I read the article about the perfect VODKA Martini, but our dear friends at MDM may have unknowingly opened a can of worms with us gin Martini purists. Not that a vodka Martini is bad by any means, but I stick with the probably arrogant view that gin is the proper ingredient for a Martini.
Now, it's probably not news to anyone that a Martini, for the ones who drink them, can be an intensely personal experience, and most of us have our own definitions of what a peroper Martini should contain. Mind you, this does not apply to specialized Martini variations such as a Saketini or a Cajun Martini, but to the classic clear potable we know and devour.
I want to know what all of my drunken brothers and sisters call a "proper" martini. Here's my ingredient list:
4 ounces Bombay Sapphire Gin
a small dash of dry vermouth (just enough to notice in the drink)
3 olives
a decent splash of the olive brine, to add a salty tang
Personally, I'm also a chilehead, so olives stuffed with hot peppers is a delight, but the brine needs to be from ordinary olives. I have a kick-@$$ list of 100 different Martini variants I'd share with you if only I had the time to put it in electronic form. The OCR on my scanner stinks.
The "perfect" Martini?
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- fdoosey
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The "perfect" Martini?
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methfront: the man who wanted to steal a shopping cart of bowling balls and drop them from the back of a car down route 36 doesn't want to sow bitterness
fdoosey: No, he just wanted to have fun with a shopping cart of bowling balls.
methfront: the man who wanted to steal a shopping cart of bowling balls and drop them from the back of a car down route 36 doesn't want to sow bitterness
fdoosey: No, he just wanted to have fun with a shopping cart of bowling balls.
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I'm definately a gin martini fan too. I like mine with Bombay Saphire also but I like mine with more vermouth.If I just wanted a glass of gin I'd order that. I hate olives though. I take mine with a lemon peel.
Savage: "Unkle Lemmy looks just like his avatar, and that is hawt. Also, he sends me a crate of bourbon every month and for this, when I die, he will inherit my castle in Savagonia, and my 72 virgins. (They are all good boys, and very hard workers.)"
- fdoosey
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I'm definately a gin martini fan too. I like mine with Bombay Saphire also but I like mine with more vermouth.If I just wanted a glass of gin I'd order that. I hate olives though. I take mine with a lemon peel.
I've not tried lemon peel yet, not out of traditionalist snobbery, but simply because I generally don't keep lemons around the house. Clearly, mixing a lemon peel into a dirty Martini might not be advised...so allow me to ask, how does the lemon affect the flavor? I know with espresso, it takes the bitterness out some. But since I don't consider gin to be bitter (anymore), I'm curious how it comes out.
Cheers,
Frank
I've not tried lemon peel yet, not out of traditionalist snobbery, but simply because I generally don't keep lemons around the house. Clearly, mixing a lemon peel into a dirty Martini might not be advised...so allow me to ask, how does the lemon affect the flavor? I know with espresso, it takes the bitterness out some. But since I don't consider gin to be bitter (anymore), I'm curious how it comes out.
Cheers,
Frank
http://www.sammichmen.com
methfront: the man who wanted to steal a shopping cart of bowling balls and drop them from the back of a car down route 36 doesn't want to sow bitterness
fdoosey: No, he just wanted to have fun with a shopping cart of bowling balls.
methfront: the man who wanted to steal a shopping cart of bowling balls and drop them from the back of a car down route 36 doesn't want to sow bitterness
fdoosey: No, he just wanted to have fun with a shopping cart of bowling balls.
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This is the recipe I have always used:
First ensure that the Martini glass is chilled (the best way to do this is to keep them in the freezer. Make sure that the glasses are dry when putting them in the freezer).
Take your chilled Martini glass and pour a small amount vermouth into it. Swirl the glass to coat the inside of it evenly and dump the excess vermouth into your cocktail mixer. Replace the glass in the fridge or freezer if you live in a warm climate.
