Martini Cocktail?

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Can anyone explain the appeal of the martini? I have had 1 or 2 before and I seem to recall thinking it tasted like how I imagine gasoline tastes. I believe one was a "clean" martini with just the gin and vermouth, and the other was mixed "dirty" with olive brine and an olive. (I don't believe I have had a Vodka martini)

I don't find gin to be that objectionable, so I'm guessing it's the vermouth that I don't like.

I ask because I was at a bar recently and overheard the bartender explaining how there is a trend on the west coast to make martinis with a 1:1 ratio of gin and vermouth now.
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
Can anyone explain the appeal of the martini?.


I can.

It's just like an old-school army .45, or a straight razor and lather.

Everything you need, nothing you don't - high speed, low drag.

Mix it about 4:1 gin to a quality vermouth. Shake, strain, and go.

A "martini" w/vodka is not a martini. It's a "martooni" - and it sounds a bit ridiculous becasue, well, it is. And a 1:1 is a stiffened vermouth, but NOT a martini. Nonsense stuff!
 
I'm not a fan of a real martini. or old fashioned or Manhattan...

I need some mixer in there.
 
Originally Posted By: Oro_O

I can.
It's just like an old-school army .45, or a straight razor and lather.
Everything you need, nothing you don't - high speed, low drag.


I much prefer a Rusty Nail
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
Can anyone explain the appeal of the martini? I have had 1 or 2 before and I seem to recall thinking it tasted like how I imagine gasoline tastes. I believe one was a "clean" martini with just the gin and vermouth, and the other was mixed "dirty" with olive brine and an olive. (I don't believe I have had a Vodka martini)

I don't find gin to be that objectionable, so I'm guessing it's the vermouth that I don't like.

I ask because I was at a bar recently and overheard the bartender explaining how there is a trend on the west coast to make martinis with a 1:1 ratio of gin and vermouth now.


I was stumbling around Manhattan with a group of old friends and we ended up in a very posh looking old school bar, bartender had a little jacket on and everything. Don't know if I noticed the name of the place and would never remember it now, anyway.

I'm not sure why it came to mind, but I told my group I had never tried a plain old martini and it was time to do so. I took one sip and found it just revolting, but I decided to just choke it down and get something good to replace it. The bartender must have seen my face and said he could just dump the martini and he'd make me something more to my tastes at no charge, but I told him I wanted to be able to say I had consumed a martini and was dead set on getting the job done. Perhaps a bit vainglorious of me given that I was paying $25 or so for the pleasure of drinking something that repulsed me...

I think it was the gin, the martini tasted like a juniper bush smells. The only way I have found that I like gin is in a Last Word, along with green Chartreuse and a few other things...it's actually my favorite drink. I seem to remember a time when a martini that was almost all gin was in vogue and some bars would have little sprayers to give the drink just the tiniest whiff of vermouth.
 
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Originally Posted By: Reddy45
Can anyone explain the appeal of the martini?


1. A dirty Sapphire martini, up, with bleu cheese olives, is one of life's great pleasures.
2. They are easy to make.
3. You can make it to your liking on the vermouth. Use sweet vermouth next time and it will change your feelings, potentially. Do a lime or lemon twist.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
Can anyone explain the appeal of the martini?


1. A dirty Sapphire martini, up, with bleu cheese olives, is one of life's great pleasures.
2. They are easy to make.
3. You can make it to your liking on the vermouth. Use sweet vermouth next time and it will change your feelings, potentially. Do a lime or lemon twist.


^^^^ this, especially 1. I guess enjoying olive brine is an acquired taste.
 
LOVE a dry martini. You really need a decent gin though, as that is pretty much all you are drinking. An easy to find gin that I like is Bombay Sapphire.

Fill martini glass with ice, pour vermouth over ice.

Fill shaker with ice and gin, shake the [censored] out of it. You need some water in the gin to bring out the flavour.

Swirl then dump ice/vermouth out of glass.

Get a slice of lemon peel and rub it over the entire inside of the glass, fairly hard. You want to get the oils out of the peel. Drop peel in glass.

