Help me make a better martini

I want to learn how to make a really perfect (gin) martini. Some questions I have:
1. Brand of vermouth?
2. Amount of vermouth?
3. Shaken or stirred?
4. Any tricks to the twist.
5. I'm not a big olive fan in drinks, but if I wanted to give it a try, what kind, how, etc?

I've been learning about and starting to make cocktails the last few years and LTH has been my go to source. Thanks to all who've helped me before and hopefully will do so again.

Jonah

Here is what I personally prefer:

1. Brand of vermouth?

Dolin Dry

2. Amount of vermouth?

3:1 (Death's Door and Plymouth are my favorites) with a few shakes of orange bitters (Regan's)

3. Shaken or stirred?

Very well stirred until tin is extremely frosty

4. Any tricks to the twist.

I always zest a lemon with my peeler (Messermeister) and let it sit on top of the martini.

5. I'm not a big olive fan in drinks, but if I wanted to give it a try, what kind, how, etc?

I find them disgusting, so no help from me there.

Jonah wrote:I want to learn how to make a really perfect (gin) martini. Some questions I have:
1. Brand of vermouth?
2. Amount of vermouth?
3. Shaken or stirred?
4. Any tricks to the twist.
5. I'm not a big olive fan in drinks, but if I wanted to give it a try, what kind, how, etc?

I've been learning about and starting to make cocktails the last few years and LTH has been my go to source. Thanks to all who've helped me before and hopefully will do so again.

Jonah

The big question you left out is type of gin. This really depends on your preferences because they are so different. In our house, North Shore #6, Miller's (London), Broker's and Plymouth all make regular appearances in martinis.

Dolin dry vermouth is our favorite for martinis but Noilly & Pratt works just fine. Shaken is the preference around here but strain it well, so you don't have huge ice shards in the drink (we use a second strainer in addition to the one built into the cocktail shaker). As for the twist, I tend to be a zest-only guy. Use a vegetable peeler or really sharp paring knife to remove just the outermost portion of the rind, leaving all the pith behind. Squeeze this gently over the top of the poured drink and you'll see the citrus oil spray out onto the surface of the drink. Best to clean the citrus first with some of that special stuff designed to remove the wax from produce -- it makes a huge difference. Also, use very fresh, taut fruit because that expresses the most oil. Soft fruit will not yield much oil if any. After the spray, you can run the zest gently around the rim of the glass and drop it into the martini.

I do enjoy an occasional olive but generally stick with a twist. I tend to avoid those that have garlic or other marinades and opt for pitted, simply-brined, green olives.

I hope these tidbits I've picked up over the years are of some use to you.

=R=

A couple of more things.

Ice. Use filtered water to make it and use lots of it. Water content is the unsung ingredient, it's very important because almost 50% of your drink will be water content (Depending on Proof it could be more) Stir longer than you think. Pull the bar spoon out and give it a little taste. Is it still really boozy? Keep stirring.

Make small martinis. 3-5oz are really nice because they are still blisteringly cold when you get to the bottom. And you can have more of them. See Dorothy Parkers little poem. Put the glasses in the freezer, or at the least put ice and water in the glasses while you make the cocktail.

Vermouth. I really like the 375ml bottles because you go through them faster and they are fresher. Still, Vin-de-Vac them and keep them in the fridge. If it has been sitting around for a while (shame on you) taste it if it isn't something you want to drink by its self, open a new bottle, it's only a couple of bucks, less than a martini in a a steak house. And it will teach you to drink martinis wetter and more often. I like mine between 2-1 to 1-1.

Orange Bitters are wonderful, but experiment with different bitters/citrus combos. Grapefruit bitters and grapefruit twist is wonderful in the winter, paired with Beefeater, Dolin Sweet & Noilly Dry.

Many Happy Martinis,
Toby

The "Martini" I make for people who claim to not like martinis is almost like cheating...

