Martini

Less is more. In this section there will be enough information to make the cocktail featured in Lit Spirits, plus related tips, and little else. I can’t do exhaustive because it is exhausting, not just for me, but for you. My goal: to get you to make and enjoy a cocktail. If you want to learn more, email me or research further. Please drink responsibly, and, whenever possible, in good company. Cheers.






Notes:

Martinis, as with most 2 ingredient drinks, beg that the drinker appreciate both components of the cocktail. As noted below, both ingredients are aromatically infused and their marriage is one full of flavor and delight. Different brands of gin have different flavors. So, too, with dry vermouths.

Ingredients:

• Gin: A neutral grain spirit flavored with botanicals (predominantly juniper) then redistilled. 
• Dry (aka French) Vermouth: A fortified white wine (liqour is added for stability) infused with botanicals. 

Recipe:

2 oz Gin (I prefer a London Dry)

1/4 oz Dry Vermouth

Garnish with lemon twist or olive

1. If serving 'up,' then chill glass. At this stage also prepare garnish.
2. In mixing tin or mixing glass combine gin and dry vermouth. Measure. Even when I am making a gin and tonic, I measure out the base pour.
3. Add ice until 3/4 of mixing container full. Once you have added the ice to the cocktail you've pulled the pin on the grenade. Act quickly to insure a properly mixed drink. This is why we don't pour ingredients over ice.
4. Stir cocktail 75 times with bar spoon. Be cool, don't show strain, and hold the glass/tin near the lip so you don't heat the drink with your hand. This accomplishes the same thing as shaking, but without the inclusion of air. The mouthfeel of the drink is more viscous if it is stirred, and generally I stir any drink that is composed only of spirits.
5. If serving 'up' strain into chilled martini, garnish. If serving 'rocks' then strain into rocks glass filled with fresh ice, garnish.

Garnish:             Prepare garnishes before mixing cocktail.

                                    Always use caution when using sharp things.

Remove zest of lemon (with a minimal amount of the white, bitter pith that lies beneath) using a knife, channel knife, or peeler.  

Using a pinching or twisting motion express the oils from the skin onto the finished cocktail.

Gently rub skin of lemon around edge of glass, then place twist in cocktail in some visually pleasing way. 

• OR you can use olives. Three or Five. Green. I prefer pitted, there is no need to add any more physical challenge to a physically incapacitating ritual. I have been known to enjoy the pimento stuffed olive, for that little bit of pickled pimento registers just barely on the whole experience. I scoff at blue cheese stuffed olives. And especially in a martini. This. Drink. Is. Perfect. In. Its. Austerity.

Glassware

            There are two accepted ways to serve a martini:

1.     Straight up: this means that the drink is chilled over ice which is then strained out so just the cocktail remains. In the chilling process 10-15% of the ice melts after being mixed with the room temperature spirits.

2.     On the rocks: this means that the drink is chilled over ice which is then strained out only to be replaced with fresh ice. The ice that chilled the drink is dead. The new ice will allow the drink to live long, and slowly dilute and rehydrate the drinker.

Now the question of glassware: any glass will do for most any purpose if you get creative. It is the intent, and the quality of execution that makes a drink, not the shape of the glass. 


A few tips:

• If serving a drink up, chill the glass. 1 hour in the fridge, 20 minutes in the freezer, or 5 minutes filled with ice (maybe while you carefully prepare the drink).
• Take the time to make some good ice. +/- 1" cubes are the way to go. Have plenty on hand. The first batch of ice is needed for mixing/chilling/diluting the drink. The second is for cooling down the martini glass, and the third is for fresh ice for on the rocks. Plenty of ice is important.
• DO NOT store your spirits in the freezer. We are 96% water. Booze is closer to 60% water. In order to find common ground we dilute 10-15% while we shake/stir it. This makes a smoother, more approachable cocktail. Two tips: no one cares how much you can drink, or how high a proof alcohol you can tolerate. Make a good cocktail and enjoy it with people you don't need to impress with inanities.
• buy small bottles of dry vermouth. A 375ml bottle of vermouth has enough for 48 cocktails if you follow this recipe.
• once opened, store dry vermouth in refrigerator.
• this cocktail is generally an aperitif, and a great way to shed the troubles of the day before moving onto other tipples.