I’ll buy Zenster’s interpretation. Besides, isn’t using a dainty spoon to stir your drink just plain girlie?
My father’s recipe for the perfect dry martini was to lock the vermouth in a closet and walk the bottle of gin past it once a week.
Olive or twist? Can I have some David Copperfield instead?
You should change your name to “Churchill” as he liked to call his gin a martini as well. His recipe had two methods, “glance at the vermouth bottle while pouring gin” and “let the shadow of the vermouth bottle rest on the gin.”.
I agree with you about Tanquerey as a last resort. I find it suitable to gin ‘n’ tonic usually but thats about it.
I make all my martinis shaken. They never come out cloudy. The ones ordered in bars tend to come out cloudy. I think this is because they use crushed ice and some ice comes in the glass.
You want them shaken because it bruises the gin which make it more tender. There is nothing worse than a martini with tough gin.
The old Thin Man movies the matrinis are always stirred. Nick Charles was always drinking martinis in those movies. So I think he is a better source of what makes a good martini.
Cmon Dinsdale
Don’t know why a vodka drinker even bothered to post to this thread. All he needs is a bottle in the freezer and a shot glass.
I’z just a funnin you guys
Actually I’d prefer WD40 to gin though.
Gin does not “bruise”. This is pure nonsense. Shaking gin over ice does not change anything about the gin except the temperature.
Oh man. I went to college in a dry county, so alcohol acquisition involved a twenty-mile drive either way on the freeway, and I didn’t have a car at my disposal for most of my college days. Beer selections in Morgan or Morrilton, Arkansas are somewhat limited, so I preferred harder stuff with at least some degree of quality. After having found myself Tanqueray-less on one too many occasions with no means of getting to fresh supplies, I resolved to buy a BIG bottle of something slightly less expensive. Gordon’s it was. I did manage to finish it by the end of the year, but it wasn’t easy.
Man-o-Manischewitz. I busted my hump and emptied my wallet to write an informative, comprehensive and, I must say, witty and hilarious Staff Report on exactly this question, and all you guys are stealing the thunder.
Just remember to check into Comments on Staff Reports when the item comes out, OK? It was about three months before anyone noticed that I did a thing on felon voting rights. Downright depressing, that was.
Actually, waterj2, and I don’t mean to keep disagreeing with you around here, it’s just a co-inky-dink, there is a difference between shaken and stirred.
Shaking incorporates air into the drink. That’s why it sometimes looks cloudy, or dirty. What your seeing are all the little air bubbles floating around.
It doesn’t make the drink taste any better, look any better, or drink any differently. In fact, remembering my days of training from the pro’s, a good bartender strives not to add air to the drink- it makes for a poorer presentation.
Because of this, I tend to agree with the earlier poster who thinks James got it all wrong. Anyone with a true sense of sophistication would ask for it stirred, not shaken.
Oh, yeah, the air. Either way, there is no “bruising” of the gin involved. That’ll teach me to oversimplify.
Manny, I’m sure that as with the issue of the disenfranchisement of felons your word on the issue will be final. Just because we can never find anything to take issue with doesn’t mean we didn’t notice.
Exactly! I do not know what you people are talking about. A martini is a shot in a fancy glass. It is not a drink. If you want gin, then buy the best gin you can afford, chill it, and drink it in whatever glass you have available. Call it a martini or call it a double shot, it makes no difference.
If you don’t like gin, then call yourself Otis and sip vodka striaght from the brown bag. This is the mark of sophistication.
Shaken not stirred. It is just so much cooler that way
A martini glass is generally seven ounces, IIRC. That’s a lot more than a double shot. Besides, the whole drinking method is different. You sip a martini. Hence the stem to keep your hand from warming the drink up. A shot glass you could cradle with both hands and it wouldn’t matter as the glass is emptied in three seconds.
Also, a number of us like the bit of vermouth and the olives in it. You want to drink shots, go ahead, but I like my martinis in the proper glassware. Then again, I have in the past used plastic cups.
