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 (moderately concerned by Quebecois secession attempts but that’s another matter) and I regularly attend celebratory events on the 1st of July.

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

Put 1-2 teaspoons of maple syrup in a martini glass (one for dry, two for sweet).

Pour in a measure of vermouth and mix well.

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

Serve cold. If you’re not in Canada this is a lovely winter drink. If you are in Canada this means it’s a lovely drink all throughout the year except June, July and August. And even then it’s still quite nice.