Add ice and gin, to the leftover vermouth in the cocktail mixer, then stir. When the gin is mixed with the vermouth, strain the liquid into your chilled glass. Twist a piece of lemon zest into the glass and wipe the rim of the glass with the lemon pulp. Add an olive, an onion or a combination of the two.
Repeat as necessary.
All measurements are done by eye.
First ensure that the Martini glass is chilled (the best way to do this is to keep them in the freezer. Make sure that the glasses are dry when putting them in the freezer).
Take your chilled Martini glass and pour a small amount vermouth into it. Swirl the glass to coat the inside of it evenly and dump the excess vermouth into your cocktail mixer. Replace the glass in the fridge or freezer if you live in a warm climate.
Add ice and gin, to the leftover vermouth in the cocktail mixer, then stir. When the gin is mixed with the vermouth, strain the liquid into your chilled glass. Twist a piece of lemon zest into the glass and wipe the rim of the glass with the lemon pulp. Add an olive, an onion or a combination of the two.
Repeat as necessary.
All measurements are done by eye.
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gordons gin. chilled. open bottle of vermouth, put thumb over most of mouth of bottle, briskly shake bottle once. catch flying vermouth in shaker. add ice. add gin. strain into glass with 3 olives, large ones. put glass on table. Look glass straight in the eye. Say "remember when i said i'd drink you last? I lied". Drink it. mmmmmmmm......
"this is... wait. This... its.. jesus... hold on... shit... ok, this is neither the time, nor the... the place for... uh... do you have a cigarette?"
- fdoosey
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Look glass straight in the eye. Say "remember when i said i'd drink you last? I lied".
Ah, would that be the "Commando Martini"???? 8)
Ah, would that be the "Commando Martini"???? 8)
http://www.sammichmen.com
methfront: the man who wanted to steal a shopping cart of bowling balls and drop them from the back of a car down route 36 doesn't want to sow bitterness
fdoosey: No, he just wanted to have fun with a shopping cart of bowling balls.
methfront: the man who wanted to steal a shopping cart of bowling balls and drop them from the back of a car down route 36 doesn't want to sow bitterness
fdoosey: No, he just wanted to have fun with a shopping cart of bowling balls.
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It definately takes some of the bitterness out, especially since I use a more "traditional" amount of vermouth. I also just love lemons. I can add lemon to almost any drink.fdoosey wrote:I'm definately a gin martini fan too. I like mine with Bombay Saphire also but I like mine with more vermouth.If I just wanted a glass of gin I'd order that. I hate olives though. I take mine with a lemon peel.
I've not tried lemon peel yet, not out of traditionalist snobbery, but simply because I generally don't keep lemons around the house. Clearly, mixing a lemon peel into a dirty Martini might not be advised...so allow me to ask, how does the lemon affect the flavor? I know with espresso, it takes the bitterness out some. But since I don't consider gin to be bitter (anymore), I'm curious how it comes out.
Cheers,
Frank
Savage: "Unkle Lemmy looks just like his avatar, and that is hawt. Also, he sends me a crate of bourbon every month and for this, when I die, he will inherit my castle in Savagonia, and my 72 virgins. (They are all good boys, and very hard workers.)"
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actually, that is what it should be called. Ive grown fond of spouting Schwarzenegger one-liners at my drinks. When you open a cold beer and the "steam" comes out, say "let off some steam, bennet". any time you do a rough shot, say "Crom...". And, while drinking, if anybody ever has the nerve to ask you "dont you ever want to do anything with your life?" or "what are your goals?", look em in the eye and say "To crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and to hear the lamentation of their women"
"this is... wait. This... its.. jesus... hold on... shit... ok, this is neither the time, nor the... the place for... uh... do you have a cigarette?"
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If I ever have to leave an unfinsihed drink for any reason (like going to the bathroom), I always look at it sternly and say, "I'll be back"
Savage: "Unkle Lemmy looks just like his avatar, and that is hawt. Also, he sends me a crate of bourbon every month and for this, when I die, he will inherit my castle in Savagonia, and my 72 virgins. (They are all good boys, and very hard workers.)"
