Stranger
I, for one, prefer my martinis with Tanqueray Rangpur (lime-infused) and garnished with an onion.
Well, I posted, blinked and came back to find two pages of excellent suggestions, discussion and some history. Now all we need is some SDMB bickering and we’ll all need a martini tonight.
I am going to try a few suggestions this weekend and will certainly report back.
Few notes:
>I understand the disdain for vodka, hence this thread (sort of)
>I love blue cheese stuffed olives
>I also knew the Grey Goose rep, but for vodka drinks, it worked for me
>The jalapeno garnish = a must try for me
I’m looking forward to hearing what you think. Remember learning about Gin (or scotch, wine or any complex drink) is a marathon not a sprint. Gins vary a whole lot in terms of flavor so if you try one you don’t like don’t give up. I spent years thinking I didn’t like gin when the reality was I didn’t like Tanqueray. I think of those as years wasted.
My recipe:
2 oz Gin (I prefer Citadelle, but Beefeaters is good, too)
1/2 oz Dry vermouth
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
Swish (don’t shake) in a mixer until frost forms on the outside, strain, and serve with an olive.
Trust me, it’s yummy.
That’s a Gibson that takes like a Gimlet, not a martini.
Stranger
Would that be a Giblet then? 
You know that scene in Mad Men where Sally makes Don a Manhattan?
That was me, for my dad, but with Martinis and G&Ts. My dad likes Gin- G&Ts while making the Sunday Lunch, Martinis for special occasions.
For nostalgic reasons therefore, Martinis to me mean Bombay Sapphire, and G&Ts mean Gordon’s- although we’ve now managed to get dad off the Gordon’s and onto the Hendrick’s.
Should we commence to bicker about the choice of Vermouth?
Noilly Prat for me- again, nostalgia.
I prefer my Martinis medium, dad likes his glass merely rinsed with vermouth, although we’d both probably be happy with it whatever way it comes- obviously in his case, because he let small children make it and drank it anyway.
I have some Hendrick’s in the drinks cabinet- but no vermouth or tonic…I think I know what I’m going to buy tomorrow…Irishfella doesn’t like gin…oh well, more for me.
For me it is Hendricks or 209
I never see people talk about 209 in these threads though, maybe it is just a northwest thing (von’s has it in downtown Seattle), but it is out of San Fransisco
good gin, actually I like it better then Hendricks even.
As promised, I dropped by G-B this evening and got a Hendrick’s martini with a slice of cucumber.
I was not particularly impressed. Admittedly, I’m not generally a gin drinker, but the Hendrick’s didn’t strike me as anything special. I would have preferred Sapphire. Also, while I like cucumber quite a bit, the slice didn’t really seem to contribute anything to the drink; any subtle flavor it might have contributed was lost (though it made a nice palate-cleanser after the drink). I think it would actually have been better with an olive, if only for the contrast…and I don’t like olives.
I’m going to display my ignorance here and ask what the season has to do with gin vs. vodka martinis. Is one better in hot weather than the other?
Love the Thin Man quotation, BTW.
At costco tonight I saw a local gin, Ballast Point Old Grove Gin. Ballast point is a San Diego brewery they now make gin, light rum and dark rum. I usually make my martinis with Bombay Sapphire but I had totry the local gin. It like it fine, I can tell the difference but I would be hard pressed to say which was better.
That’s what’s cool about gin. It all tastes different; you may get one you don’t like every now and then but they’re all unique. Vodka only has one continuum: if it’s good it’s tasteless, and if it’s bad it’s rubbing alcohol.
I don’t think they’re seasonal at all. One tastes like gin, the other like vodka.
I don’t hate too much on the vodka martini folk (my dad is one.)
I prefer gin.
To the OP: for all intents and purposes, gin is a specific type of flavored vodka. It’s flavored with several botanicals, the proportion of which varies as does the overall strength of flavor. Finding the “right” gin is purely a question of taste. My capsule summary of the most common:
Seagrams: a common “house” gin. In my experience, not good enough for a martini but ok for a G&T. Mainly tastes of juniper and alcohol.
Beefeater: My go-to. Harsh, with strong juniper and lime peel flavors. Usually challenging for a new gin drinker.
Bombay: Milder than Beefeater, with more citrus, less juniper, and a hint of anise.
Bombay Sapphire: Milder still. It has a few more botanicals added, but the overall profile is pretty similar to regular bombay.
Tanqueray: Similar to Bombay, but I haven’t had enough to comment in detail.
Tanq 10: Exceedingly mild; bordering in my mind on being “vodka with a hint of gin.”
Hendrick’s: Flavorful but not as harsh with strong cucumber notes. Excellent drink, and probably as far from “standard” gin as you can get before it feels like you’re stretching the definition of gin.
There’s also a variety available in the Chicago area I’m partial to called Northshore, which has almost overwhelming citrus notes.
Well, kinda sorta, maybe, not quite. Flavored vodka is steeped with the flavorings after distillation. Gin is generally not. The flavorings are in the mash, which then gets distilled. There is a type of gin called “compound gin” which is basically flavored vodka, but distilled gin I wouldn’t put in the same category.
Are you sure? Per wikipedia: “Distilled gin is crafted in the traditional manner, by redistilling neutral spirits of agricultural origin with juniper berries and other botanicals.”
That’s not as clear as I’d like, but my understanding was always that neutral spirit was created first, then steeped with botanicals in a sachet, then redistilled.
Perhaps erroneously, I’ve been told this is how “top shelf” flavored vodkas are produced: infused then redistilled, as opposed to the cheap stuff which is just vodka with flavorants added.
My husband, in one of his more inspired moments, forgot which drink he was making me, adding tonic to a Vermouth and Gin mixture that was supposed to be a Martini.
It turns out that Gin+ Tonic+ Vermouth is very nice.
Does it have a proper name?
Sorry, I didn’t see this question until just now. Maybe it’s just me, but I find them very seasonal drinks. In hot weather, I find a vodka martini more refreshing. When the weather turns cold, I find a gin martini more appealing. Maybe because it smells like a Christmas tree!
Ah, you’re correct. Gin is redistilled with the botanicals. So, first you mash your grains, ferment, and distill a neutral spirit. Then infuse with botanicals and redistill. For some reason, I thought the botanicals were in the mash.
I didn’t think flavored vodka was redistilled, but I don’t know for sure.