E6 EZ EE THE WASHINGTON POST.WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 , 2019
Making it right
Lots of people have a
preference about their
martinis, and if you’re hosting,
it’s s mart to find out what it is.
Here is how to approach the
variables while understanding
the rules:
Choose your base. G in is the
classic choice, and many will
argue, a better one than v odka.
But gin-haters do exist, so you’ll
need t o check. You might try the
adventurous ones on a Vesper, a
martini v ariation that combines
gin and vodka (and was created
by Bond in one of Ian Fleming’s
novels — a rguably the spy’s o ne
good contribution to cocktails).
Decide your spirit-to-
vermouth ratio. Many people
have c ome to understand that
good vermouth is a thing of
beauty. B ut those raised on
ultradry martinis may not have
come around yet. Ratios r ange
from t he contemporary 50:50 t o
a scant whisper of vermouth. A
5-to-1 or 4-to-1 gin-to-vermouth
split is a good starting point.
Nail the garnish game. T he
choice of an olive or a swath of
expressed lemon peel changes
the whole drink. Add a cocktail
onion, and y ou’ve got a
variation known a s a Gibson.
Add olive juice for a dirty
martini, or an olive stuffed with
blue cheese f or a murky
nightma — I ’m s orry, f or a drink
many people l ove. Different
bitters c an also bring out new
flavors.
Serve it very cold and
properly diluted. A hefty p our
of spirit and vermouth, the
martini n eeds t he dilution it
gets when stirred with ice. Treat
the process patiently, and
remember t o chill your
glassware. With all the
arguments about martinis, i t’s
hard — b ut not impossible — t o
find someone arguing it doesn’t
need t o be cold.
Remember, ingredients
vary. I f you delve more deeply
into m artinis, tasting for
nuances of flavor, you’ll start to
understand why people still
argue about them. One gin is
not the same as the n ext. Ditto
the vermouth, ditto the b itters,
and each combines w ith the
other ingredients a little bit
differently. You can use the
same classic s pec and still end
up with different d rinks.
Be a little scared of it. T his is
not some sessionable little
spritzer. Aside from the dilution
from t he ice, this b aby is a solid
wave of booze c oming at y ou.
Treat it accordingly.
[email protected]Allan is a Hyattsville, Md., writer and
editor. Follow her on Twitter:
@Carrie_the_Red.assembles, s tirs a nd pours the
drink tableside, s erved with a
choice of garnishes — o lives,
lemon peel, seaweed — a nd a
tiny spoon of caviar, if you like.
We l iked.
Our drinks c ame with a story,
the server e xplaining that the
Old King Cole n ame is based on
the tale that the m artini
originated a t the Knickerbocker
Hotel i n New York, whose bar
had a Maxfield Parrish m ural of
Old King Cole.
“The story is nonsense,”
Simonson n oted, but t he
resulting martini is all it should
be.
Simonson, brave fellow,
drank hundreds of martinis
researching his book, w hich
delves into the drink’s
fascinating history and faux
histories, its spinoffs, the
evolution of p references around
gin vs. vodka. And, of course, i t
touches o n the v ermouth-to-
spirit ratio, long one of the
greatest points of debate about
the drink.
His desire to write the book,
in fact, was inspired by a
martini r ecipe competition he
wrote about. He was one of
several judges on the panel,
which tasted 2 7 variations and
chose a winner far lower in
vermouth — m uch closer to the
older style — t han t he 1-to-1
ratio lately heralded in the
cocktail world.
His article reporting t he
results c ame out, “and p eople
flipped! They w ere so mad that
a 50:50 did not win,” S imonson
says. “I w as just kind of amazed
by the response. A nd it
occurred t o me: People are still
getting upset about martinis!
After 135 years, t hey’re still
angry about this drink, and
they’re still arguing a bout it.”
“Why?” I asked him,
somewhat facetiously. After all,
I like arguing about martinis
myself. But so much analysis
and wit h as been expended on
the drink that sometimes it
seems even to evoke its name is
to add a nother layer t o a heavily
gilded lily.
“It certainly helped that
writers a nd artists took up the
cause and d ecided i t was worth
arguing about,” S imonson says.
“It is a very singular c ocktail.
People think martinis are
simple. I t’s gin and v ermouth,
leaving aside t he vodka
question for t he moment. But
gin has all these t hings i n it, and
vermouth has a ll these things in
it, and i f you throw in the
orange bitters, you’re dealing
with even more. T he balance o f
all those botanicals i s kind of
bewitching.”
