In addition to the typical bar cocktail olive, gourmet olives stuffed with garlic, blue cheese, onion, anchovies or almonds may also be used to give a martini a more distinctive flavor. Recipes that call for cocktail onions instead of olives do not make a true martini; they make a Gibson. The olive garnish is what makes the martini cocktail. When other garnishes are used, it becomes an entirely different beverage. Helena Cain began writing and editing professionally in The Facts.
Eating Martini Olives. Types of Martini Olives. References The City of Martinez. Martini recipes and glasses. History of the Dirty Martini. The Best Martini Olives. There are also practical benefits, since the Prescriptivist has no need to stock an elaborate bar. Give him an ample supply of the two base ingredients and a fresh stock of garnishes, and he's set.
Finally, there is the bracing sense of keeping the barbarian at the gate, of shielding a flickering flame of culture against the gusts of fad and fashion. In the end, however, the Prescriptivist position is untenable, because both the English language and the Martini itself are constantly evolving entities. In truth, there has never been a single definitive version of the Martini: it was born through variations of earlier, similar cocktails; the earliest recorded recipes differ significantly from each other and even more greatly from the classic American Dry Martini; and continuous — sometimes radical — modification of the basic recipe has been a part of the drink's identity and appeal throughout its history.
The rise of vodka as the most popular base spirit and the multitude of Martini variations that became popular in the 's are only the most recent cycles in a process of mixological experimentation and exploration that has accompanied the Martini since its inception. The difficulty surrounding precise definition is compounded by an additional factor.
In a manner shared by no other cocktail, the Martini has become an icon. For many it is a symbol, either of a certain subset of American culture, or of America itself. As Lowell Edmunds discusses in his scholarly deconstruction of the cocktail, Martini, Straight Up: The Classic American Cocktail, the word "Martini" evokes not only a cocktail, but also an image and an idea. The symbolic potency of the Martini depends very little, if at all, on its ingredients.
It depends somewhat on the conical cocktail glass in which it is traditionally served, and it depends above all on the name: if someone identifies a given drink as a Martini, then, for symbolic purposes, it is a Martini.
One may, however, arrive at a workable definition by setting aside consideration of the Martini qua symbol as a matter calling for scholarly exegesis rather than definition, and by adopting a descriptivist stance toward the definition itself.
Prescriptivists are those who insist that cocktails made according to the short definition are the only true Martinis, and that deviant varieties should be referred to by a different name. A long drink is mixed drink served in a tall glass, containing approximately eight parts non-alcoholic mixers to one part spirits — such as a Screwdriver or Bloody Mary Miller and Brown A: Given that there are literally thousands of Martini recipes, as well as a considerable body of lore regarding the proper way to mix the drink, there can be no single answer to this question.
Ongoing experimentation and exploration in search of "the perfect Martini" are intrinsic aspects of the Martini experience. That being said, one must start somewhere.
The following instructions should provide a good point of departure. Preparation: First, secure your ingredients and tools. Ingredients include high quality London dry gin, high quality dry white vermouth, an ample supply of fresh ice made from good water, and a fresh lemon. High quality gin and vermouth are important because, unlike a long drink such as a Gin and Tonic or a Screwdriver, a Martini contains no additional elements to mask the flavor of the liquor.
An inexpensive gin may make a perfectly decent Gin and Tonic, but is unlikely to succeed in a Martini. The quality of the ice is equally important. This dilution is highly desirable: water is a hidden but essential ingredient in the Martini, serving to smooth and marry the flavors of the gin and vermouth. If the ice is covered with frost, or has picked up flavors from other foods stored in the freezer, or is made from poor quality tap water, the quality of the Martini will be impaired.
If the tap water in your area is pure and flavorless, then the freshest ice from an automatic icemaker will suffice. Otherwise, use bottled still spring water in freshly frozen ice cube trays. The lemon will be used to prepare twists for garnish. It too should be fresh, preferably with a thick, stiff, glossy skin. Necessary tools include a shaker, proper glasses, a measure, and a sharp paring knife. Any style of shaker is acceptable, but it should be made of either glass, stainless steel, or a combination of these.
