How to make an excellent Martini
Discussion
It does seem as if everyone has a recipe and many people claim deep expertise.
I do not.
My standard way to do it is with gin, not vodka. I put the gin in the freezer, in my case Tanqueray 10 which has fresh botanicals. I keep the Vermouth ( Noilly Prat) in the fridge and cool the glasses. I use about 90/10. Have experimented with a dash of bitters and finally use a twist of reach lemon rind ,twisted very close to the liquid in the glass so the lemon oil floats on top. No ice.
Seemed good enough to me, but then this article in the Washington Post got me to think that there may be much better ways to do it. Any thoughts?..
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp...
I do not own an Aston Martin nor do I have an amphibious Lotus unforunately - maybe some powerfully built Omega-wearing spies have a better answers than mine.
I do not.
My standard way to do it is with gin, not vodka. I put the gin in the freezer, in my case Tanqueray 10 which has fresh botanicals. I keep the Vermouth ( Noilly Prat) in the fridge and cool the glasses. I use about 90/10. Have experimented with a dash of bitters and finally use a twist of reach lemon rind ,twisted very close to the liquid in the glass so the lemon oil floats on top. No ice.
Seemed good enough to me, but then this article in the Washington Post got me to think that there may be much better ways to do it. Any thoughts?..
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp...
I do not own an Aston Martin nor do I have an amphibious Lotus unforunately - maybe some powerfully built Omega-wearing spies have a better answers than mine.
I actually don't mind a warm martini - not very popular - but mostly your description has me hankering after a decent martini now.
A frustration of mine is places which apparently pride them selves on their martinis having a bunch of vodka cocktails served in martini glasses and no actual martini in sight. Lychee martini? Really?
A frustration of mine is places which apparently pride them selves on their martinis having a bunch of vodka cocktails served in martini glasses and no actual martini in sight. Lychee martini? Really?
The name Martini does seems to cover all sorts of drinks. Part of it is the revival of cocktails that went out after Frank Sinatra it so.
There are many years where there was no interest. Now we have the alcohol equivalent to Starbucks coffee. I recall when it w as just coffee and not a skinny latte with a double shot and some foam or cream.
Nothing wrong with the trend to greater variety at all. Still, when it comes to a Martini I am a bit of a traditionalist.
There are many years where there was no interest. Now we have the alcohol equivalent to Starbucks coffee. I recall when it w as just coffee and not a skinny latte with a double shot and some foam or cream.
Nothing wrong with the trend to greater variety at all. Still, when it comes to a Martini I am a bit of a traditionalist.
RDMcG said:
It does seem as if everyone has a recipe and many people claim deep expertise.
I do not.
My standard way to do it is with gin, not vodka. I put the gin in the freezer, in my case Tanqueray 10 which has fresh botanicals. I keep the Vermouth ( Noilly Prat) in the fridge and cool the glasses. I use about 90/10. Have experimented with a dash of bitters and finally use a twist of reach lemon rind ,twisted very close to the liquid in the glass so the lemon oil floats on top. No ice.
Seemed good enough to me, but then this article in the Washington Post got me to think that there may be much better ways to do it. Any thoughts?..
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp...
I do not own an Aston Martin nor do I have an amphibious Lotus unforunately - maybe some powerfully built Omega-wearing spies have a better answers than mine.
Your method is basically what I do. The problem is that they go down too well!!I do not.
My standard way to do it is with gin, not vodka. I put the gin in the freezer, in my case Tanqueray 10 which has fresh botanicals. I keep the Vermouth ( Noilly Prat) in the fridge and cool the glasses. I use about 90/10. Have experimented with a dash of bitters and finally use a twist of reach lemon rind ,twisted very close to the liquid in the glass so the lemon oil floats on top. No ice.
Seemed good enough to me, but then this article in the Washington Post got me to think that there may be much better ways to do it. Any thoughts?..
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp...
I do not own an Aston Martin nor do I have an amphibious Lotus unforunately - maybe some powerfully built Omega-wearing spies have a better answers than mine.
RDMcG said:
The name Martini does seems to cover all sorts of drinks. Part of it is the revival of cocktails that went out after Frank Sinatra it so.
There are many years where there was no interest. Now we have the alcohol equivalent to Starbucks coffee. I recall when it w as just coffee and not a skinny latte with a double shot and some foam or cream.
Nothing wrong with the trend to greater variety at all. Still, when it comes to a Martini I am a bit of a traditionalist.
Nothing wrong at all with a trend to greater variety, I agree, I suppose it is not dissimilar to 'hoover' or 'velcro' or what ever where a brand becomes a generic term, so martini has become a generic term for a cocktail. This isn't the same as coffee where the variations all have their own designations.There are many years where there was no interest. Now we have the alcohol equivalent to Starbucks coffee. I recall when it w as just coffee and not a skinny latte with a double shot and some foam or cream.