Anyways, I think my point about the amount of divisiveness and strong opinions on the drink is proven. I’d also like to point out the international character of the drink. It was invented (regardless of which story you believe) in the US, has an Italian name, and is made with English gin, French vermouth, and Spanish olives.
Jesus, don’t you people know anything?
The best martini is cold. Ice cold. F—ing cold ice cold. That’s the most important thing, even more important than the brand of gin, and it must be shaken.
I look for the bars with the best freezers. D.C.'ers, I recommend the Eighteenth Street Lounge, next to Candy’s Hardware, second floor bar only. It’s not got a sign. Look for the well-dressed thug and the line. Dress nicer than I normally do.
I stick with the Budweiser of gins, Tanq, because I’m not certain of the consistent quality of some of the other “good” gins mentioned, and I’m probably not qualified to judge. (Example: I rolled through a bottle of some crap called Van Gogh and found it to be excellent.)
Here’s a slob’s home recipe for a fine dirty martini. You’ll need the following tools and accessories:
A freezer on the lowest setting, with ice cubes and a bottle of gin that permanently lives there.
Two Ziploc freezer bags (large).
A hammer.
A concrete stoop.
Double bag the ice, take to stoop, smash vigorously, thoroughly and quickly with hammer. Put back in freezer overnight.
Next day, whip out the ice, gently crumple, and quickly pour into shaker or whatever. Large-mouthed bottles work, too–glass. Put back into freezer for awhile.
Dump a crapload of gin into your “shaker.” Pour about a teaspoon of olive juice in, too. Shake it like you’re a fifteen year old kid with his first printout of a nude Britney Spears shot for about a minute. You can put the shaker back into the freezer if you’re anal.
Get a real martini glass. They can be stolen for about seven bucks if you have a girlfriend with a purse. Pour through a strainer if you have one. Otherwise, a section of screen from your housemate’s window will suffice. Check your compass and wave in the general direction of Italy. Two olives recommended.
It should pour clear with a vague copper tone, and will rest in the hand for half an hour unspoiled in a stemmed glass. If it’s not gone by then, you’ve wasted a lot of preparation time.
Addendum: shake the bottle of gin before pouring, particularly if you have followed the freezer settings.
My thoughts exactly, the best Martini is a Vodka Martini, hold the Martini.
Oh man. I’m partial to Scotch myself (straight up or maybe with an ice cube if the weather’s hot) but I’ve been enjoying this thread. Sofa King, that was the funniest post I’ve ever read.
Mavpace
Otis??? Brown bag???
Actually I gave up vodka Martinis.
4-or five of them and I was ready to whip superman.
Now it is Johnny Walker Red label
Sophistication Huh :-p
Bastard.
I can just see you, moving from bar to bar between the Hudson and the East River, Fourteenth Street and the Battery, with your little notepad and the PRESS card in your hatband. And you didn’t invite me along.
I coulda helped you keep your balance, you know. And sung harmony.
I can’t believe that no one has mentioned my biggest martini “quirk”. Please rinse my olives (which somebody mentioned) but, for heaven’s sake, NO PIMENTO! And no thank you for any wooden skewers, plastic is tolerable, none is best.
I once ordered a “martini” in a bar, and was actually served a Vodka martini! For shame - you people who drink vodka should come up with your own names for drinks. Now, I grudgingly say “gin martini”, or call for Beefeater.
Me too. For me, it was probably in a Terry Sullivan column. My own admittedly limited experience leads me to prefer stirred to shaken, also. Shaking gets it cold, but also gets more melted ice into it (I have heard it called “water” by the merchants in the bazaar, but their worldly language thuds in the ears of this simple lad), whereas I like 'em super dry. My preferred method is to coat a martini glass with some vermouth, dumping off the excess, put some ice in a large glass (tumbler?), pour the gin over it (I loves me some Bombay Sapphire–haven’t tried Tanqueray 10), stir quickly, and strain into the martini glass. These days, instead of a garnish, I finish it off with a few dashes of bitters (thanks, Uke!). Nummy!
I am, in fact, drinking one right now. To you, good sirs and madames.