I’d say that you’re doing it right. The 2:1 gin:vermouth ratio was what I was taught, and I find it to be perfect. And vodka can be fine, if you like the taste of vermouth. Nothing wrong with it, really, but I do want to taste that beautiful gin/vermouth mixture. Thinking that a “martini” automatically means some crazy concoction of vodka and something is the mark of a bartender untrained in the classics.
As for dry martinis—I once walked into a bar to raise a glass to a recently-departed friend. As you might guess, I was not in the best of moods, but I wanted to raise a glass to her, and since she liked dry martinis, I asked for a dry martini.
I got a glass of plain gin. “Um, excuse me, but I asked for a dry martini.”
“That is a dry martini, sir,” the barman said. “‘No vermouth’ is a ‘dry martini’.”
I told the barman that that was not what I ordered. I didn’t even give him a chance to fix it; I simply walked out and found a place that could do a genuine dry martini.
I don’t think I’ve ever consumed a martini, but I don’t get that weird elitism thing where people say “just briefly glance at a bottle of vermouth through a doorway to an adjacent room”. It’s supposed to be sophisticated to be drinking neat gin?
I think its a toughness thing - vermouth has a lower alcohol content than gin or vodka, so not putting it in a martini makes you more of a man or something.
Not quite sure what you mean by this. The chemical distinction - and it’s far from black-and-white - is that the fatty acids in vegetable oils are less saturated than those in animal fats. “Saturated” in this context means lacking in double bonds, so it’s a chemical structure thing. Notable exceptions to this generalization: coconut oil and palm oil are highly saturated vegetable oils.
Yeah, notably palm oil and coconut oil are tropical. If they had originated in the temperate zone (where ambient temperatures are generally lower and they are typically solid), they’d probably have been named fats
Yeah, that could be true. One California test showed that their testers thought most imported olive oil did not taste 'extra virgin". Of course, that test was sponsored by a California Olive Oil company. Mind you, I can see that shipping over long distances by slow boat could hurt the flavor.
Yep, it’s just cold gin in a fancy glass.
How much Vermouth do you want? A glance at the vermouth bottle? or 5:1?
I’ve always understood that a “dry martini” is a martini made with dry vermouth, as opposed to the original martini recipe, which was made with sweet vermouth. Not this “gin with a minimal amount of vermouth, if any” crap; that’s indeed just cold gin in a fancy glass, not a proper martini. The default ratio is 2:1 gin to vermouth for either type of martini.
I find the original (sweet) martini quite tasty – two parts gin, one part sweet vermouth, orange bitters, and a twist of lemon. Alas, that version fell out of favor when the dry martini with an olive caught on in the Mad Men era. I don’t think I’ve ever actually had a dry martini.
I think it’s an alcoholism thing i.e. saying you drink straight gin makes you an alcoholic, but if you put in a fancy glass and call it a martini, now you’re being classy
A ‘perfect’ French omelette is not at all runny; it is, however, fluffy textured and uniform through the thickness, which is achieved by doing a quick scramble in butter and oil at medium-high heat followed by a shake to settle the corpus into a flat disc before folding it over and plating while the eggs continue to cook. (A true gourmet chef will actually run the egg batter through a sieve to remove any developed parts of the yolk or bits of shell that might have fallen in but that is a pointless refinement.)
Contrasted with the typical American cafe ‘omelettes’ (i.e. a ‘scramble’) which are mixed with whatever the cook found at hand and cooked over medium heat until each side is a rubbery husk often slathered in residual oil, they are a delight. Don’t even get me started on people who cook scrambled eggs at low temperature for minutes on end so they can present something that looks has the textures of fake vomit advertised in the back of Boy’s Life.
I think a dirty martini is a martini with olives that are filled with cheese (instead if pimento or something else). Usually a blue cheese I think (or something similar).
The cheese starts to dissolve in the martini and makes it cloudy hence the “dirty” part.
Or, you can have a Gibson. A martini but with pearl onions. Always thought it was weird to name a drink whose only difference is the garnish. I doubt you can get a Gibson almost anywhere but the most swank bars these days.