Mmmmmmmm.... one of the best martinis I've ever made

Yum yum!!

And made it with Tanqueray, too, which normally I only use for gin adn tonics.

Happened to nail this one just right. Shaken just right, let it sit for just the right amount of time, the right amount of lemon twist carved out and put into the 'tini after I poured it out.

Ah, heaven, thy name is martini.

up on the 95th floor. Bombay Sapphire, very cold, and a couple of olives.

But glad to see you're making martinis with gin. I've been in far too many restaurants and bars where the "martini menu" didn't have an actual martini on it (not even a vodka martini that wasn't modified with something sweet and fruity).

is just bullshit. Pure bullshit, through and bullshitting through.

You can't have a martini list assholes!!!! Unless one wants to define one (1) thing as sufficient for a list.

Assmunchers!!

And I see GOOD, INTELLIGENT restaurants in NYC offering "martini menus".

:puke:

f-ing idiots.

And they're generally, as you say, over sweet girl shit drinks designed for assholes who can't tell the difference between foie gras and toothpaste and just want their booze sweetened so they aren't encumbered with taste (that is, something to think about) as they're getting loaded while "cruising" drunk women in spandex and long fake fingernails and stupid little giggles, like a half-educated bar tramp has to act demure and "girlish" for godssake.

Sweet Martini - sweet vermouth
Martini - shot of vermouth
Dry Martini - splash of vermouth
Very Dry Martini - keep your retched vermouth away from my gin


And please, don't shake your martini, it bruises the gin. Put the bottle in the freezer for at least 24 hours, and then gently stir it over ice before straining.

or the vodka. There is no bruising. Can't happen. It's just booze.

For a long time I was a stirrer only because I hated the foamy quality of the shaken martini (Paul Harrington, who also says that the bruising thing is utter bullshit, DOES say that all clear cocktails should be stirred, not shaken, because of the bubbles and foam). But, Toby Cacchini offers that, if you shake the hell out of it, like any other cocktail, and then let it sit while you prep the garnish, the gin/vodka will settle down.

And I'll be damned, but he's right. And the shaking helps to get the proper amount of splintered ice into the cocktail, and the proper amount of melted water - which ALL cocktails need.

In this instance, I have to go against Paul Harrington, and now go with shaken martinis, given a moment of rest.

And as to the bottle in the freezer - I stopped doing that a while ago when I realized that, while the martini should be served as cold as possible, taking it to freezer temperature kills so much taste that it isn't worth it. I keep mine in the fridge. The freezer, at least if you're using good gin, removes too much of the bouquet of the gin.

this means war. Shakers make furniture, not cocktails.

Ultimately, of course, it comes down to personal choice. And as I used to be a "put it in the freezer and stir it only" person, and quite adamant about it, I can understand.

But last year, I was quite surprised at how much of the taste of Sapphire, and even lesser gins, I was losing by freezing it.

And also how much better they taste to me to shake it, like any other cocktail, but give it that time to rest before pouring it.
I would never asked for a shaken one at a restaurant or bar, because I could be pretty sure that they'd shake the hell out of it and then pour it immediately, and I can't stand the damned bubbles in the martini.

LOL! And come to think of it, I'm moving my gin to the fridge too. And I swear, I'll try a straight martini (with olives which I DO have -for my bloody mary's) in a few days. I'm still coming out from under my 4th of July fog and can't bear the thought of a cocktail this evening :)

:P

You'll have to report back after you make your straight martini with the gin in the fridge.

Great rant! :D

It did indeed hit a nerve... :evilgrin:

And thanks for the kudos!

(p.s. - six 'r's at the end of Rabrrrrrr)

Time to kick the reading glasses up a notch I guess...

Shaken--not stirred--with a lemon twist.

Just a preference without starting a flame war on the taste of gin.

vodka and lots of olives. Mmmm - seriously jonesing.

But I just prefer a taste of lemon with a good Vodka.

