Martini
October 29, 2024
I used the recipe on liquor.com.
The classic Martini is gin and dry vermouth, but there are about a million variables to this, and just as many opinions. One thing everyone agrees on – use quality ingredients.
The origins of this drink are totally unclear, so I’ll just pass on what we know about the gin/vermouth proportions. During the Roaring Twenties it became a common drink order, with the ratio of gin to vermouth at 2:1. Over the course of the 20th century, the amount of vermouth steadily dropped. My drink here is a 5:1. Some martinis are prepared by filling a cocktail glass with gin, then rubbing a finger of vermouth along the rim. There are those who advocated the elimination of vermouth altogether. According to Noël Coward, “A perfect martini should be made by filling a glass with gin, then waving it in the general direction of Italy”, Italy being a major producer of vermouth.
Martini superstition – an even number of olives is bad luck.
For me – zowie. This is the first drink in the project that isn’t sweet or diluted with soda. Just straight booze. It’s a lot for my taste buds to handle. I had a couple of sips, then put the drink in the fridge for a time-out. It’s out of the fridge again, and it’s growing on me. 😏
(Originally posted April 30, 2020)
2024 Update – my taste buds have matured! I can drink a martini without putting it in timeout in the fridge. Now that we’re past lockdown, I even order them in restaurants.
