not real huge on gin . . . but (long story…) got interested in the vodka martini types.
whole whole lots of variations, ‘the only way,’ etc…
I’ve settled on
1 part gin
1 part vermouth
2 parts vodka
. . . . and no olive . . .
Kind of off topic, but I don’t know where else to put this mini-rant, the moral of which is that I have gin, dry vermouth and olives at home, so why not just stay there.
I went out with a friend to Vatan, a vegetarian Indian restaurant in Manhattan’s Curry Hill. It’s been around for hundreds of years, I’ve known about it for almost that long, yet this was my first visit. It’s a thali restaurant, AYCE for $45, food is decent and nothing more. But that’s not my point.
They have a drink menu, and also a list of available spirits. My friend asked for a Vesper, and our (very gracious, yet stubborn) server said that wasn’t on the drink menu, and therefore they could not make it. Despite having all the ingredients on hand. I found this odd.
In a move that will shock no one, I ordered a dry martini with Plymouth gin and olives. What arrived was a glass of waaaaay too much vermouth. I objected, and our server told me that their drink-maker (there’s no visible bar) was following the recipe he was provided. Which was 3:1 gin:vermouth. This is not a dry martini. I whipped out my phone (because I am THAT PERSON) and showed her the actual ratio was at least 5:1. She wouldn’t budge: this was what the restaurant called a dry martini, and “don’t restaurants all have different recipes?” I asked her to please take the martini back and just top it off with more gin. I’m pretty sure it came back topped with more vermouth.
TL:DR Yes, I am probably the asshole, but I’m also not going back to Vatan.
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I would describe this as a failure of expectation.
I am a naturally hopeful person. I’m also DIY, and offered to mix my own drink. I was rebuffed.
I would also like to add that they autogratted a table of two. Was not expecting THAT either.
That’s when you should have ordered a lassi, wine or beer
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I considered that, but then I saw the wine came in airplane bottles. So I rolled the dice.
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When I am in a bar or restaurant and want a martini, unless I can speak with the bartender AND it is quiet enough that she/he can pay attention, I choose something else. If it is quiet enough and I can speak with the bartender, I am pretty specific as to the gin, the vermouth, the ratio, etc. A 3:1 Bombay original and Dolin is a very different drink from a 3:1 Sapphire and Noilly.
I’m not that finicky. I also tend to believe that people know how to do their jobs until proven otherwise (as happened last night).
Gotta love it when servers want to argue with customers.
One reason we didn’t go out to many cocktail bars while in Philly is bc my PIC makes my martini perfectly, and his margarita is likely the best in town as well. Why waste money on a drink that won’t come close 
Except they weren’t bartenders, as evidenced by no bar and the airplane wine bottles.
One of our most comically bad dining experiences involved a server who didn’t know what Campari was (I’d ordered a Campari-O as an aperitif). I suggested she ask the bartender. He didn’t know either.
Things went downhill at high speed from there.
Any yet, this thread proves otherwise.
BTW, “dry martini” refers to the fact it is made with dry vermouth. It has nothing to do with the ratios. And 3-1 is actually not a bad ratio, anyway. In any case, I agree with everyone else who have said, basically, that you shouldn’t have expected any better, given the set-up of the restaurant (no visible bar/bartender).
YATA
I don’t think you need to be a bartender to mix a drink. It’s not that high-level a skill. And, as noted, the menu has a whole cocktails sections. See?
https://vatanny.com/alcohol-drinks/
With dry martini right there on it. Except they make it wrong and refuse to make it right.
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That is about 1000% wrong. A martini is always made with dry vermouth, good lord.
“Most modern Dry Martinis tend to range from 5:1 to 8:1 parts gin to vermouth.”
You will also note that the wet (vermouth-heavy) martini uses dry vermouth.
You couldn’t possibly be more wrong.
The names and specs and terms associated with martinis have changed over the years. In the 1950s, a dry martini was often on the order of 5:1 or 6:1. Eventually there arrived the notion that a glass of cold gin (or vodka), poured while the mixologist was looking across the room at a bottle of vermouth, was a dry martini. There is, of course, the perfect martini, using sweet and dry vermouth. The bottom line is that if you care how your martini is made, it is usually best to tell the bartender.
As regards Campari, I have been to several places where no one knew what it was. Sigh.
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That’s pretty much the gist of the link I posted.
I haven’t run into this snag, thankfully, and I drink my share of Negronis. But it would be nice to have some Cocchi Americano available in case I want a white Negroni. And that’s not always easy to find.
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Because there are many, many more good cocktails beyond martini and margarita and that’s what you can experience in good cocktail bars
I am aware. And we’ve been to many cocktail bars in Philly on previous visits, some of which we like more than others. Cocktail bars were not a priority for our 3.5 month stay here, as we only have so much disposable $$$, and many a restaurant to try. A lot of cocktails at bars we like here run upwards of $20.
I don’t exclusively drink martinis or margaritas btw — in case that was your impression — it’s just that my PIC has perfected both drinks.
And so, if I can have an excellent version for a fragment of the price, and know that the martini will be absolutely perfect, that’s a no-brainer for me.
We’re going to a favorite restaurant tonight with a wonderful cocktail program. Rest assured I won’t be ordering either of those two drinks.
