We had a couple of good ones on a recent vacation and that’s caused us to try and replicate the concoction at home. While we’ve enjoyed a fairly successful outcome, we’re always up for improvements.
Olives – I get them from our grocery deli, a nice green olive stuffed with a nutty garlic clove. The liquid they’re in is more of a brine than oily and adds well to make a dirtier drink.
Olive juice – I have a nondescript blend from the liquor store but have heard good things about Dirty Sue’s and have asked them to order some.
Vodka – Usually Grey Goose when ordering out but I bought a number of local bottles, Tito’s, Enchanted Rock, etc and Dripping Springs is our unanimous choice.
Vermouth – Cinzano has worked fine but will soon try Martini & Rossi.
In a shaker:
1 shot olive juice
3 shots vodka
4 cubes ice
In a chilled martini glass:
½ shot vermouth swirled around sides
2 to 3 olives on a stickpin
Shake until it’s very cold and pour strained over the olives. Enjoy.
I can’t give you measurements b/c I eyeball it. And I prefer a twist to olives.
Metal shaker, fill about 1/2 way with ice cubes;
Vodka (current preference is Russian Standard) to the top of the ice;
Dry vermouth- Martini & Rossi- a dash.
Let it sit, give it a swirl after about a minute.
Fill the glass with cubes & water, let it sit.
Meanwhile, get lemon, knife & cutting board, cut a narrow slice of lemon from the middle, then cut a pie-shaped wedge out of it so you’re left with 3/4 of the slice. Remove the innards so you’re left with just the rind.
Shake the shaker (I use an inverted pint glass), dump the ice/water from the martini glass, and strain vodka into it. Curl up the lemon rind & pull apart, so that when you release it it’s like a corkscrew shape. Drop into glass.
A splash of Noilly Prat, a few glugs of freezer-kept Gordon’s, a trickle of dirty martini mix or olive juice, and stir with couple of skewered anchovy-stuffed olives.
Glass - fill it with ice and water, set it aside.
Metal shaker - fill about halfway with ice
pour about a shot of vermouth over the ice, swirl for a couple seconds, then pour down the drain using a strainer top to keep the ice.
Gin (Bombay Sapphire) or Vodka (I like Stoli) pour about 2-3oz into the shaker, give it a good stir or swirl.
Dump the ice water out of the glass (holding the stem, not the bowl) pour drink into the glass, from the side, not towards myself.
Garnish with queen olives, onions, garlic stuffed olives or a twist, as desired
“Who stirs a martini?” Someone who prefers it not get watered down with smashed ice from a vigorous shaking and knew Ian Flemming was full of crap.
That said, unless I’m tending bar or making them for friends, I’d rather just do a shot of ice cold vodka from the freezer and eat the olives.
If you are ever going into the desert or jungle, always take along a bottle of gin, vermouth, and a shaker. That way, if you are ever lost, you just take out the bottles and begin mixing, and in no time someone will come along to say “That’s not how you mix a martini!”
Or I will come by and tell you that I can’t drink martinis, because it reminds me of the time I swallowed an ice cube and a horse kicked me in the back of the head simultaneously.Regards,
Shodan
Ice in glass, let sit
Ice in shaker
2 shots Belvedere Vodka (from the freezer) in the shaker
Go into a nearby room and whisper the word “vermouth”
Spin the contents of the shaker (not shaken, not stirred, spun)
Discard ice in the glass
Rub lemon twist around rim of glass
Pour from shaker into glass
E.g. not a big pure martini fan, and I especially hate olives. So either a twist or a Gibson. Maybe New Amsterdam or something.
Shaken might’ve actually been better, but only because Fleming doesn’t seem to know what goes into a damn martini:
6 parts gin, Gordon’s
2 parts vodka, unspecified
1 part Kina Lillet, which is an aperitif wine that they no longer make (although approximations exist)
Slice of lemon
In a champagne goblet - one thing he got right. Martini glasses exist to spill.
Yeah, a Vesper is NOT a Martini, no matter what you call it, but I blame 45 years of “shaken, not stirred” on the big screen influencing young/stupid males.
Hmph, I already poured my first beverage of the evening, what a shame. If it turns out there’s a second it’ll definitely be:
Ice
Five parts Hendrick’s gin
One part Noilly Prat vermouth
Shake briefly
Pour into ice cold martini glass
Garnish or not with whatever martini-appropriate garnish is at hand. Tonight that would be a twist, but I’m not too picky.
Bombay Sapphire martinis are also delicious, but I like Hendrick’s just a bit more. Really, I like most of the big gins, and I really like how they all lend a martini their own distinct flavor (as compared to, say, vodka in drinks…).