SPIRITS FROM E1
People will argue about
martini variations when
they could drink them
Puritan Cocktail
1 serving
A terrific martini variation gussied up with
a little touch of herbal yellow Chartreuse. The
Brooklyn bar To oker Alley, w hich provided the
specs here, uses Plymouth for the gin and
Dolin for the vermouth.
Adapted from “The Martini Cocktail” by
Robert Simonson (Ten Speed Press, 2019).Ingredients
lIce
l2 ounces gin
l1 ounce dry vermouth
l2 teaspoons yellow Chartreuse
l1 dash orange bitters
lLemon twist, for garnishSteps
lChill a cocktail glass. Fill a mixing glass with
ice, and add the gin, vermouth, Chartreuse
and bitters. Stir to chill, 30 seconds. Strain
into the chilled glass, then express the twist
of lemon over the surface of the drink and
drop it into the glass.
Nutrition | Per serving: 210 calories, 0 g protein, 4 g
carbohydrates, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0
mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber, 4 g sugar
Recipes tested by M. Carrie Allan; email questions to
[email protected]Tuxedo
1 serving
Supposedly drawing its name from the
location that spawned the suit (Tuxedo Park,
N.Y.), this 19th-century martini variation has
its own variations roaming about; the Tuxedo
No. 2 includes vermouth, absinthe and mara-
schino and is, obviously, a very different beast.
This version is an easy, dry and delicious
cocktail that echoes the classic martini but
subs dry sherry — such as fino or manzanilla
— f or the vermouth, which adds a faintly nutty
flavor. While no garnish is specified in most
recipes, an orange twist is a nice addition here.
From Spirits columnist M. Carrie Allan.Ingredients
lIce
l2 ounces dry gin
l1 ounce dry sherry
l1 dash orange bitters
lOrange twist, for garnish (optional)Steps
lChill a cocktail glass. Fill a mixing glass with
ice, then add the gin, sherry and bitters. Stir
to chill, 20 to 30 seconds, then strain the
drink into the chilled glass. Express the twist
of the orange peel over the surface of the
drink, if using, then drop it in.
Nutrition | Per serving: 180 calories, 0 g protein, 0 g
carbohydrates, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0
mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber, 0 g sugarBatched Martinis
6 servings; makes 24 ounces
There’s some debate in the bar world about
pre-batched martinis, where you prep the
drink in advance and then hold them in the
freezer. Proponents argue that it allows the
flavors of the drink to combine. Critics say
“Nope,” n oting that guests served a pre-bottled
concoction of someone else’s gin-to-vermouth
ratio won’t get the value they do watching
their favorite version prepared before their
eyes. For the home host though, batched
martinis can be a thing of beauty: You can
keep a bottle in the freezer, have drinks ready
for anyone who might drop by and modify
them on the spot with guests’ preferred
garnishes and enhancements. And the drink
gets so cold in the freezer, it pours almost like
cream — a thick, arctic sip of boozy goodness.
MAKE AHEAD: The batched cocktail needs
to be mixed at least 1 1/2 hours ahead of time.
The cocktail can be stored in the freezer for
up to 6 months.
From Spirits columnist M. Carrie Allan.Ingredients
lScant 2 cups (450 milliliters) dry gin
lScant^2 / 3 cup (150 milliliters) dry vermouth
lScant^2 / 3 cup (150 milliliters) cold water
lAssorted orange bitters, olives and olive
brine, lemon twists and/or cocktail onions,
for servingSteps
lSet up an empty 750-milliliter bottle with a
funnel on top. Pour the gin, vermouth and
water into the bottle, then seal and shake to
combine. Store the bottle in the freezer for at
least 90 minutes and up to 6 months.
lPrior to service, chill glasses for 5 to 10
minutes. When ready to serve, customize the
drinks based on individual preferences: Add
a dash or two of orange bitters, or a splash of
olive juice if they like a “dirty” martini.
Garnish with a lemon twist, an olive, or a
cocktail onion (a martini variation known as
a Gibson) — or some combination of these.
Nutrition | Per serving: 210 calories, 0 g protein, 0 g
carbohydrates, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0
mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber, 0 g sugarPHOTOS BY LAURA CHASE DE FORMIGNY FOR THE WASHINGTON POST; STYLING BY LISA CHERKASKY FOR THE WASHINGTON POSTBatched Martinis.
Puritan Cocktail.Tuxedo.