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Website design By BotEap.comThe venerable Martini. Perhaps the most famous cocktail and, without a doubt, the cocktail with the most myths, stories and traditions. It is also the only cocktail that has a following and its own brand of snobbery. Usually no two people are arguing about a Planters Punch.
The basic martini recipe is as simple as possible. Traditionally, a Martini is made with gin and dry white vermouth, although recently the Vodka Martini has become much more popular. The standard modern martini is a five part gin or vodka to one part vermouth, although few bartenders would follow that model today. The ingredients are shaken or mixed with ice, strained and served “straight” without ice in a chilled cocktail glass and garnished with an olive.
Martini purists are upset that vodka is now the liquor of choice when people order a martini. They insist it should be called ‘Vodka Martini’ or, if they’re really picky, ‘Bradford’.
The amount of vermouth to add is also a topic of great debate. The less vermouth, the drier the Martini is. Nowadays the most common thing was to mix the vermouth, which is to cover the ice cubes in the vermouth and then throw away the excess vermouth. Some progressive bars now use vermouth sprays to cover the ice (thus saving a lot of vermouth). Website design By BotEap.comShaken or stirred? Website design By BotEap.comAccording to the true Martini drinker, because vermouth mixes easily and evenly with its solvent (gin or vodka), a martini should always be mixed in a shaker glass. For the purists, shake the gin “bruise” and also chop the ice that dilutes the Martini.
However, thanks to novels and movies spy James Bond, who ordered his martinis “Shaken, not stirred,” the Martini is shaken more often these days.
Milkshake aficionados say that, as with whiskey, a little water creates a more rounded flavor. They also claim that the action of shaking adds oxygen to the drink, sharpens the flavor, and distributes the vermouth more evenly. Website design By BotEap.comHistory Website design By BotEap.comThe generally accepted origin of the Martini begins in San Francisco in 1862. A cocktail named after the nearby town of Martinez was served at the Occidental Hotel. People drank at the hotel before taking the night ferry to Martinez across the bay. The original cocktail consisted of two ounces of sweet Italian “Martini and Rosso” vermouth, one ounce of sweet Old Tom gin, two sprinkles of liquid maraschino cherry, a sprinkle of bitters, shaken and served with a lemon wedge. By the end of the 19th century, the Martini had been transformed into a simpler form. Two pinches of orange bitters were mixed with half dry French vermouth jigger and half dry English gin jigger, stirred and served with an olive.
But it was Prohibition and the relative ease of making illegal gin that led to the Martini becoming the predominant cocktail of the mid-20th century.
With the repeal of Prohibition and the immediate availability of quality gin, the drink became progressively drier and less vermouth was added.
The first reference to the use of vodka in a Martini was in the 1950s, but it was Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels and subsequent films that raised the profile of the vodka martini in the 1960s. In the novel Casino Royale Bond’s recipe for his “vespa martini” consisted of three parts Gordon’s gin, one part Russian vodka, a half scoop of Kina Lillet appetizer, whipped until chilled and served with a lemon wedge. In the second Bond novel, Live and Let Die, Bond was drinking conventional vodka Martinis.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the martini was considered outdated and was replaced by more intricate cocktails and wine sprayers. But the mid-1990s saw a revival of the drink and an explosion of new versions. These new specialty martinis can be made with combinations of fresh fruit juices, hints of cream, and brightly colored liqueurs.
Instead of the traditional olive, cocktail onion, or a hint of lemon, new dressings such as marinated capers, fresh herbs, coffee beans, or sun-dried tomatoes are being used.
Today, the Martini in all its versions has returned to its position as the preeminent cocktail in the world. Website design By BotEap.comFolklore Website design By BotEap.comThe Martini comes with its own folklore and many past martini drinkers have their own recipes for creating the perfect or driest Martini. The search for dryness has taken on strange proportions. Website design By BotEap.comWinston Churchill’s recipe called for pouring gin into a glass and then simply leaning in the direction of France. Alfred Hitchcock’s recipe called for five parts gin and a quick glance at a bottle of vermouth. Ernest Hemingway liked to order a “Montgomery,” which was a martini mixed in a 15: 1 gin: vermouth ratio, the odds that quarterback Montgomery supposedly wanted before going into battle.
In the 1958 movie Teacher’s Pet, Clark Gable mixes a martini by turning the vermouth bottle upside down and then running the moistened cork around the rim of the glass before filling it with gin. Website design By BotEap.comThe classic ’70s TV show MASH gave this fetish of dryness a satirical punch. ‘Hawkeye’ working on his still tells his fellow military medics: “I’m pursuing my lifelong search for the perfect martini, the driest one can be found in this or any other world. And I think I may have given with the perfect formula … You pour six jugs of gin and drink it while looking at a picture of Lorenzo Schwartz, (the inventor of vermouth) “.
