, and elderflower perfumes whatever it touches. At 15ml it scents the drink. Poured by eye it climbs fast, and the gin and wine go quiet behind it.
Per Difford’s Guide, the 2006 measure was three-quarters of a shot; the 2013 revision brought it down to half. Use a jigger, and if your liqueur is sweeter than St-Germain, use a little less.
Why It Is Stirred
Everything in the glass is spirit, liqueur or wine. With no citrus or juice to bind, the Martini rule applies, and the drink is stirred.
Stirring chills and dilutes without adding air, which keeps the drink clear and gives it weight. Shaken, it turns cloudy, and the wine tastes watery rather than crisp.
How to Serve It
Very cold, in a chilled coupe, with a lime twist expressed over the top and dropped in. Lime is sharper and greener than lemon, and it points at the elderflower.
It is an aperitif. At about 3.0 UK units it is as strong as a gin Martini, however light it tastes, so pour one before a meal rather than a round of them.
For elderflower in a bitter, stirred drink, the Comte de Sureau pairs the same liqueur with gin and Campari.
Make it at home
The Spirit
GinGin is a spirit flavoured with juniper berries. Under the retained Regulation (EC) 110/2008, juniper must lead the taste, the floor is 37.5% ABV, and the route the flavour takes sets the grade: plain gin, distilled gin or London gin. Our recipes count it at 40%, and it carries the Martini, the Negroni and the Gin and Tonic.
Master the Techniques
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Left Bank Martini?
Who created the Left Bank cocktail?
What wine should I use?
Should a Left Bank Martini be shaken or stirred?
Can I leave out the vermouth?
How strong is a Left Bank Martini?
What separates it from a classic Martini?
Sources.
Correct as of 18 October 2026.
- Difford’s Guide, “Left Bank Martini” (creator’s own page: created in 2006 by Simon Difford at the Cabinet Room, London, for the launch of St-Germain elderflower liqueur; originally Sauvignon Blanc; in 2013 elderflower reduced from ¾ shot to ½ shot and vermouth from ½ to ¼; 60ml gin, 15ml elderflower liqueur, 15ml Chardonnay (Chablis), 7.5ml dry vermouth; the name refers to Saint-Germain-des-Prés).
- St-Germain, “FAQ” (maker’s page: St-Germain elderflower liqueur has an ABV of 20% or 40 proof).
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Comte de Sureau
A Comte de Sureau is 45ml of London Dry gin, 25ml of elderflower liqueur and 7.5ml of Campari, stirred over ice for 20 to 30 seconds and strained over one large cube in a rocks glass, with orange and lemon peel twisted over it. About 2.5 UK units. It is a Negroni rebalanced: elderflower liqueur takes the sweet vermouth’s place and the Campari drops to a quarter of a Negroni’s 30ml. At equal parts, the Campari would bury the flower. Difford’s Guide adapts its recipe from one created in 2007/8 by Gonçalo de Sousa Monteiro at Le Lion in Hamburg, and says many know it as the Elderflower Negroni. Comte de Sureau means Count of Elderflower.
Elderflower Collins
An Elderflower Collins is 45ml of gin, 20ml of elderflower liqueur and 25ml of fresh lemon juice, shaken hard for 10 to 12 seconds, strained over fresh ice in a collins glass and topped with 90ml of soda, with a lemon wheel and a mint sprig. About 2.2 UK units. It is a Tom Collins with the sugar syrup replaced by elderflower liqueur, which sweetens and perfumes at once. The LWC catalogue describes St-Germain as the world’s first elderflower liqueur and dates its launch to 2007, and the Collins is an obvious frame to try such a liqueur in. Measure the liqueur. At 20ml the drink is floral and still tastes of gin; at 30ml the elderflower takes over and no extra lemon brings it back.
French Martini
A French Martini is 45ml of vodka, 15ml of raspberry liqueur and 15ml of fresh pineapple juice, shaken very hard with ice for 12 to 15 seconds and double strained into a chilled coupe, where the pineapple settles into a pale foam. No garnish. About 2.0 UK units. The measures are the IBA’s. The longer shake is deliberate. Most shaken drinks want 10 to 12 seconds; this one wants a little more, because fresh pineapple juice foams when it is shaken hard and the foam is the finish. Carton juice gives far less. There is no citrus. Pineapple brings its own acidity, and the raspberry liqueur, usually Chambord, does all the sweetening. Difford’s Guide says it emerged in New York in the late 1980s and reached the menu of Keith McNally’s Pravda in 1996, and it is a Martini in name and glass only.
Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 18 October 2026