The Great Martini Question?
 

As a fan of the Classic Martini I've always been interested in how others prefer the Martinis...

So which type of classic Martini do you prefer: Gin or Vodka? and how do you like it made?

Me I'll only drink a Gin martini (Bombay Saphire being my econmical favourite) with the standard splash of Dry Vermouth and 3 olives.

Dirty vodka martini straight up, 3 olives.

I also like all of the girly fruity drinks like cosmopolitan, lychee martini, pomegranate martini, etc.

I'm a huge fan of the Godiva Martini. My friend made me one and I swear it was like drinking a little piece of heaven.

But if I'm the mood for the classic, I go with gin and 3 olives and very dirty.

Love the dirty marti!

Chocolate, chocolate mint, and white chocolate are my favorites.

I don't like martinis, but if I had to have one, it would be something that did not involve gin and olives, which I hate -- so what would be the point, right? ;)

Dirty martini with 2 olives. No gin or vermouth, just vodka. I like the flavored martinis as well but I always feel like bartenders try to skimp me on the alcohol and just put a bunch of fruit juice or other ingredients in instead. With a classic martini, I feel like I get my money's worth.

Very dry Tanqueray gin martini, straight up with a twist. Very little vermouth.

There is a martini lounge not far from my house, where they make a delicious chocolate raspberry martini.

Vodka martini (preferably made with Grey Goose L'Orange) with a twist. Yum.

I also like the Lemon Drop martini if it's made with real lemon juice, vodka and a bit of sugar. That's SUPER yum.

Extra dirty vodka

gin if it's Tanqueray, vodka otherwise. I love classics (but no olives) but I'm a huge fan of flavored martinis, too. The place across from my job has AWESOME grapetinis.

i don't like olives, so it makes my martini experience unhappy.

what i do like are peach martinis and lilikoi martinis

Vodka up dirty, but not too dirty.

I had a fraternity brother who one time wanted to make martinis but the 21 year old who went to the liquor store forgot the vodka...sucker drank an entire bottle of vermouth...

What is this Dirty Martini you're all talking about??? I need to work on my booze terminology!

I guess my favorite martini is the kind made with Jack Daniels and Coke. Which, I also guess, doesn't count as a martini. But it's tasty nonetheless.

A dirty martini is called that because it has olive juice in it.

Whatever the hell they gave me at this little pizza restaurant in Cannes was AWESOME. I just ordered a martini, no instructions, so I have no idea what they did, but it was wonderful.

You'd be surprised that sometimes the most random places can have amazing drinks. When I was in Budapest, we went to this underground, deserted, really weird disco there, yet they made amazing drinks.

There was also a restaurant in Cannes, called Stromboli's (it's right across the street from where they hold the film festival), and they had THE BEST Margarita on the Rocks I have ever had.

vodka martini made with 3 oz of Luxsusova Polish vodka, eighth of a teaspoon of vermuth, and a couple of anchovy olives.

gin martini made with 3 oz of tanqueray, half a teaspoon of vermuth, and a pimento stuffed olive.

I don't think any of the fruit flavored drinks should be called Martinis. They seem to fall under the generic term Cocktail.

Jack and Coke is a hi-ball. Jack on the rocks is nearly a sacrament.

Famous Grouse on the rocks is a sacrament. Single malts straight up are proof of the goodness of Providence.

Thank you!

I'm not a big martini person, so I'd go with your suggestion, except without the coke. Jack on the rocks or neat works well for me.

I also echo dekeguy's comment; if you're putting all that sugar and fruit juice into it, I wouldn't call it a martini, I'd call it a cocktail.

Love dirty gin martinis...but no actual olives, i like the juice and hate the garnish.

For the cocktail/girly martinis I love drinking and making (i'm a bartender) Raspberry Martinis: Stoli Vanil, 3 Olives Raspberry, Chambord, Cranberry and a splash of sprite..yummy :)

Errrr... just a drink. A Vodka martini, twist of lemon, shaken, not stirred.

