Canada is one of Britain’s closest allies. It was only a matter of time before I wrote about the country. Have you ever heard of Five Eyes? It’s an intelligence term. I will let someone else give you the details, or you can read about it here. It’s basically an intelligence-sharing arrangement between five key countries – the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada.

To be brief, I am extremely pro-Canadian and I regularly attend celebratory events on the 1st of July.

I’m also a fan of maple syrup. So here is an appropriate martini recipe:

Put 1 teaspoon of maple syrup in a martini glass (or two if you’d like it sweeter).

Pour in a small measure of vermouth (or none at all if you want this dry) and mix well.

Top up with gin or vodka and stir until the drink is a consistent golden/amber colour.

Serve cold.

This is a lovely winter drink. I would recommend a more neutral gin so as not to clash with the maple syrup flavour, or even better, a vodka.