The basic martini recipe is as simple as possible. Traditionally, a Martini is made with gin and dry white vermouth, although recently the Vodka Martini has become much more popular. The standard modern martini is a five part gin or vodka to one part vermouth, although few bartenders would follow that model today. The ingredients are shaken or mixed with ice, strained and served “straight” without ice in a chilled cocktail glass and garnished with an olive.
Martini purists are upset that vodka is now the liquor of choice when people order a martini. They insist it should be called ‘Vodka Martini’ or, if they’re really picky, ‘Bradford’.
The amount of vermouth to add is also a topic of great debate. The less vermouth, the drier the Martini is. Nowadays the most common thing was to mix the vermouth, which is to cover the ice cubes in the vermouth and then throw away the excess vermouth. Some progressive bars now use vermouth sprays to cover the ice (thus saving a lot of vermouth). Website design By BotEap.comShaken or stirred? Website design By BotEap.comAccording to the true Martini drinker, because vermouth mixes easily and evenly with its solvent (gin or vodka), a martini should always be mixed in a shaker glass. For the purists, shake the gin “bruise” and also chop the ice that dilutes the Martini.
However, thanks to novels and movies spy James Bond, who ordered his martinis “Shaken, not stirred,” the Martini is shaken more often these days.
Milkshake aficionados say that, as with whiskey, a little water creates a more rounded flavor. They also claim that the action of shaking adds oxygen to the drink, sharpens the flavor, and distributes the vermouth more evenly. Website design By BotEap.comHistory Website design By BotEap.comThe generally accepted origin of the Martini begins in San Francisco in 1862. A cocktail named after the nearby town of Martinez was served at the Occidental Hotel. People drank at the hotel before taking the night ferry to Martinez across the bay. The original cocktail consisted of two ounces of sweet Italian “Martini and Rosso” vermouth, one ounce of sweet Old Tom gin, two sprinkles of liquid maraschino cherry, a sprinkle of bitters, shaken and served with a lemon wedge. By the end of the 19th century, the Martini had been transformed into a simpler form. Two pinches of orange bitters were mixed with half dry French vermouth jigger and half dry English gin jigger, stirred and served with an olive.
But it was Prohibition and the relative ease of making illegal gin that led to the Martini becoming the predominant cocktail of the mid-20th century.
With the repeal of Prohibition and the immediate availability of quality gin, the drink became progressively drier and less vermouth was added.
The first reference to the use of vodka in a Martini was in the 1950s, but it was Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels and subsequent films that raised the profile of the vodka martini in the 1960s. In the novel Casino Royale Bond’s recipe for his “vespa martini” consisted of three parts Gordon’s gin, one part Russian vodka, a half scoop of Kina Lillet appetizer, whipped until chilled and served with a lemon wedge. In the second Bond novel, Live and Let Die, Bond was drinking conventional vodka Martinis.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the martini was considered outdated and was replaced by more intricate cocktails and wine sprayers. But the mid-1990s saw a revival of the drink and an explosion of new versions. These new specialty martinis can be made with combinations of fresh fruit juices, hints of cream, and brightly colored liqueurs.
Instead of the traditional olive, cocktail onion, or a hint of lemon, new dressings such as marinated capers, fresh herbs, coffee beans, or sun-dried tomatoes are being used.
Today, the Martini in all its versions has returned to its position as the preeminent cocktail in the world. Website design By BotEap.comFolklore Website design By BotEap.comThe Martini comes with its own folklore and many past martini drinkers have their own recipes for creating the perfect or driest Martini. The search for dryness has taken on strange proportions. Website design By BotEap.comWinston Churchill’s recipe called for pouring gin into a glass and then simply leaning in the direction of France. Alfred Hitchcock’s recipe called for five parts gin and a quick glance at a bottle of vermouth. Ernest Hemingway liked to order a “Montgomery,” which was a martini mixed in a 15: 1 gin: vermouth ratio, the odds that quarterback Montgomery supposedly wanted before going into battle.
In the 1958 movie Teacher’s Pet, Clark Gable mixes a martini by turning the vermouth bottle upside down and then running the moistened cork around the rim of the glass before filling it with gin. Website design By BotEap.comThe classic ’70s TV show MASH gave this fetish of dryness a satirical punch. ‘Hawkeye’ working on his still tells his fellow military medics: “I’m pursuing my lifelong search for the perfect martini, the driest one can be found in this or any other world. And I think I may have given with the perfect formula … You pour six jugs of gin and drink it while looking at a picture of Lorenzo Schwartz, (the inventor of vermouth) “.