The botanicals in gin make it the preferred base for a martini. I like gin that has an intense profile, London style. Beefeaters is good, Portsmouth is better. The folks who make Maytag washing machines and Anchor Steam Beer in San Francisco also market a gin under the name Junipero. Junipero is a great gin.
I mix my martinis with vermouth called “Vya”. Vya is produced in Madera, California. It is very aromatic, with relatively (in comparison the gin) soft floral botanicals.
When I am at home I like olives. I like smaller, tender olives; the type that are never served in restaurants or bars. The olives at restaurants and bars are usually too large, course, tough and have little flavor. Therefore, at restaurants and bars I take my martinis with a twist of lemon. The citrus note that lemon imparts is pleasant.
I don’t shake my martinis. I read once that shaking the martini releases the lighter aromatic molecules present in gin and vermouth. The shaking results in a less aromatic drink. At one time, I stirred my martinis. Now I pulverize my martinis. I use a glass beer pitcher and a heavy glass stirring rod to prepare martinis. I add a big volume of ice relative to the gin and vermouth. I pound the gin, vermouth and ice mixture with the stirring rod until I get the amount of dilution desired. The action of pulverizing the ice creates a beautiful effect in the martini as it is strained into the glass. Pulverizing creates tiny bits of ice that float in the martini for about 30 to 60 seconds; during that period of time, when sight is still the primary sense with which the martini is being experienced, the ice crystals look like jewels as they swirl about.
I never could understand the preoccupation folks have with chilling everything that touches a martini. I never thought much of the idea. As my experience has developed, I’ve come to consider it wrong. A martini is not a shot of gin; rather, it is a cocktail. In my experience a necessary blending of vermouth, gin and water must occur. Water softens and rounds the flavors and aromas in a martini. Contact time on the ice chills the gin and vermouth and allows the gin and vermouth to melt a portion of the ice. If all of the ingredients are at freezing temperatures then melting doesn’t occur and the martini goes missing a necessary component. By my measure, a good martini is 3/5 gin and 2/5 water with vermouth to taste.
I mix my martinis with vermouth called “Vya”. Vya is produced in Madera, California. It is very aromatic, with relatively (in comparison the gin) soft floral botanicals.
When I am at home I like olives. I like smaller, tender olives; the type that are never served in restaurants or bars. The olives at restaurants and bars are usually too large, course, tough and have little flavor. Therefore, at restaurants and bars I take my martinis with a twist of lemon. The citrus note that lemon imparts is pleasant.
I don’t shake my martinis. I read once that shaking the martini releases the lighter aromatic molecules present in gin and vermouth. The shaking results in a less aromatic drink. At one time, I stirred my martinis. Now I pulverize my martinis. I use a glass beer pitcher and a heavy glass stirring rod to prepare martinis. I add a big volume of ice relative to the gin and vermouth. I pound the gin, vermouth and ice mixture with the stirring rod until I get the amount of dilution desired. The action of pulverizing the ice creates a beautiful effect in the martini as it is strained into the glass. Pulverizing creates tiny bits of ice that float in the martini for about 30 to 60 seconds; during that period of time, when sight is still the primary sense with which the martini is being experienced, the ice crystals look like jewels as they swirl about.
I never could understand the preoccupation folks have with chilling everything that touches a martini. I never thought much of the idea. As my experience has developed, I’ve come to consider it wrong. A martini is not a shot of gin; rather, it is a cocktail. In my experience a necessary blending of vermouth, gin and water must occur. Water softens and rounds the flavors and aromas in a martini. Contact time on the ice chills the gin and vermouth and allows the gin and vermouth to melt a portion of the ice. If all of the ingredients are at freezing temperatures then melting doesn’t occur and the martini goes missing a necessary component. By my measure, a good martini is 3/5 gin and 2/5 water with vermouth to taste.