Martini Lounge [General]

2008 May 30
I find it fascinating how the Martini has regenerated itself in recent years. Although it has been around in some form for about 100 years (according to Wikipedia) it became most famous after World War II (being a drink of choice evidently by the likes of Churchill, Patton and US Presidents. In it's early days it was considered a classy drink that Hollywood loved to show off in its Black & White films of the 40s and 50s, being drank by such suave bachelors as Frank Sinatra and James Bond.

After the 1960s the drink fell out of favour primarily due to the end of the Businessmen's Lunch (aka the 3 martini lunch). And by the 1970s almost no one was drinking them (we'd moved on to White Wine, Kir, and Imported Beers). The only references I recall to the Martini back then was in M*A*S*H, and making martinis out of homemade hooch from a still and vermouth from an IV drip, just solidified the idea that the martini was a harsh drink.

Then came Sex and The City... and suddenly the martini went from harsh to hip. Gin was out Vodka was in. The martini was distancing itself from the male interpretation (although he's still out there, and purists think he is still very rugged and mysterious) suddenly the martini had morthed into something that was fashionable, sexy and available.

So in honour of Sex and the City (Movie Release today), and how times have changed! Please share your thoughts on the martini.

Food & Think - I would never had had a gin martini, as I said too harsh for my sensibilities. But I am totally on board since the move to vodka. I like the girlie ones for sure... Cosmos, Flirtini, anything with juice, frozen berries or champagne.

2008 May 30
I started drinking martinis 13 years ago (I had my first martini on my 30th birthday to be exact) and I must admit James Bond was my inspiration. I tried a gin martini at first and found it too sweet even though I like gin but best in a gin and tonic. I also tried one of those flavoured ones at Bravo Bravo while it was still open and also found it too sweet. So I stick to my weekly vodka martini on Friday evenings when I get home from work.

2008 May 30
I loooove a good martini, hence the picture/avatar. I like mine fairly plain or classic, no cosmos or strange flavours added for me. I like both gin and vodka depending on what I'm in the mood for, or what's on hand, but I'm faily specific about brands. For Vodka, I prefer Grey Goose but others I've found that I like which is a bit cheaper Three Olives and Wyborowa. For Gin, I prefer Bombay Sapphire or Tanqueray. I stir my martinis, never shake them unless I'm stuck with a harsher vodka, then I find shaking lightens them up a bit. The shaking clouds the drink and waters it down in my opinion. Also, I like just a little splash of vermouth, and two olives, rinsed to remove any brine.

Obviously a lot of extra work for a drink, but I like what I like, especuially when I'm the one making it.

2008 May 30
I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to martini. Lots of gin, a tiny splash of dry vermouth, shaken with ice and served with an olive or two. I never understood the appeal of vodka with vermouth...

If you widen the scope a bit and use "martini" to mean any cocktail served in a martini glass then I'm partial to Cosmopolitans, or preferably, the Metropolitan Ben Reed covers in one of his recipe books (the following recipe is from www.nativecafecalabasas.com):

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Metropolitan - Ben Reed's delicious modified Cosmo. In a shaker 2/3 filled with ice add a large shot of Absolut Kurant vodka and a small shot of each of the following - Cointreau, fresh lime juice and cranberry juice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Flame some orange zest over the drink, wipe the rim with the zest, and then add it to the drink.
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I use 2 ounces of Kurant vodka and 1 oz of everything else (and I use Triple Sec instead of Cointreau). Yes, this means you end up with a full half cup of hard liquor in your glass! It tastes amazing though.

2008 May 30
I'm not a huge fan of green olives so the idea of a dirty martini completely repulses me. I don't mind a gin martini once in awhile, but prefer a lemon garnish...

My girlfriend really loves the drink list (especially the Cosmos) at The Collection/Bar 56 The Collection and Bar 56

2008 May 30
Pasta Lover - Like your weekly Martini Ritual.

Tre - LOL, You're living up to my Bond image of you with your own personal preference in a martini recipe. "Two olives rinsed".

Fresh Foodie - Nothing but the Original for you, lol. Food purist that you are it fits. And yes, I was stretching the boundry here to include the modern definition of martini... I concede they are really just fancy cocktails in martini glasses. Thanks for the Metropolitan recipe, sounds delish, think I'll give it a try.

Monty - LOL, no dirty martini for you... somehow I expected that would be your favourite, seing as it just goes with your sense of humour, being a full monty kind of guy. ;-)

2008 May 30
I love martinis...

Sipping a durty durty one right now. Plymouth Gin, touch of vermouth, 10 olives and a splash of olive juice. MmmmmmmMmmm.

