My Perfect Martini

[BV]

Hey, why not...here's my recipe though please understand that it is a rare night that I have my shit together to make this all happen.

BV's Perfect Martini:

Prep Work:

Gin - Tanqueray: Now granted we I have not tasted a lot of different gins, maybe 6-7, I find this one preferable in particular to Bombay Sapphire. Sapphire is just too smooth, doesn't feel like I am drinking anything. I have tried this with Tanqueray No. 10 as well. That's nice, maybe once in a blue moon. But 99% of the time, Tanqueray is good all the time.

Put it in the freezer. Leave it there, always.

Olives: Up here my preferred brand are McLaren's Manzanillas. They are small, not terribly oily and good flavour.

Rinse them in cold water.

Glass: like gin, in the freezer, always.

Shaker lives in the freezer as well. Though typicall I leave the top part of it out. Explained below.

Fresh Ice. Up here in Manitoba we are blessed with very good tapwater and if there is a difference between that and the store-bought purified ice, I can't taste it.

SO you got all that prep work done. So when you get home from a hard day of enduring the slings and arrows of fortune, you can slip on your night robe and know that this first martini will sooth every care away.

Grab your shaker, 4 ice cubes go in.

When it comes to vermouth, nothing special, Martini & Rossi Extra Dry. But I only put about a 1/16 of a teaspoon in. That is, pour a little bit in the cap, dish in about the equivalent of 3-4 drops.

Gin portion doesn't really matter. Mine are about 3-4 oz.

Shake it up! I have heard people mutter some pretentious BS about "bruising" the martini if you over shake it. This is so indescribably stupid. I shake it until my index finger bracing the cap starts to burn. Keeping the lid at room temperature helps, since the shake drops its temperature down to tell you how long to keep shaking.

Pour.

It ought to look very cloudy and a nice skate should be surfing over the proceedings.

Take one olive, drop it in or use a skewer.

There you have a nice martini. I love the pristine taste, very cold. Often I can freeze the olive in the glass so that it clinks if you tap it on your drinking vessel.

[Bluespook]

The driest martini.


Pour a glass of gin while staring at a picture of Antonio Carpano, the inventor of vermouth.

[BV]

Though I fear it might be trite to say it, I have heard that whispering vermouth into the shaker is also acceptible.

In any case, if vermouth is entirely absent I cannot in good conscience consider it a martini. Its just gin on ice, which I am conversely not ashamed to admit I drink regularly as I am extremely lazy.

[RunesS]

I will try that one!

It's nice with some advice from a martini lover... Always been hooked on whisky, so it's nice to have some advice about other beverages... :-)

[Two Martini Breakfast]

Though I fear it might be trite to say it, I have heard that whispering vermouth into the shaker is also acceptible.

In any case, if vermouth is entirely absent I cannot in good conscience consider it a martini. Its just gin on ice, which I am conversely not ashamed to admit I drink regularly as I am extremely lazy.

This is something people don't seem to get. That vermouth is an integral part of a martini, even a vodka martini.

My standard is to put about 8 cubes in aforementioned chilled shaker, put about an ounce of vermouth in there, shake, and drain. The vermouth remaining on the ice cubes and side of the shaker is more than enough.

[Bluto]

Shake it up! I have heard people mutter some pretentious BS about "bruising" the martini if you over shake it. This is so indescribably stupid.

Agreed. Gin can not be bruised. Shaking does have some potential downsides, though, in that it waters the drink down and does make it cloudy. A martini really should be clear, but if you can live with that then shake away. You can't bruise booze.

[ivan]

See, I disagree here. I like a 4-1, possibly 3-1 gin/vermouth ratio. Depends on the gin, and botanicals therein. A "vodka martini" may call for a larger ratio, because there's no taste to compete with the vermouth.

[cloud8]

Seems like a rather elaborate procedure.

I showed up at my friend's house one day and he had out a bottle of Gin and a shot glass. What the hell are you doing? I asked.

Making Martinis, he said. He poured out a shot of Gin out of the quart bottle and tossed it back. Then he filled the shot glass with Vermouth and poured that into the bottle of Gin. He gave the bottle a gentle shake and put it into the freezer.

Voila! Ice-cold, undiluted Martinis ready for when he got home from work. He also had the custom of putting 3 cocktail onions in the first glass he poured (making the drink technically a Gibson), and eating one with each refill. That way, he explained, I know how many I've had.

[Two Martini Breakfast]

You, sir, have blown my mind.

[Fred O'Lisby]

See, I disagree here. I like a 4-1, possibly 3-1 gin/vermouth ratio. Depends on the gin, and botanicals therein. A "vodka martini" may call for a larger ratio, because there's no taste to compete with the vermouth.

I also go about 4-1 or maybe 5-1. There's nothing wrong with Vermouth, as it carries considerable flavor and plenty of alcohol.

I think a martini should be an easier drink than gin neat, or gin on the rocks (perhaps my most frequent drink). To me, an essential part of making a martini is the dilution provided by the ice, which is why I don't keep anything but the ice in the freezer. This also results in a less cold martini, which makes it easier to taste the vermouth and olive.

I like to shake the martini because it is faster, but I shake lightly to keep the drink relatively clear. That doesn't really effect the presentation.

[Cowboy Joe]

I go back and forth between stirred and shaken. I kind of like the texture of the shaken martini, but at times the stirred appeals to me. I'm a 4 to 1 man, and I generally use two olives.

[IndyGuy77]

Hmmmm... methinks I must do my next martinis with olives and do a side-by-side shaken vs. stirred comparison.

[Two Martini Breakfast]

Hmmmm... methinks I must do my next martinis with olives and do a side-by-side shaken vs. stirred comparison.

Prepare to be completely underwhelmed. I equate it to when stereo-equipment music snobs insist on listening to only vinyl.

[IndyGuy77]

Well I bought some olives. Just made my first real Martini. About a 2.5 Gin to 1 Dry Vermouth. I was too lazy to do the shaken/stirred comparison though. Especially since lately the Beefeater's been parked in the freezer along with my Stoli.

The olives are "The Silver Palate" brand, soaked in a brine solution with dry vermouth and lemon peel. I can't say I taste the flavours from the brine.