The Martini

[matei]

Over the weekend I finally had a martini... Yep, 34 years on this earth (well, not all of those are of drinking age) and I've never, ever tried one.

Granted, I made it myself, so I have no terms of reference - but I liked it a lot!

It all started when we picked up a neat Art Deco-esque shaker and a few glasses in order to make my wife a Cosmopolitan. We were watching "The Thin Man", and the scene where Powell is giving the bartenders a lesson inspired me... I figured that I already had the ingredients in our drinks cabinet, why not try a Martini?

Methinks I added a bit too much vermouth, but I was quite pleased with the end result.

I even tried a vodka Martini as well, which was quite acceptable.

 

["Doc" Devereux]

I think this means we might have to add the American Bar at The Savoy to our meetup itinerary...

Wahey - an excuse for White Ladies!

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Methinks I added a bit too much vermouth, but I was quite pleased with the end result.

Don't be too quick with self-criticism. Just remember, a Dry Martini used to be a Martini with dry vermouth, not with little vermouth, which is a modern understanding.

 

[Senator Jack]

Okay, Doc and Shaul-Ike, as my fellow Cocktailians of the FL, let's open this one up for discussion:

Is the Martini a vastly overrated drink?

I vote yes. How this rather ordinary cocktail came to be the be-all-end-all is beyond me. At best, and made well, it's okay. Does it beat out the Manhattan (a real Rye Manhattan, that is) or a Daiquiri? What is it about this drink that's made everyone believe it to be the de facto cocktail? Granted, it was probably better than most of the drinks that bartenders were serving back in the day, but how does that account for it's longevity in this world of 'that's so yesterday'?

BTW, I don't believe my vocabulary's so good right now. I've just finished the second of my Parisians. (Gin, lemon, parfait amour).

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[jamespowers]

Okay, Doc and Shaul-Ike, as my fellow Cocktailians of the FL, let's open this one up for discussion:

Is the Martini a vastly overrated drink?

I vote yes. How this rather ordinary cocktail came to be the be-all-end-all is beyond me. At best, and made well, it's okay. Does it beat out the Manhattan (a real Rye Manhattan, that is) or a Daiquiri? What is it about this drink that's made everyone believe it to be the de facto cocktail? Granted, it was probably better than most of the drinks that bartenders were serving back in the day, but how does that account for it's longevity in this world of 'that's so yesterday'?

BTW, I don't believe my vocabulary's so good right now. I've just finished the second of my Parisians. (Gin, lemon, parfait amour).

Regards,

Senator Jack

What kind of Martini is over rated? The Blue Martini? The Chocolate Martini, the Gin Martini, the Vodka Martini, the Gibson etc., etc.? [huh]

Regards,

J

 

[Senator Jack]

Well, I'm a purist, and the only Martini I accept as a Martini is Gin, Vermouth, a dash of lemon, and, if one has it, orange bitters, along with exactly ONE green olive impaled by a toothpick. No other drink should be called a Martini - even one made with Vodka.

This is the drink that I find to be overrated. Don't get me wrong - it's a damn fine drink - but leaving subjectivity aside, I think if you offered people two drinks to rate, a well-made Daiquiri and a well-made Martini, nearly 100% would choose the Daiquiri. A fair assessment?

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

["Doc" Devereux]

Okay, Doc and Shaul-Ike, as my fellow Cocktailians of the FL, let's open this one up for discussion:

Is the Martini a vastly overrated drink?

I vote yes. How this rather ordinary cocktail came to be the be-all-end-all is beyond me. At best, and made well, it's okay. Does it beat out the Manhattan (a real Rye Manhattan, that is) or a Daiquiri? What is it about this drink that's made everyone believe it to be the de facto cocktail? Granted, it was probably better than most of the drinks that bartenders were serving back in the day, but how does that account for it's longevity in this world of 'that's so yesterday'?

BTW, I don't believe my vocabulary's so good right now. I've just finished the second of my Parisians. (Gin, lemon, parfait amour).

Regards,

Senator Jack

I certainly feel that the modern fashion for the 'very dry' martini, where one waves the glass toward France, shows it a picture of a bottle of vermouth or whatever, is little more than cold neat gin with good PR and an inflated price. That said, a well-balanced blend of spirit and aromatic can be quite pleasant but does not to my mind show the elegance of a good cocktail-maker's art.

Actually, I think I can best sum up my position by comparing a martini to a cup of tea: anyone can make a cup of tea, but some people make absolute blinders. I think that the martini came to be popular because anyone can make them, and even a bad martini is almost always potable. Screw up a more complex cocktail and you have to start all over again.

 

["Doc" Devereux]

Well, I'm a purist, and the only Martini I accept as a Martini is Gin, Vermouth, a dash of lemon, and, if one has it, orange bitters, along with exactly ONE green olive impaled by a toothpick. No other drink should be called a Martini - even one made with Vodka.

Dangerous ground, Senator. I'm a twist man myself.

This is the drink that I find to be overrated. Don't get me wrong - it's a damn fine drink - but leaving subjectivity aside, I think if you offered people two drinks to rate, a well-made Daiquiri and a well-made Martini, nearly 100% would choose the Daiquiri. A fair assessment?

Absolutely. There are so many drinks that are far more satisfying, interesting and fun.

 

[jamespowers]

Well, I'm a purist, and the only Martini I accept as a Martini is Gin, Vermouth, a dash of lemon, and, if one has it, orange bitters, along with exactly ONE green olive impaled by a toothpick. No other drink should be called a Martini - even one made with Vodka.

This is the drink that I find to be overrated. Don't get me wrong - it's a damn fine drink - but leaving subjectivity aside, I think if you offered people two drinks to rate, a well-made Daiquiri and a well-made Martini, nearly 100% would choose the Daiquiri. A fair assessment?