2008 May 31
Draft Dinner - A Durty Durty Martini, lol, sounds like this should be called the Olivtini (10 olives) oh well good to see your getting your greens!

2008 Jun 1
I like a slightly bastardized version of the 007 martini, the Vesper.
3 Parts Gin
1 Part Vodka
1/2 Part Vermouth (should be Kina Lillet, but.. whatever)
Shaken with ice, and thin lemon peel on top.
It doesn't really start to kick until you don't really care anymore...

2008 Jun 2
tre brought up an interesting point that I always wondered about. Is there any discernable difference in taste between brands of vodka? I usually use Smirnoff - brand faithfulness I guess? - but I did try Grey Goose a few years ago and couldn't really taste any difference. Am I missing something?...

2008 Jun 2
No need to wonder! Just get a couple of us together, with a couple 40's of Smirnoff, Grey Goose, and maybe throw in a bottle of Stolichnaya as well, and we'll drink until we can either tell the difference, or at least imagine it ;-)

2008 Jun 2
That sounds like the best vodka tasting ever - count me in!

2008 Jun 2
Absolutely, for Science!

2008 Jun 2
And you thought that the wine tastings were debauched ;)

2008 Jun 2
For a 'clean' tasting (or should I say, almost tasteless) vodka, I use triple distilled Silent Sam.

Great in Kamikazi's.


2008 Jun 2
I did develop a bit of a taste for vodka when I was living in the Soviet Union, and yes, there are taste differences albeit they can be subtle. In the case of Stolichnaya ("Capital") it was very difficult to obtain the export-grade stuff (for rubles at least, for dollars you could). The swamp water they fed to their own citizens had a little wee white bird on the label, so the locals would call it "Ptichnaya" ("birdie"), and it was decidedly a much lower grade than the stuff that looked identical but for the absence of the little birdie on the label.

It used to be said that the one with the bird was a "chemically-produced" vodka, whatever that means. Of course, people used to also believe there were giant butterflies in Siberia which could carry off a human - so you had to take those sorts of things with a bit of a grain of salt :-)

But I haven't drunk vodka since then so couldn't tell you what's good over here.

2008 Jun 2
Pete-In-Ottawa - Yes the "Vesper" martini. As for the vodka tasting, you crack me up, seems to me you are always looking for an excuse to party!

2008 Jun 2
Tre - A couple of years ago I saw a show on tv (might have been CBC Marketplace) that did a feature on taste-testing vodkas, to see if there was a noticeable difference between all the brands (about the time that the more expensive vodkas were hitting the shelves). Turns out that in the taste test most people couldn't tell one from the other, even some people who swore by Grey Goose for example, couldn't pick it out. The conclusion was (with North American vodka) they were pretty much all the same, it was just the marketing. Not so much the taste, but the image associated with a vodka.

But then again, Vodka has always been about marketing. At the end of the 30s (after prohibition) Whiskey (US = Burbon, Cdn = Rye) was/were the alcohol of choice. Cheap easy to produce for a variety of sources (corn, wheat, etc). No one even knew what Vodka was. It was a Russian imigrant to first started to make vodka, using the Smirnoff name which he had licensed from the Imperial Russian Court (which by this time didn't exist). No one paid much attention, short on cash he would bottle his vodka using caps that were stamped Whiskey. It wasn't until someone coined the phrase "White Whiskey" that vodka became popular... that and the fact that it was virtually tasteless and could be mixed with just about anything... a fact that Smirnoff marketed well asking bartenders and everyday people to make up recipes. These new drinks were then featured in glossy magazines (like Playboy in the 50s & 60s) showing celebrities sipping one. And so, the largest selling vodka in the world was born!

2008 Jun 2
Captain Caper - Silent Sam, there's a name I haven't heard in awhile... they've sort of fell off the radar in recent years.

Zym - No doubt "local" vodkas will always be different from the large internationally marketed (controlled) brands... I agree I would think people could tell them apart. But as I said in my post to Tre (above) taste tests have shown the commericial brands are pretty much the same.

As for taking things with a grain of salt... I think I see a Vodka Margarita in the mix
;-P

2008 Jun 2
zymurgist and Food&Think thanks for the feedback. I always wondered how much of a diffence there is in the vodkas we get here in Canada. I can justify differentiating between wines since the outcome depends alot on the grape, the process, the spices used, etc. But considering vodka is made from distilled potatoes I can't imagine it would produce much in the range of taste. The vodka we purchase in Canada seems to be mostly about the marketing IMO. Mind you I like Pete's version of a taste test - half the fun is trying what is available hehehe! All in all I still look forward to my after-work martini on Fridays...