Nothing wrong with the trend to greater variety at all. Still, when it comes to a Martini I am a bit of a traditionalist.
I think I generally prefer a twist to an olive, but not always. I also think I am probably a little more generous with the vermouth than you, but not much. The article suggests 50:50 is popular but I haven't knowingly made a martini with that ratio, seems like a lot of vermouth.
gregs656 said:
. The article suggests 50:50 is popular but I haven't knowingly made a martini with that ratio, seems like a lot of vermouth.
Absolutely...I do not do the method of simply swirling the Vermouth in the glass and pouring it away which I have seen, but half Vermouth seems very extreme. No comment really, just drink it how you like it. I personally love 'em extra cold and extra dirty.
I just wanted to add, if anyone likes a particularly dirty Martini, experiment with dirty Gin and Tonic's too. It works nicely. Just make a G&T to your liking, but garnish with lots of olives and brine instead of the usual lemon/lime/cucumber etc. Fever Tree light tonic works well for this because it's not too sweet.
Chin chin!
I just wanted to add, if anyone likes a particularly dirty Martini, experiment with dirty Gin and Tonic's too. It works nicely. Just make a G&T to your liking, but garnish with lots of olives and brine instead of the usual lemon/lime/cucumber etc. Fever Tree light tonic works well for this because it's not too sweet.
Chin chin!
I think that - back when I was more into (vodka) martinis - I liked 3 doubles to half a measure of vermouth. Grey Goose and Noilly Prat by preference. Shaken with lots of ice and two olives.
The nice thing about that approach is it's self-regulating - by the time you've finished the first you can't see well enough to make a second.
I've had lychee martinis and they were marvellous things; I can see the argument that they're not really a martini, but I think it's a reasonable way to describe what they're like. Viciously boozy but soft and fragrant with it.
I think one might reasonably insist that a martini can only be made with gin, after all - if you use vodka it's a kangaroo, not a martini. But at that point it all seems a bit grumpy.
The nice thing about that approach is it's self-regulating - by the time you've finished the first you can't see well enough to make a second.
I've had lychee martinis and they were marvellous things; I can see the argument that they're not really a martini, but I think it's a reasonable way to describe what they're like. Viciously boozy but soft and fragrant with it.
I think one might reasonably insist that a martini can only be made with gin, after all - if you use vodka it's a kangaroo, not a martini. But at that point it all seems a bit grumpy.
TartanPaint said:
No comment really, just drink it how you like it. I personally love 'em extra cold and extra dirty.
I just wanted to add, if anyone likes a particularly dirty Martini, experiment with dirty Gin and Tonic's too. It works nicely. Just make a G&T to your liking, but garnish with lots of olives and brine instead of the usual lemon/lime/cucumber etc. Fever Tree light tonic works well for this because it's not too sweet.
Chin chin!
I love Fever Tree.I just wanted to add, if anyone likes a particularly dirty Martini, experiment with dirty Gin and Tonic's too. It works nicely. Just make a G&T to your liking, but garnish with lots of olives and brine instead of the usual lemon/lime/cucumber etc. Fever Tree light tonic works well for this because it's not too sweet.
Chin chin!
gregs656 said:
A frustration of mine is places which apparently pride them selves on their martinis having a bunch of vodka cocktails served in martini glasses and no actual martini in sight. Lychee martini? Really?
Whatever you do, do not ever EVER darken the doors of Dirty Martini 
Their USP seems to be selling pre-mixed*, lurid-coloured sweetened anything as long as it's in a martini glass* despite the theatrical synchronised shaking ritual
RDMcG said:
It does seem as if everyone has a recipe and many people claim deep expertise.
I do not.
My standard way to do it is with gin, not vodka. I put the gin in the freezer, in my case Tanqueray 10 which has fresh botanicals. I keep the Vermouth ( Noilly Prat) in the fridge and cool the glasses. I use about 90/10. Have experimented with a dash of bitters and finally use a twist of reach lemon rind ,twisted very close to the liquid in the glass so the lemon oil floats on top. No ice.
Seemed good enough to me, but then this article in the Washington Post got me to think that there may be much better ways to do it. Any thoughts?..
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp...
I do not own an Aston Martin nor do I have an amphibious Lotus unforunately - maybe some powerfully built Omega-wearing spies have a better answers than mine.
With you on most of that.I do not.
My standard way to do it is with gin, not vodka. I put the gin in the freezer, in my case Tanqueray 10 which has fresh botanicals. I keep the Vermouth ( Noilly Prat) in the fridge and cool the glasses. I use about 90/10. Have experimented with a dash of bitters and finally use a twist of reach lemon rind ,twisted very close to the liquid in the glass so the lemon oil floats on top. No ice.
Seemed good enough to me, but then this article in the Washington Post got me to think that there may be much better ways to do it. Any thoughts?..
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp...
I do not own an Aston Martin nor do I have an amphibious Lotus unforunately - maybe some powerfully built Omega-wearing spies have a better answers than mine.
