Berlin Station Chief

Harlot’s Ghost, Norman Mailer, 1991

4 parts gin

1 part Scotch whisky

1 lemon twist, for garnish

Place the gin and Scotch in a mixing glass, fill it two-thirds of the way with ice, and stir until thoroughly combined.

Strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with the lemon twist, and enjoy.

He got up, went to the icebox, took out the makings, and mixed a batch of martinis: He filled his shaker with ice, poured in a quarter inch of Scotch, poured it out, then loaded the pitcher with gin. “The best Chicago hotels make it this way,” he informed me.

Harlot’s Ghost is a massive (well over 1,000 pages!) novel, a sprawling spy epic. It’s an autobiography of its main character, Harry Hubbard, who details his exploits with the CIA in various tense situations around the world in the 1950s and 1960s. In this particular scene, Hubbard is introduced to a new cocktail—a Martini variation that substitutes Scotch for the vermouth. The drink might be Mailer’s own invention, but some bartenders at the time of publication maintained that they’d been serving this mix for a while.

Use a single-malt Scotch, and if you like smoky flavors, go for one from Islay, which will provide a unique pairing with the herbaceous flavors of the gin. You might not be a globe-trotting spy, but you’ll still appreciate the distinctive experience this drink provides.