Silver may be used provided that it has been scrupulously polished and cleaned. Avoid aluminum tools. A Martini really should be served in a proper glass. For one thing, the traditional glass has functional aspects: its shallow, conical bowl forces one to sip the drink rather than tossing it back in large gulps, and the stem allows one to avoid holding the bowl, which would transmit heat to the drink, causing it to warm prematurely.
In addition, style and presentation are significant aspects of the Martini experience, and a proper glass is essential for these. Martini glasses are available in a wide range of styles, sizes, and decorative motifs.
Personal taste dictates here, with one proviso: the glass must not be too large. A Martini must be enjoyed fresh and cold. If the glass is too large, one will be forced to either drink too fast or find a way to deal with the tepid second half i. Six ounces is the largest acceptable size; four ounces is ideal. A four-ounce glass will look disappointingly small to an eye conditioned by modern advertising and bar practice, but one should view the matter positively: the smaller the glass, the more Martinis one can have without getting plastered.
At some point you may wish to graduate to speed pourers as a measuring method, but a traditional two-sided measure is probably the place to start. Such a measure consists of two truncated cones of unequal size, affixed to each other at the base. The smaller measure is a pony 1 oz. Since mixing a Martini is a matter of ratios rather than absolute amounts, it does not matter which side you use; experiment with water to see how many of each measure will fit in your glasses allowing for additional volume from water off the melted ice and keep the results in mind when mixing.
The glasses should be stored in the freezer. On measures, see also Question 2. Immediately before mixing, carefully cut a slice from the peel of the lemon. The resulting strip should be 1. Cut just deeply enough to include a bit of white pith to give the twist some stiffness; avoid cutting into the yellow pulp of the fruit. Trimming the edges of the twist, giving it a tidy rectactangle shape, is very easy and quick, results in minimal wastage, and makes a surprising difference to the drink's presentation.
Set the twist aside. Then pour 2 jiggers 1. Again, mixing a Martini is a matter of ratios rather than amounts. These measures produce roughly a 4. The resulting mix should just fit comfortably into a 4 - 4. Affix the lid of the shaker and shake it in a vertical motion for 10 - 15 seconds. Remove the glass from the freezer, holding it in a clean bar towel to avoid spoiling the frost. Set it down and carefully strain the mixed Martini from the shaker into the glass. Garnishing and Serving: Hold the strip of lemon peel horizontally about one inch above the surface of the Martini, yellow "out" side facing downward.
Gently but firmly squeeze along its length, expressing the volatile citric oils onto to surface of the drink. Then, holding the strip by its ends, twist it into a spring or corkscrew shape. Still holding it just over the drink, briefly tug on the ends, and then squeeze it back into a compressed spring shape. Gently drop the twist into the Martini. Serve immediately on a napkin or coaster.
Venturing Onward: The Martini you have just mixed is a fine specimen of the breed, but it may not turn out to be your personal favorite. Most Martini drinkers enjoy experimentation and exploration almost as much as they enjoy the cocktail itself. This process can begin immediately. Sound practice suggests that your first variations remain within the bounds of what we might call "canonical Martinis" Regular, standard Martinis, as opposed to new-wave variations.
The reason is not that the latter are in any way too advanced or complex, but simply to establish a baseline. When you are familiar with the tastes and virtues of canonical Martinis, you will be better able to judge the merits and weaknesses of noncanonical variants.
The most straightforward variation is to experiment with the dryness of the Martini. Try using more or less vermouth. And, of course, you can try different brands of gin and vermouth.
You might also vary the length of time you shake the Martini. There are no fixed rules here, but standard practice is to shake between 8 and 15 seconds. Your goals in shaking are 1 to lower the mixture's temperature to the ideal about 38 degrees Fahrenheit , and 2 to achieve a pleasing level of dilution.