2008 Jun 2
Pasta, it's not all made with potatoes. Grey Goose is made from wheat, Wyborowa is made from Rye, and I'm sure there are others. Filtering techniques often differ as well, from charcoal to limestone. I find the taste differences subtle, but find more difference in smoothness or mouth-feel if that makes sense. More of a sharpness than an actual flavour.

2008 Jun 2
Thanks tre! I didn't realize vodka was produced from wheat or rye and of course I know even less about the filtering process. As for the taste your comments are helpful. I thought I was supposed to be looking for a flavour (fruity, spicy, etc.). I guess I will now have to try that taste test...

2008 Jun 2
Pasta Lover - LOL, that je ne sais quoi" in wine making they call that "Terroir" and winemakers for centuries have been protecting their secrets and their grapes (land). As for a vodka tasting, I would think that the results I quoted suggest that they are all pretty much equal (LOL, but then I can't imagine long after beginning such a taste test, that they would all taste the same... if you get my drift).

Tre - "Pasta, it's not all made with potatoes" (LOL isn't that Gnocchi?)

Actually, you are right... they use a lot of grains nowadays. I can see where you coming from regarding the smoothness or mouth feel vs. taste per se. This I can understand. I would think too that filtering techniques might add in some subtle "flavour" (for lack of a better word). As we've discussed here in the Forum on other topics, a lot of people perceive things differently, and a lot of times one doesn't like a particular food because of its texture, I'm thinking this might be more relative with Vodka now that I think of it... but I still think it is more identifiable when drank straight up vs mixed up. Which if I recall, is basically how the Taste Test I referred to did it, in mixed drinks (cocktails, cosmos, etc).

2008 Jun 2
I've always found Vodka to be a bit of a strange anomaly. When there are so many kinds of booze that taste great, what is the point of drinking one that is known for having little flavour?? In my opinion, the extreme subtlety of Vodka's flavour makes this drink a terrible mixer -- its aroma is far too weak to be juxtaposed with anything else (except maybe ice). Consequently, there's some temptation to use it as alcohol "filler" in drinks and punches, simply as a means of increasing the alcohol content. However, why not try to select booze that tastes great and complements the flavour of the drink in some way?

Incidentally, a Russian friend encouraged me to compare different brands and I was surprised to find that there really is a difference. Absolut tastes kind of blah while Stolichnaya has more depth and smoothness. Certainly worth the small price difference if you plan to drink it straight. Приветственные восклицания! ;-)

2008 Jun 3
FF - Babelfish translates that to "Salutatory exclamations!", which I think is about accurate.

I prefer the other one, but can't for the life of me spell it in either Roman or Cyrillic. Na sdorovie?

2008 Jun 3
I wasn't sure where FF got that expression but I'm guessing from babelfish in the first place :-) The first word uses an obscure participle form of the verb "privjet" which leads me to believe it's not really an every day expression. I can't recall ever hearing it. Then again, I'm almost 20 years rusty now (sigh). "Na sdorovie" is close enough for comfort. "Na zdorovie" (to health) would be better. Or in the case of sampling vodkas you can try "Davaitje m'i vipjom pod stolom!" (C'mon we'll drink ourselves under the table) :-)

2008 Jun 3
Yeah, I wanted something in Cyrillic and couldn't find consensus on the "Na zdorovie" thing (many websites suggest that it is not a culturally accurate expression) so in desperation I entered "Cheers!" into babelfish. "Salutatory exclamations!" was the result. :-)

2008 Jun 3
Not culturally accurate? Who suggested that, and in what context? Interesting. It certainly was widely used when I was there. That was Soviet Ukraine, but they spoke only Russian in Odessa. The only other "drinking greeting" I can think of is the "under the table one". Hmmm, somewhere around here I have a dictionary of slang and colloquial expressions that would get to the bottom of that "culturally accurate" thing ...

BTW, did you implement thread-splitting yet? :-)

2008 Jun 3
Actually now that I think of it, while "na zdorovie" was certainly widely used, if we are talking about Russian toasts, the "real deal" would be completely spontaneous, and really, really, REALLY long. The Russian toast was (and probably still is) a real artform. You could easily be standing for 5 minutes or so while one was being given. Even at informal gatherings.

2008 Jun 4
Fresh Foodie - Thread Splitting? Please tell me that that means when a thread gets really long it splits in two and continues... I'm all in favour of this! Personally for me things get pretty slow after we reach 40 to 50 posts.