Wish I had one right now!

Ten makes a WONDROUS martini! But remember, I bought this bottle of plain old tanqueray for gin and tonics, since tonqueray is, by about 900%, the best gin for gin and tonics EVER. IMO.

I actually normally have beefeaters or bombay for martinis, sometimes if I feel like splurging I'll get Magellan Gin, which is the BEST GIN EVER, but new and still hard to find outside NYC (at least, in the places I've been outside NYC, and even in NYC, since I"ve only found it in one place anywhere in the world in the 4-5 months I've been drinking it, and that's the big liquor store south of Union Square).

I've never actualy bouht a bottle of Ten, but I've ordered it in bars, and every time, no matter the bar, it's rang out as a tasty, bity, delish martini.

is French.

Tried it yet?

Magellan then (June).

And cheney off to all of you who think martini menus suck.
Us girls who can't take the hard stuff gotta have SOMETHING to drink so just piss off already!

but I defend to my death both your right to order them, and your utter coolness as a bitchin' DU person!

:yourock:

Though I hope and pray for the day when all bartenders show the dedication to their art that guys like Paul Harrington and Toby Cecchini, and the best of the NYC (and elsewhere) bartenders who refuse to make such drinks so as to maintain a sufficient level of decorum and civility and elegance to their bars.

(Check out Toby's new book http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0767912098/qid=1089167482/sr=1-6/ref=sr_1_6/002-0234874-6416065?v=glance&s=books )

and quit judging people by their choice of cocktail :evilgrin:

At least I don't drink wine coolers anymore - hehe
:P

I thank God that I stopped drinking wine coolers as well. Though I miss the old "what's his name and that other guy" wine cooler commercials.

I'm not just a martini snob, I'm an art snob - and that includes painting, music, food, and drink.

A well made cocjktail is so far more preferable, and so much more exciting in taste, if given the chance and an open mind, than any over-sugared "hide-the-alcohol" abomination. It's just a matter of trying to educate the public that ARTISTIC drinks (or paintings, books, music, food, etc.) are better than DISTORTED drinks.

The difference between Rothko and Kinkade; or Wolfgang Puck and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese; or George Crumb and Celine Dion).

Snobbish? Yeah, I am a snob. But not out of self-righteousness, more like an evangelist, because the good stuff tastes sooooooo much better, and I want people to learn and see and ex[pand their awareness and enter into an entirely new world of pleasures heretofore unknown to them, as others opened it up to me.

I just don't care for the taste nor do I want to think I've been gnawing on a Pine Tree the next morning if I "care" to over-induldge.

A few olives, and gin.

Though I've not bought olives in bring for years.

My local graocery makes their own, and their all in, of courss, olive oil.

:crazy:
I only eat handmade olives.....:eyes:

And better than those ultra cheap awful jarred ones.

Though quite a few companies now make wonderful jarred olives, which I've eaten at friend's homes. Wish I could remember the brand names, but I can't.

But, ooooh, the ones made in the grocery store - sooooooooooooo tasty.

Or Lorenzo Schwartz, whichever the case may be...

:sigh:

:D

I can never remember ol' Benedetto's name when I need it, tho. :dunce:

:-(

nuff said. and that gin had better not be bombay, I want Junipero, thanks.

I went to a birthday party at this ultra hip bar last month and they wer ehaving a martini happy hour. fabulous. but when I asked for a martini, I got the dreaded question: "what kind?" answer: "no kind, just a martini please."

idiots.

See my above post for the rant on the "martini menu".

Stupid people.

Never heard of Junipero. Have you tried Magellan?

try Junipero if you can get your hands on it (in the City you can get it at BestCellars, 87th and Lex ) it has a bangin' juniper taste. Real tasty.

http://www.bendistillery.com/products.htm

It just doesn't get any better than this.

but there's a bottle in my cabinet. Does it go bad?

Unless you leave the cap open, or offer it too much heat or light,a bottle will last a very long time.