For those who want to try the original James Bond martini, here's the recipe:

The Original James Bond Martini

(Also known as ‘The Vesper’ – from Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, 1953)

Ingredients:

• 3 oz. gin (Gordon’s Gin preferred)
• 1 oz. vodka (Smirnoff Vodka preferred)
• 1/2 oz. Lillet (white) (Lillet is a light, medium dry French aperitif (red or white) made with herbs, spices and fruits fortified with French brandy, and a Bordeaux wine base. The original specified ‘Kina Lillet’ which by its name contains bitters and is probably not sold in the U.S.)

Mixing Instructions:

Shake with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass (the original was served in a deep champagne goblet). Garnish with a lemon twist.

i like my martinis extra dirty. i prefer vodka, though a traditional martini would require gin. as for those other drinks, they're just cocktails in martini glasses. calling a drink a martini just gives the bar a reason to charge twice as much as it's worth...

you mean you don't like paying $15 for a drink?

IMHO, if it doesn't have gin, vodka and/or vermouth in it, it's just a cocktail served in a classic glass. That said, whatever is in a chocolate martini is awfully good!

I like my martinis made with gin, very very dry. My method is to pour the vermouth over the olives before I put them in the glass. I learned that trick from my bartender and it works quite well.

Sometimes to change it up I use olives stuffed with something, such as garlic, almonds, or blue cheese.

KR, I took a Bartending Course last summer, just for general interest and it was SUPER INTERESTING and I learned tonnes. I will give you a quick 'n dirty lesson right here on martinis.

That would be a "highball", babe! A highball is "a cocktail containing a liquor (in this case, the JD) and a single mix (& in this instance, the Coke)".

I will reveal all to you about Martinis (this will cover the old classics):

Classic Martini
-2 oz. of gin or vodka (be sure to ask what they want)
-dash of dry vermouth
-stir the vodka or gin in the ice-packed martini shaker, unless you are instructed that they want it "shaken" (shaking it imparts more water from the ice into the booze, thereby increasing the "volume" of liquid, but also diluting the alcohol. This is referred to as "bruising" the alcohol.).
- garnish with either a spear of 3 olives or a lemon twist (ask what garnish they want)

Dry Martini
-2 oz. of gin or vodka (be sure to ask what they want)
-flavor glass with dry vermouth, then dump out the vermouth
-stir the vodka or gin in the ice-packed martini shaker, unless you are instructed that they want it "shaken"
- garnish with either a spear of 3 olives or a lemon twist (ask what garnish they want)

Burnt Martini
-2 oz. of gin or vodka (be sure to ask what they want)
-dash of dry vermouth
-dash of scotch
-stir the vodka or gin in the ice-packed martini shaker, unless you are instructed that they want it "shaken"
- garnish with either a spear of 3 olives or a lemon twist (ask what garnish they want)

Dirty Martini
-2 oz. of gin or vodka (be sure to ask what they want)
-dash of dry vermouth
-tbsp of olive juice (ask them if they want more, or some bartenders just pour it in there)
-stir the vodka or gin in the ice-packed martini shaker, unless you are instructed that they want it "shaken"
- garnish with a spear of 3 olives

"Perfect" Martini
-2 oz. of gin or vodka (be sure to ask what they want)
-dash of dry vermouth & dash of sweet vermouth (i.e. perfect means BOTH dry vermouth *AND* sweet vermouth)
-stir the vodka or gin in the ice-packed martini shaker, unless you are instructed that they want it "shaken"
- garnish with either a spear of 3 olives or a lemon twist (ask what garnish they want)

Gibson Martini
-2 oz. of gin or vodka (be sure to ask what they want)
-dash of dry vermouth
-stir the vodka or gin in the ice-packed martini shaker, unless you are instructed that they want it "shaken" .
- garnish with pearl onion

Manhatten
-2 oz. of rye
-dash of sweet vermouth & bitters
-stir in the ice-packed martini shaker, unless you are instructed that they want it "shaken"
- garnish with a cherry

Perfect Manhatten
-2 oz. of rye
-dash of sweet & dry vermouth & bitters
-stir in the ice-packed martini shaker, unless you are instructed that they want it "shaken"
- garnish with a cherry

Rob Roy
-2 oz. of scotch
-dash of sweet vermouth
-stir in the ice-packed martini shaker, unless you are instructed that they want it "shaken"
- garnish with a cherry

Rob Roy
-2 oz. of scotch
-dash of sweet & dry vermouth
-stir in the ice-packed martini shaker, unless you are instructed that they want it "shaken"
- garnish with a cherry

These are pretty much the "classics". If you want some others, I can put those up too.

