The Martini

[FedoraGent]

The art of the martini is not the drink itself, its the glass and the drinkers interaction with it.

Your posture changes, juxtaposing this wide shallow bowl on top of a tall slender stem. Its like a flower. And how so many glasses were tailored for the drink they hold, the martini is no suave cool acceptation.

LD

Lady Day, now that's the San Franciscan in you talking. Sounds like something that I would say. You know we San Franciscans are very serious about our cocktails. . . the Martini being chief. I myself prefer variations and the good ol' Vitamin V.

Jon

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

I missed this thread up to now - combine European time zone with one olive too many last night….

So, some late remarks:

I gather Martinis are popular because of the image much more than the actual taste. In fact, I've met not so few people who don't like the taste, including my dear wife, and though I personally like it very much, it is in fact peculiar. I have long abandoned the snobbery not to do things just because it's in fashion right now, so I still enjoy a good Martini. I like other cocktails as well, though maybe not necessarily a daiquiri. Depending on my mood and the availability of kosher ingredients, I'll have a Mojito, Pisco Sour, Caipirinha, Bloody Mary or something I try. Or a longdrink like a G&T or a Cuba Libre. Or just a straight bourbon, scotch, kirsch or rum, if it's a good one. Or an absinthe ?† la suisse.

I don't like Martinis with a dash of bitter, though I like a slightly "dirty" Martini, that is one with a dash of olive brine.

I don't understand the concept of vodka or vodka cocktails. Yes, I know the difference between good and bad vodkas, Polish, Russian and Swedish vodkas and so forth, but still: Ethanol is ethanol, smooth or not. Similar with tequila, by the way.

I like gin quite a lot - rather disappointed by Hendrick's right now, though -, straight and in cocktails, but I concur with Absinthe_1900: A Martini is not a a cold glass of shaken Gin. (Or stirred.)

So, while it gives me pleasure to know that my favourite ratio is the traditional one, I don't care that it used to have a dash of bitter in it. In 1937, I'd have ordered my Martini without the bitter, too.

 

[matei]

Wow - some interesting opinions there!

Up until recently I was a man of simple tastes (in regards to drinks). Vodka - straight, absinthe, a fave whiskey or two and that was about it. I found the martini most enjoyable.

Only recently have I embarked upon journey into the world of the cocktail. Part is curiosity, part is because of my wife's insistance that I am the "drink master" of the house. Keeping the glasses filled is one thing, but being able to offer them a variety of interesting drinks is another!

Well... I had to learn sometime. Next on the list is... lets see... how to carve a roast.

 

[Lady Day]

Lady Day, now that's the San Franciscan in you talking. Sounds like something that I would say. You know we San Franciscans are very serious about our cocktails. . . the Martini being chief. I myself prefer variations and the good ol' Vitamin V.

Jon

Hey now, thats whith any booze, be it scotch, bourbon, wine, champagne . . . they all have their own glass, and they all set their own mood.
So ha!

LD

 

[dnjan]

A martini is probably the first mixed drink I ever had. When I was an undergrad, there was an older couple across the street who would invite us over to watch MASH (yes, back when it was on for the first time).
Anyway, the husband would come home from work, have a martini or two, and then sober-up after dinner drinking beer. When we came over, he would offer us a beer as well (as a college undergrad, you never turn down free beer, especially if you are underage).

Anyway, that summer a housemate and I stayed down at school and ended up doing yardwork for the couple. One day he offered to take us to his "club" for dinner. Of course, we started out with drinks at his house. Martinis.
About the time we were ready to get into the car to go to the club my housemate pulled me aside and told me that "he couldn't feel his lips".

Anyway, I was hooked. This guy's martinis were between 3 and 4 to 1 (3-4 parts gin to one of dry vermouth), but his secret was that he made them up the day before and stored them in his freezing compartment. So no ice.
You could actually see the viscosity when he poured them out into a martini glass. Colder than ice, and an interesting sensation as the drink warmed up in your mouth.

I have long since quit drinking hard liquor (just beer and wine now), but those first martinis still have fond memories.

 

[Story]

Martini: the adulterer's cocktail of choice

How to make a perfect 1950s dry Martini, as enjoyed by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in 'Revolutionary Road'.

How do you make a perfect dry Martini? Go easy on the Martini, to start with. Some say that you should merely rinse the glass in cold vermouth before filling it with gin so frigid it is a syrup. Others maintain that all you need do is show the bottle of vermouth to the drink.

The film director Luis Buñuel gave clear instructions in his autobiography: start 24 hours before the arrival of guests by putting the glasses, the gin and the shaker in the refrigerator. For a very dry Martini, he said, “connoisseurs suggest simply allowing a ray of sunlight to shine through a bottle of Noilly Prat before it hits the bottle of gin”.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article5669759.ece

See also http://thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=21536

 

[scotrace]

Rubbish. The drink containing gin and nothing else is called "Gin, Up."

A Martini contains gin and vermouth.

All this other stuff is literary ambiance.