Strain gin into glass.

Enjoy.
 
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Ill stick to local brewed Ales (Stoneface IPA or Rockingham Javelina) .I Used to partake of Scotch neat with water on the side. That was an acquired taste ... Didn't take long to acquire being 1/2 Scot
smile.gif
 
If you're pouring, I will at least try it. A classic gin martini, Ice cold with very little vermouth and a few olives is a great drink. For yrs, I drank my spirits neat. My brother introduced me to ice cubes and Scotch. Delicious. Irish aint too shabby either. Not a big fan of the latest craze in over hopped IPA,waay too sour for my taste
 
There are currently many gins available and they run a wide spectrum of flavors. I believe that a good value in a traditional style of gin is Broker's, but if you want a specific flavor profile post it in here and I'll try suggesting something for you. There are a lot of more lightly flavored gins that lean heavily toward the citrus flavors and reduce the pine oil note from the juniper. I prefer stout gins that are at least 45% ABV and have strong juniper presence. Junipero is quite excellent in that regard.

I think a good middle of the road gin that some may like is Hendrick's. It has enough vegetal flavor to it that it might make a decent martini. Highly citrus flavored gins, like Bluecoat or Damrak, would make awful martinis, IMO.

Also, you might find it interesting to use a bit of Fernet Branca instead of vermouth. One of my personal favorites is a gin martini made with pickle juice (from Claussen pickles) instead of vermouth. I guess it would probably have a different name, but I like it!
 
Recently I've discovered I need a level of sweetness and or creamy in all of my alcoholic beverages. Failure to have either leads to a general disappointment in the beverage. Whether its a dark beer like Trois Pistole, Guulden Draak, or Schneider Weiss Tap 7 or a spirit like Advocaat and almond milk.
 
It's an acquired taste just like drinking most any straight liquor. And as stated, the Gin makes a big difference since it's the most prominent ingredient. I prefer Bombay Sapphire over Tanqueray in a dry martini, however I did like Tanqueray Ten. And a dirty martini is delicious!!
 
Skip adding anything, Bombay Sapphire in a glass with an ice ball. Sip and enjoy. It's a magical elixir that will erase the days pains and stiffness in a hurry.
wink.gif
 
I skip it all, including the ice. Not too many drink gin neat, but I really appreciate the stuff.
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
I'm not a fan of a real martini. or old fashioned or Manhattan...

I need some mixer in there.


Well made, these are smooth drinks. The Manhattan is by far my favorite:

Muddle orange peel in bottom of glass with simple syrup.
Add ice, Dubonnet (instead of cheap red Vermouth), bourbon.
Shake and strain, garnish with orange peel.

Very good stuff.

If anyone here is a Mahattan fan, track down some Dubonnet (not very expensive) and use it instead of cheap red italian vermouth. Like night and day.
 
I almost forgot about one of my recent favorites - Big Gin (made by Captive Sprits Distilling in Seattle).

Also, if you're in Texas, Austin Reserve Gin is excellent. You may be able to find this one outside of Texas.
 
Originally Posted By: Oro_O
Well made, these are smooth drinks. The Manhattan is by far my favorite:

Muddle orange peel in bottom of glass with simple syrup.
Add ice, Dubonnet (instead of cheap red Vermouth), bourbon.
Shake and strain, garnish with orange peel.

Very good stuff.

If anyone here is a Mahattan fan, track down some Dubonnet (not very expensive) and use it instead of cheap red italian vermouth. Like night and day.



I'm gonna have to try that! Drink Manhattan's during the winter months. I've gotten the ratio down pat, but I'm going to have to try that!
 
^Supposedly, the traditional Manhattan is made with rye whiskey rather than bourbon. I would recommend Rittenhouse BIB. It's a rye whiskey with a flavor profile bourbon drinkers will like.
 
I'm lazy. Gordon's @ 4:1 or 5:1 sweet vermouth with 3 preferably large olives + a dose of the brine...on the rocks. Savoring a gin-soaked olive is what it's all about for me. YMMV.
 
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