An observation about James Bond:
It's kind of ironic that a manly-man guy like James Bond would order his martinis shaken, not stirred. If anything, shaking the martini in the ice-packed shaker dilutes the booze, rather than merely just stirring or swilling it around, prior to pouring it into the glass. So you can have a little chuckle about that, the next time that you watch a 007movie.

Public Education Message:
And for what it's worth, martinis have 2 oz of booze in them, therefore, by their very nature, they are a "double drink". Some restaurants have taken to advertising "double martinis on special". This does not mean that there is 4 oz of booze in them, it refers to the 2 oz of booze in them, and they are counting on the ignorance of their patrons who think that they are "getting a deal", and this annoys me immensely. (Where I live, it is actually illegal to serve someone more than 3 oz of alcohol at a time, as per the liquor laws).
So please don't be someone who goes around saying, "Woo hoo, double martinis are on special." You will look like someone who doesn't know what they are talking about.

Thanks you for the info, CP! I have never liked the shaken not stirrred comment. Mostly because I relate much more to Auntie Mame, who said to her youing nephew as he prepared her martini:

"Stir, never shake. It bruises the gin!" :cool:

Ah, my pet, you could have the 'classic martini' but made with vodka and then garnished with a lemon twist. No gin, no olives and it is *STILL* a true, classic martini.


You are very welcome! Yes, one thing that I learned from the bartending classes is that, if in doubt, you default to "stirring" not shaking. Sure, shaking is a bit more exciting to watch the bartending doing, but as Auntie Mame said, you are bruising the gin (or vodka)....i.e. diluting it with water from the ice. And who wants a watered down drink? "Not I", said the fly.

Heh... took one last Christmas for pure interest sake as well - really enjoyed the product knowledge aspect of the course... as well as the section on common bar scams.

My personal favourite is the "repackaging scam"; where you take a standard mixed drink, toss it in a cocktail glass (or something else fancy) and seriously mark up the price. Basically selling the "package" or the image it presents, not really the drink. A classic example of this is the Crantini... a Vodka Cranberry re-marketed and a cocktail (usually for almost double to cost)

I have to think someone who isn't a complete idiot would know what that is all about.

You'd be surprised... after all there are the folks out there all concerned over image - who would much rather be seen drinking from a cocktail glass than a simple bar glass. Heck that's how a lot of Martini bars make a killing: the style over substance crowd.

In the crantini, are they not using 2 oz. of vodka? Because that would drive up the price anyway? Or they pouring "single" drinks, but charging people for "doubles"?

Me no understand.

^^^^^
That's one of the differences...a Vodka and Cranberry typically has a SINGLE shot of Vodka, whereas most martinis have 2-3 ozs...approximately a double shot plus a lil

Where I live, bartenders are not supposed to 'free pour'. It has to measured in a shot glass before pouring. The laws for liquor here are uber-strict. So...no "nearly 3 oz" of booze in your martinis. :(:(

Another public service message:
If you don't like getting bloated from drinking beer, don't drink beer from a bottle. Pour it in a glass. When you drink it from the bottle, the neck opening is not big enough to allow the CO2 to escape that quickly. So you end up ingesting way more CO2 gas, than you would if your beer was poured into a glass. Hence, the bloat.
I saw this on a Stella Artois documentary. It was pretty interesting.

very true.

I was assuming the same amount of Vodka in each drink - so to be clear a double vodka cran. and a Crantini... the Crantini will invariably cost more for some reason.

Anyways if you ever wander into the a Martini/Cocktail bar; the suit and tie kind for guys... check out the drink price difference between a mixed double and a cocktail - I've seen some in downtown Toronto where the difference is almost double, but the usual rate is about a buck difference or more a drink.

The Black Marble!:D

Stoly, a Black Olive, wave a Vermouth Bottle over it!;)