Of these, the latter is the more complex: ideal shaking times will vary because of the proof of the gin, the intensity of the gin's flavorings, and your personal preferences. Working with a single constant "The longer you shake, the more the ice will melt" , experiment with different durations and note your impressions.
Another simple variation is to try the other traditional garnish, green olives, in place of the twist. Any good brand of pimento-stuffed Spanish olives such as you would find at the grocery store is fine, but be aware that a range of alternatives exists: olives stuffed with garlic, cheese, jalapenos, almonds; olives that have been marinated in vermouth rather than brine; etc.
A single olive may either be placed by itself in the glass, or skewered on a toothpick or bar pick. If more than one olive is used, they should be skewered. NB: High tradition dictates that you must use an odd number of olives.
One olive is fine; so are three five is excessive. Using two or four olives is a faux pas. Or, you might try cocktail onions in lieu of olives, in which case your drink is known a Gibson rather than a Martini.
The proper number of onions in a Gibson is two. Next you may wish to try stirring rather than shaking your Martini. To stir a Martini, you need either a large mixing glass such as that provided by one half of a Boston shaker and a bar spoon, or a Martini pitcher and its matching glass rod.
A mixing glass and spoon are ideal for making Martinis one at a time; a pitcher is the best way to prepare several simultaneously. In either case, use the same proportions of gin, vermouth, and ice as described above. Stir briskly-but-not-violently for 27 seconds, in a conventional circular motion if a circular stirring motion feels "cramped" or "crunchy," take advantage of the tool in your hand: twirl the bar spoon between your fingers and move it up and down in the mixing glass while stirring If you are using a mixing glass, you will definitely need a strainer for this either a coil-rimmed Hawthorn strainer or a spoon-like julep strainer.
Most Martini pitchers have a sharply pinched spout to allow pouring without a strainer, but even here a strainer will help. In the main, informed bartenders agree that clear drinks such as Martinis should be stirred, rather than shaken. For this FAQ, I have chosen present a shaken version first, since James Bond's signature phrase, "Shaken, not stirred", has probably done more than any other single factor to introduce new cocktail drinkers to the Martini, and it's likely that they would want to start with a shaken cocktail.
To round out your first experiments, try a Vodka Martini. Actually, you'll need to try a great many, varying the dryness, brands, garnish, and mixing method in the same way you did for gin Martinis.
The preparation of a traditional Dry American Martini and a Vodka Martini are exactly the same, with the one obvious exception: vodka is used in place of gin. Very few object to the drink itself; they simply object to it being called a "Martini" rather than a "Vodka Martini" or "Vodkatini". This FAQ acknowledges and records their objection, but nonetheless accords the Vodka Martini canonical status and condones use of the term "Martini" for such a drink.
But not all Martinis are the same. And then you have the savory, beguiling and controversial Dirty Martini. First made by muddling the olive into the drink, and later by adding a splash of olive brine, the Dirty Martini took decades to reach a wide fan base. It eventually found favor among drinkers, including President F. Fast forward to modern day, and the cocktail is equally loved and reviled—ordered en masse by thirsty patrons while simultaneously loathed by some bartenders.
But some enterprising bartenders have seen the writing on the wall—people are bewitched by Dirty Martinis—and begun making the drink their own, improving the cocktail with proper techniques and quality ingredients.
That includes fresh, refrigerated dry vermouth and artisan olive juice. The cocktail can be made with gin or vodka. Gin is the classic choice, but by the s, vodka had supplanted its botanical cousin, and it became the regular call in Dirty Martinis.
You can choose whichever spirit you prefer, as both do an admirable job. What was once a dirty secret is today a go-to order for salt-craving drinkers. Garnish: 2 to 4 olives. Add the gin or vodka, vermouth and olive brine to a mixing glass filled with ice and stir until well-chilled.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a skewer of olives.
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