 

[Mr. Paladin]

Rubbish. The drink containing gin and nothing else is called "Gin, Up."

A Martini contains gin and vermouth.

All this other stuff is literary ambiance.

HERE! HERE! The perfume of the vermouth softens the bite of the gin.

 

[skyvue]

The original martini was at least half-and-half and if my memory serves, it was two parts vermouth to one part gin.

It's gotten drier and drier ever since, but I agree -- the notion that only a hint of vermouth should be included is silly (allowing for individual tastes, of course -- folks can drink their gin any way they wish, as far as I'm concerned).

Back in the 1980s, I was tending bar at a spot on the east side of Manhattan. We had a crew from an insurance company that had their offices nearby who stopped in daily, due to the establishment's policy of pricing well drinks at $1.50 between 4pm and 7pm.

Most of those regulars were okay, but a few got caught in the pomposity of insisting they were super-connoisseurs when it came to martinis. One clown ordered his extra-extra-extra-extra-extra-extra dry (I'm not exaggerating), and then he took pleasure in insisting they STILL were not dry enough.

Finally, I'd had it, and the next time he came in, I made my way to the far end of the bar to make his drink. I picked up the vermouth bottle, just in case he was watching, but never touched it while making his drink. There wasn't a drop of vermouth in the drink -- it was pure, chilled gin.

A half hour later, he was ordering another, and I asked, "How was that last one, Tom? Dry enough for you?" Unable to resist the chance to show off for his colleagues by pretending to have a ultra-refined palate, he said, "Well, you know, it wasn't bad, but I like my martinis even a bit drier, I have to say."

"Huh," I said, scratching my head. "That's funny, because, knowing you like your martinis super-dry, I didn't put a single drop of vermouth in this one. It was straight gin."

"Really?" he replied with an embarrassed gulp. "That's funny. I tell you what, why don't you use a little vermouth this time?"

"Sure thing, Tom," I said, as his coworkers stifled giggles.

He never tried that extra-extra-extra-extra routine on me again.

 

[Lone_Ranger]

Rubbish. The drink containing gin and nothing else is called "Gin, Up."

A Martini contains gin and vermouth.

All this other stuff is literary ambiance.

Sigh! There are those that disagree.

Churchill's Martini Recipe

6 parts gin
Bottle of dry vermouth
Cocktail olive

Shake gin in a cocktail shaker with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and look at the bottle of vermouth. Garnish with olive.

Lets agree, to disagree, and maybe do it over a martini, or two?

 

[MissHuff]

I have to agree with Scotrace on this one. Everyone can have their drink however they prefer but to leave out the vermouth would just be pouring chilled gin into a glass.. [huh]

 

[Guinness]

When I make my Martini, I like to pour the vermouth into the glass, twirl the glass around coating the sides, then pour out the vermouth and pour in the chilled gin. I call it dessert dry. Think I'll make one now. Bye.

 

[Guinness]

It's after 5:00 somewhere, isn't it?

 

[Brad Bowers]

3.75:1 gin/vermouth ratio is my choice, 4:1 if I'm lazy. Any less vermouth won't do.

But then again, I consider a Martini to be made only with gin and vermouth. If it's got vodka in it, it's not a Martini.

Brad

 

[Absinthe_1900]

the original meaning of a "Dry Martini" was to use dry Vermouth, not remove the Vermouth from the recipe.

 

[dnjan]

I was taught by an older neighbor (while in college) to mix your martinis the day before, and to store them in the freezing compartment. He would mix at about 4:1, but never diluted them with ice.

 

[Story]

\

Most of those regulars were okay, but a few got caught in the pomposity of insisting they were super-connoisseurs when it came to martinis. One clown* ordered his extra-extra-extra-extra-extra-extra dry (I'm not exaggerating), and then he took pleasure in insisting they STILL were not dry enough.
He never tried that extra-extra-extra-extra routine on me again.

* Sounds like he was an escaped Massengill product.

 

[N2S3]

Martini Dry

3:1 is a good mixture, both very cold, no ice. Glass & shaker 30 Minutes cooled before using them.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

The Quest for Dryness

Good evening, I've just joined as this is my first post.

Ah the Martini cocktail - a subject close to my own heart.
I'm familiar with some of the amusing practices that went on during the 50's and 60's to ensure a really dry Martini. Some inventive souls even got to engineering some contraptions to help them do the job.
For example:

The Martini Spike - essentially a silver syringe, available in Stirling Silver if one so wished.

The Martini dropper - a large pipette that sat in the top of the vermouth bottle.

The Martini Scales - a set of balance with two small beakers at either end - you could adjust the pivot-point for different drynesses and when the scales balance there was your drink.

I even have a couple of Martini testers, which are designed to tell you the dryness of your Martini once it's made.

Well I could speak about this subjects for hours, but that's probably enough for now.

 

[Anachronism]

The Vesper Martini (aka the James Bond drink)
3 measures of gin
1 measure of vodka
1/2 a measure of dry vermouth (they don't make kina lillet anymore, which is what he drinks in the book)