Regards,

Senator Jack

Who are you offering this drink choice to a room full of women? If I offered this choice at my party tomorrow night, I know the Martini would finish first by leaps and bounds and that is a mixed crowd of women and men. [huh]
A dash of lemon and orange bitters?! No wonder no one likes your Martinis.

Regards,

J

 

[Senator Jack]

A dash of lemon and orange bitters?! No wonder no one likes your Martinis.

Ah, but this is the original recipe served to John D. Rockefeller at the Knickerbocker Hotel in 1910. That's the drink that became famous. So, let us forget about the successors, and consider the original. If you believe this to be a foul concoction, then that just begs the question.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[jamespowers]

Ah, but this is the original recipe served to John D. Rockefeller at the Knickerbocker Hotel in 1910. That's the drink that became famous. So, let us forget about the successors, and consider the original. If you believe this to be a foul concoction, then that just begs the question.

Regards,

Senator Jack

Are you sure it was the "original" because its origins are shrouded in mystery when I read about who the originator is?
However, after 106 years, there is bound to be change. I will bet that if you go to a bar and order a gin martini, it will never have a dash of lemon in it or orange bitters. Mine never does. So what question does it really beg?

Regards,

J

 

[Absinthe_1900]

A Martini is not a a cold glass of shaken Gin.


I make mine more along the the line of 1930's ratios, which tend to have more Vermouth than modern practice, a dash of Regan's #6 Orange bitters http://www.buffalotrace.com/giftshop/detail.asp?MasterID=100113 or Fee Brothers Orange Bitters, is a nice touch. (Try it with Lillett Blanc instead of your average Vermouth for an interesting variation.)

A dash of very high quality absinthe can work well in a traditional Martini.

As far as cocktails, if you aren't going to be here: http://www.talesofthecocktail.com/index.html there is no point in discussing cocktails.

Stop by here too: http://www.tedhaigh.com/cocktail.html

 

[jamespowers]

A Martini is not a a cold glass of shaken Gin.

Shaken?! Uh no. Stirred please. If I wanted a Pink Squirrel I would order one.

Regards,

J

 

[Senator Jack]

I did a lot of research about this years ago, and in the tomes I consulted, (can one consult a tome?) I found this recipe to be the prevalent one.

So let's say we take it as fact. How much change could it have gone through over the next twenty years, when it did become the de facto cocktail? Maybe the bitters was dropped. Probably not, as orange bitters was still quite popular back in the 30s. (pick up any vintage cocktail book and you'll find dozens of recipes calling for it.) The lemon certainly wasn't dropped. Either way, the drink as it was intended to be is a little dull by comparison to what came after. (again, the Manhattan, the Daiquiri, the Sidecar, and even the Jack Rose)

I believe people like it because there's nothing really prominent about it - even more so when made with Vodka. It's like the McDonald's of cocktails. It's filling and, presumably, inoffensive. I, personally, like something that attacks the palate. But again, I want to leave subjectivity out of this.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[jamespowers]

I did a lot of research about this years ago, and in the tomes I consulted, (can one consult a tome?) I found this recipe to be the prevalent one.

So what exact year was it first made in and what was the man/bartender's name who invented it.
I find this when I try to find the original recipe or the man who invented it:
"The origins of the Martini will probably never be agreed upon. Some say it was born in San Francisco mid-19th century, while others credit it to a New York Bartender named Martini who claimed he mixed the first in 1912. Some assume that it gets its name from the famous dry vermouth so commonly used in the drink, Martini & Rossi, or to the British made Martini & Henry rifle, while many like to believe it is named after a drink developed in Martinez, CA and originally called the Martini. One story I've heard even claims it was invented by a 19th century Italian chef working in London who named it after his grandfather.

With current mixing tendencies leaning toward using lesser and lesser amounts of vermouth in Martinis, one might credit 17th century Dutch professor of medicine, Franciscus de Boe Sylvius with inventing the Martini. The pure alcohol he distilled from the oil of juniper berries and intended as a blood purifier has come down through the ages to us sophisticates as gin -- shortened by the English from the Dutch word for juniper, genever.
Whatever its origins the Martini is a quintessentialy North American drink. For the better part of the 20th century the Martini has been the perennial king of cocktails."

And that's the rest of the story as far as I know. [huh]

Regards,

J

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Sazerac, the original cocktail.

And the guy that made the good stuff in NOLA.

 

[Lincsong]

Over the weekend I finally had a martini... Yep, 34 years on this earth (well, not all of those are of drinking age) and I've never, ever tried one.

You sound like me. I didn't have a martini until I was 34.lol

 

[Briscoeteque]

I agree, but the Manhattan is a far older cocktail than the Martini, in addition to being a far superior one. I'll take mine Perfect please, with a lemon twist, and don't forget the bitters! (I also like it on the rocks, but that's considered a felony to some people).

 

[Feraud]

What is it about this drink that's made everyone believe it to be the de facto cocktail? Granted, it was probably better than most of the drinks that bartenders were serving back in the day, but how does that account for it's longevity in this world of 'that's so yesterday'?

The Martini is a "pop" drink made immortal by James Bond. No different than the "Just Do It" Nike slogan or the fact that hip hop guys revel in drinking Courvoisier. That and the fact that most people have become so dumbed down they barely understand the idea of a cocktail. A lot of drinking appears to be done for the after effect and not the enjoyment of the drink or the company. Beer or hard liquor gets the job done for the masses.

 

[Lady Day]

The art of the martini is not the drink itself, its the glass and the drinkers interaction with it.

Your posture changes, juxtaposing this wide shallow bowl on top of a tall slender stem. Its like a flower. And how so many glasses were tailored for the drink they hold, the martini is no suave cool acceptation.

LD