Definitely cool the glasses in the freezer. Always lemon twist, love olives to eat but in a drink they are too strong. I like to peel a strip, wrap round the tool so it gets a nice curl, then drop it in. I then use the tool very close to get a spritz of lemon oil on top.
Not with you on the no ice. Ice cubs though, not crushed ice.
I have heard people say you shouldn't keep the gin in the freezer as it can "bruise" it. Sounds like b
ks to me and the sort of thing someone who calls themselves a "mixologist" would say to sound like they knwo what they are talking about,.I use a lot less Noilly prat in mine, a mere spirtz over the top. Drier than Ghandis flip flop. I do like a gin / vodka mix. 3 parts gin 1 part vodka, over enthusiastic measures and a couple of those and you'll be pretty w
kered. One of my Christmas traditions is to make a few Martinis and watch On Her Majesties Secret Service, loser that I am.Not a fan of gin or vermouth. However...
Rinse the glass with Lillet Blanc. Rub a piece of lemon rind on the rim. Three parts vodka, half a part gin. Shake with ice. Drain into the glass. Add a curl of lemon and (according to taste) a green olive or two.
Flavoured martinis are abominations. That said, three parts vodka, two parts white creme de cacao and one part white creme de menthe, shaken with ice, served in a martini glass with a sprig of fresh mint and some shavings of the darkest dark chocolate you can find does go down quite rapidly.
The best home made martini is the one that you like the best.
Rinse the glass with Lillet Blanc. Rub a piece of lemon rind on the rim. Three parts vodka, half a part gin. Shake with ice. Drain into the glass. Add a curl of lemon and (according to taste) a green olive or two.
Flavoured martinis are abominations. That said, three parts vodka, two parts white creme de cacao and one part white creme de menthe, shaken with ice, served in a martini glass with a sprig of fresh mint and some shavings of the darkest dark chocolate you can find does go down quite rapidly.
The best home made martini is the one that you like the best.
The greatest gin bar, and one of the greatest bars I have visited is the Atlas in Singapore.
I decided to have a G&T and asked about their gin selection.
"we have about 1300 gins" said the waiter.
Sure they did. I decided to test it.
"How about Canadian gin?"
Furrow of brow, signs of regret.
" Well (apologetic look) we only have 35 Canadian gins"
So, I got the gin list which was like the Domesday book. They indeed had 35 Canadian gins and I had one on principle.....
I decided to have a G&T and asked about their gin selection.
"we have about 1300 gins" said the waiter.
Sure they did. I decided to test it.
"How about Canadian gin?"
Furrow of brow, signs of regret.
" Well (apologetic look) we only have 35 Canadian gins"
So, I got the gin list which was like the Domesday book. They indeed had 35 Canadian gins and I had one on principle.....
I try to copy what I see the bartender doing when I order them. I never remember exactly as I can never have just one!
Seems to involve lots of ice in a large glass. Wet ice with a little Vermouth and pour out excess Vermouth as I order them dry.
Pour in Gin and stir until ice cold. I assume a little water melts into it.
Pour in a Martini glass that's been cooled with ice in it during the stirring process. Garnish with a decent olive.
I dislike Vodka Martinis and citrus garnished ones.
Generally stick to local Gins now as there's plenty in Manchester.
Seems to involve lots of ice in a large glass. Wet ice with a little Vermouth and pour out excess Vermouth as I order them dry.
Pour in Gin and stir until ice cold. I assume a little water melts into it.
Pour in a Martini glass that's been cooled with ice in it during the stirring process. Garnish with a decent olive.
I dislike Vodka Martinis and citrus garnished ones.
Generally stick to local Gins now as there's plenty in Manchester.
Edited by Rollin on Thursday 12th September 17:53
I prefer a Vesper Martini (gin and vodka).
I avoid any kind of floral gin which is like drinking perfume.
A dry London style is best - Plymouth, Oxleys, Millers or No 10 are preferable. Vodka: Konik’s Tail. All must come from the freezer.
Only NP vermouth. I pour a generous amount into the shaker with ice in, shake to liberally coat all, then chuck it and add the spirits.
I have a dedicated potato peeler that I only use to produce my lemon twists. Lemons MUST be unwaxed.
Serve into the best glassware you can afford, straight from the freezer. I then consume with a small side of salted almonds.
I avoid any kind of floral gin which is like drinking perfume.
A dry London style is best - Plymouth, Oxleys, Millers or No 10 are preferable. Vodka: Konik’s Tail. All must come from the freezer.
Only NP vermouth. I pour a generous amount into the shaker with ice in, shake to liberally coat all, then chuck it and add the spirits.
I have a dedicated potato peeler that I only use to produce my lemon twists. Lemons MUST be unwaxed.
Serve into the best glassware you can afford, straight from the freezer. I then consume with a small side of salted almonds.
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