Cocktail of the week: Legare’s mini bay leaf martini – recipe | Cocktails

We came up with this when we were looking to create some fun, bespoke but easy-to-serve cocktails that we could pre-batch for busy services but that still had an edge. Vodka is an especially good base for infusions because it’s so neutral, while martinis are having a real moment right now, so this ended up ticking all our boxes, being something that’s recognisable but fun, and also noticeably our own.

Bay leaf martini

For the infusion
20g fresh bay leaves
750ml vodka

For the batch serve (to serve 12-13)
400ml bay-infused vodka
100ml dry white vermouth – we use Martini Bianco
150ml chilled filtered water
Unpitted green olives, to garnish

First make the infusion by steeping the bay leaves in the vodka for 10-plus days. Fine-strain, ideally through muslin, into a clean bottle, seal and store in the fridge for up to a month (or almost indefinitely in the freezer).

To make the batch serve, pour the bay-infused vodka into a clean large jug, then add the dry vermouth and filtered water.

To serve, pour 50ml of the mix into chilled mini-martini glasses and garnish each one with an olive.

• Alex Mammone, general manager, and Matt Beardmore, executive chef, Legare and Luna, London SE1