That’s what I do. 
Real white wine.
1 Like
I wave the vermouth over the gin.
2 Likes
Sub-par instruction. Apathy. Multitasking.
Last summer I ordered a drink from a bartender in the Catskills, who had arrived from Turkey the night before for his first visit to the U.S. He’d never worked as a bartender before. He had no idea what a martini even was. And his English was not very good. I asked him to set me up with the bottles and shakers and such and just made the damn thing myself.
4 Likes
That’s funny. Did you tip yourself well?
1 Like
I should have, but I tipped the bartender instead. Hopefully he used the money to buy a drink-making guide.
1 Like
This is always a fun topic. I agree that the large cone most call a martini glass is a bad design for carefree drinking. It sloshes like crazy. I always use a coupe or a Nick and Nora. I have also honed my recipe so as not to overfill, especially for the second one.
As to ordering a martini at a bar, unless I am feeling adventurous and they have something I want to try, I fight the urge and have something else. My standard is 3:1 London dry (like Tanq, Bombay white, Beefeater, or Gordon’s, probably in that order) and Dolin dry. The other night I made one with Vya dry and Tanq. It was an overwhelmingly vermouth oriented drink. Vya, in small amounts, is great with some soft modern gins and a few classics like Boodles. Note to self…no Vya with London dry. As to dirty, I do not like them, but you are welcome to. I’ll pass you the olives and let you make it as you like it. As to other garnishes, I like olives stuffed with pimento usually, but stuffed with onions, anchovies, or jalapeños are all fine. Blue cheesed stuffed will leave an oil slick, but I can live with that. A twist or a cocktail onion is fine. I have some jalapeño stuffed cocktail onions that I am using veeeerrrryyy slowly. My wife likes using a pickled okra and calls it a Marthibodeaux. No garnish is unacceptable, I need my fruits and vegetables!
Now, as to what to call a drink made with a spirit other than gin or made with gin but no vermouth, it may be a delightful drink, but I would not call it a martini. Oddly enough, despite this linguistic rigidity, am fine with shaken or stirred but want a well chilled glass. I just put the glasses in the freezer while I skewer the olives and build and chill the drinks.
2 Likes
And olives packed in vermouth saves the added step of rinsing the olives!
;0)
LOL! I’m pretty much “olive only.”
I love my Nick and Nora glasses. They’re great for Jack Roses, which is a favorite of mine.
1 Like
Exactly!
1 Like
This is a thing people do?
1 Like
Yep.
Today I learned.
I wanted to post the traditional TIL, but the software won’t let me. Okay, Boomer.
“Okay, Boomer,” not a term worthy of use.
3 Likes
That’s just, like, your opinion, man.
3 Likes
Taking the opinions of others into account is essential to interpersonal harmony. That’s an opinion, too, but one that has been proven in front of my eyes many times over. Some folks are serious about their 'tinis.
2 Likes
I love wine reviews that talk about a wine as dry with medium sweetness.
1 Like
Calling people anything that could be perceived as dismissive or disrespectful is part of life, but when it creeps into discussing food and drink, something is amiss. Alas, I am indeed a boomer, not just a boomer but from the part of that generation that really made some pretty profound changes in things. That, however, is a saga for another forum.
I have a decent palate and training that spans the best in the US and Paris. If I wanted a martini to taste salty, brine would be fine. It tends, however, to overshadow the more subtle aspects of both gins and vermouths. A little brine goes a very long way, just as a very little salt does. Why else would certain very highly regard chefs refuse to have it on the tables in their restaurants?
2 Likes
I am serious about everything I eat or drink, from potato chips to riffing on great (and overly complex) recipes.
Deleting my post since the other’s went poof.
