Let’s make some Martinis!
 

This lock-down has inspired me to learn to make a great martini.

First I need some classic martini glasses. I just looked for my old vintage ones and apparently they didn’t make the move to wine-country. The ones I used to find are huge. Now shopping online is problematic. I can’t get a size reference. My old ones were smaller. Delicate almost. Any recommendations?

Maybe I’ll just punt at crate and barrel website.

Gin. I like tanqueray and Hendricks.

What about a dry vermouth? Are they all similar?

I’ll get a bar spoon when I order the glasses. What else? Mixing glass and that bar strainer thing?

Let’s do this

My favorite is the Vesper (James Bond Casino Royal) - 3 parts Gin, 2 parts vodka, 1 part Lillet blanc. Chill the glass in the freezer first. My preferred gin is Gin Mare from Europe. Also, try a Gibson as it’s a thing of beauty. You’ll need cocktail onions.

Delicate glasses are great. Large thin spindly fragile glasses are my favorite, but thick heavy glasses of any kind suck. Part of the martini experience is the glass. Small is fine. Heavy - yuck.
You need a shaker, you can’t stir a decent martini. Tangueray is my choice, but that is a matter of taste (Beefeaters sucks IMHO).
Fill the glass with ice and water and let it chill. Put 2 oz of gin in the shaker with lots of ice. Shake the hell out of it. Pour the ice water out of the glass. Put some vermouth in the glass, swirl it around to coat the glass, dump it out. Stab a couple of pimento stuffed olives with a toothpick and drop them in the glass. Pour in the ice cold gin, hopefully there will be some slivers of ice with it.
It’s what I call perfection.

Any very dry white wine works, you don’t need any specific vermouth. My favorite bar tender waves the vermouth bottle around the glass three times for a dry martini - never pulls the cork out. So the vermouth component is not very important to optional IMHO.

Purists will complain. The Stray Dog is a classic at my house. You are all welcome.

Ingredients

Splash of Pernod, ouzo or other licorice-flavored spirit
1 ½ ounces vodka
1 tablespoon Cointreau
1 ½ teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 ounce pomegranate juice (fresh or Pom Wonderful brand)



Preparation

Splash some Pernod in a chilled cocktail glass, swirl it around well, then dump it out. Add ice to a cocktail shaker and pour all remaining ingredients into it. Shake and strain into glass.

I never did master the Martini. I found that I like Vodka Martinis more than gin. But I like gin drinks, so no Martinis for me. The only thing I can offer is that you MUST include at least one pimento olive, but it's much much better if you do one little onion, olive, onion, and olive. The best part of the drink is eating those olives and onions.

LWK, if you ever want to go drinking sometime - count me in!

I was just about to say vodka martini, but your one is waaaay better than mine.

The best gin is...... New Amsterdam for the price
if you can find.... St Georges #1
..... Uncle Vals #1 Too
Italian brand ...... Malfly awesome
we drink it neat.... the only way.........

Been drinking this combination for years, don't have a good name for it yet. At home we just call it 'Bob'. Every time I have a bartender to make one for me, I ask them to suggest a name. Winner so far comes from a bartender in the lobby bar of the Omaha Hilton who also raises horses -- he called it "Dale Threw a Shoe".

1/2 Bombay Sapphire
1/2 Belvedere vodka

Shaken over ice, served neat in a chilled glass. Garnish to taste, but I prefer either garlic-stuffed queen olives or homemade cocktail onions (thanks to Micah at the Red Star Tavern in Portland, OR).

My mom said growing up in the WW2 years and watching movies of the high society they were often looking elegant and sophisticated with a martini in hand. So she figured that must be a great drink. At the first officers party they were invited to, dad was a Lt. with fresh pilot wings. Dad was in his dress uniform, and mon had some new dress with the gloves and hat in the early 1950s era.

Someone asked he if she wanted a drink, so of course a Martini was what she ordered. She had never had one, and very little alcohol ever in her life. She took one sip and used up all her composure to not do a massive spit take right in front of everyone. She managed to keep composure and smiled and handed the Martini to dad, and he enjoyed it. She was never a drinker. Once glass of wine and she was massively drunk and hated it.

Some good info here:

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-a-classic-martini-240334

Don’t forget the Tequila Martini.
I like a nice smooth Blanco.
Shake it and stuff your olive with a jalapeño.

As for a nice thin martini glass making it perfect , you nailed it.

Often times the proper glass really makes the drink. For my single malts I use a thick bottomed square glass with a nice hefty feel. It makes a great sound when you drop a rock into it from the right height. So yes a delicate glass for a martini is perfect. Just remember, don't shake the mix with ice, just stir it.

this guy dumbed it down as well.

stirred martini.

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I kinda prefer vodka martinis as well (Tito's or Goose) but as far as gin goes, I recently had some Green Hat gin out of DC, and I was quite impressed. I generally stick to Beefeater, Hendriks or Blue Coat, but definitely give Green Hat a try if you come across it anywhere.

As for how to make a perfect martini....such an individual thing. Entire books have been written on the subject. I prefer a vodka gimlet most of the time (unless I'm having a beer).

Yup that's the one for me, though you can leave out the zest.

I wouldn't like one of his martinis. I like shaking it, it breaks up the ice and if you do it perfectly there are little slivers of ice in the glass. Lemon zest? Uh, no.

Somewhat off topic...

My uncle built this "boat" - Shaken not Stirred - a few years ago.

https://www.heraldcourier.com/news/man-turns-ski-boat-into-james-bond-car/article_f6a78a25-32c6-57de-814a-5983dfb767d6.html

This is what I have, 7 1/2 inches tall, weighs about 4 ounces, the thickness of the glass is .045 inches:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1587150125.jpg

I find a better use for them is delivering a Cosmopolitan or a Lemon Drop down the gullet of an attractive female.