2 oz Leopold Bros. Gin
1 oz Cocchi Americano
24 drops Bittercube Orange Bitters
The above is stirred with cracked ice and strained into a chilled coupe, a lemon coin is expressed over the drink and discarded (twists are pretty, but more trouble than they're worth at home, imo).

Many will rightly balk at the use of Cocchi Americano in lieu of dry vermouth. I consider it a stepping stone to the more unfamiliar/complex flavors of a Dolin or Noilly Prat dry.

The responses have been EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thanks and keep them coming.

Jonah

which is best gin or vodka?

toria wrote:which is best gin or vodka?

I'm not sure there's a "wrong" gin. As Ronnie said above, it's simply a matter of taste. Find one you like, then find a vermouth that has a complementary flavor profile. There may certainly be less than complementary pairings...for example, I would think there's going to be a bit too much going on between Hendricks and Dolin, but that doesn't mean someone out there doesn't prefer their martini thusly.

Vodka doesn't go in martinis.

I have tanqueray gin.

Also, to add to Toby's point about water being such an important part of the martini (any cocktail, really), DO NOT store your gin (or vodka, if that's how you want to roll) in the freezer if you plan on mixing drinks with it. If the liquor is too cold, it won't melt enough ice during the shaking/stirring, and your drink will end up tasting like pure, straight booze, rather than a pleasant, mellow cocktail.

Alchemist wrote:Vermouth. I really like the 375ml bottles because you go through them faster and they are fresher. Still, Vin-de-Vac them and keep them in the fridge. If it has been sitting around for a while (shame on you) taste it if it isn't something you want to drink by its self, open a new bottle, it's only a couple of bucks, less than a martini in a a steak house. And it will teach you to drink martinis wetter and more often. I like mine between 2-1 to 1-1.

This is a very important aspect of the martini. My friend's mother tried to make her a 1:1 martini using (what she later discovered was) 20 year old vermouth that had been sitting on the shelf.

I can't even imagine what 20 year old opened, room temperature vermouth would taste like. I mean, it's fortified wine.

kl1191 wrote:

toria wrote:which is best gin or vodka?

Vodka doesn't go in martinis.

Try a vodka martini with sushi. It just might change your opinion.

I like Plymouth gin and Dolin Dry in a 3:1 ratio. I like to use giant green olives that are stuffed with both garlic and jalapeno (if I can find them). Sometimes 3 of them. I add a bit of the brine to the shaker for a slightly dirty martini. After you drink the martini you are left with beautiful, and slightly boozy, olives.

1. Brand of vermouth? I like either North Shore #6 or Old Raj.

2. Amount of vermouth? Maybe 10%. I also like to add 3 drops or orange bitters.

3. Shaken or stirred? Only stirred; never shaken. And stirred rapidly but gently so as not to break up the ice.

4. Any tricks to the twist. I prefer a lemon twist (or now, Meyer Lemons as they are in season).

5. I'm not a big olive fan in drinks, but if I wanted to give it a try, what kind, how, etc? I don't use olives in my martini's usually.

My wife and I created a little martini tasting last night. Here was the line-up:

1. 2:1 of North Shore #6 to Dolin Dry

2: 2:1 of Small's Gin to Dolin Dry

3. 2:1 of Small's Gin to Dolin Dry plus about 3-4 drops of Regan's Orange bitters*

4. 2:1 of Small's Gin to Dolin Dry plus about 8 drops of Regan's Orange bitters*

*Normally I'd make a martini with 3oz of alcohol (say 2oz of gin and 1oz of vermouth), so the bitters would be 3-4 drops for a 3oz drink. For the tasting, we cut everything in half so that four drinks came to a total of 6oz of alcohol and correspondingly less bitters. My measurement of bitters is quite imprecise because I wasn't careful to have nice, uniform drops of the stuff.

The first three drinks were all great. The fourth had too much bitters (and I love bitter drinks). The comparison of #1 to #2 revealed the differences in the gins. Both were very good. The North Shore had more aromatics going on and I especially liked it; the Small's had a more refined, austere taste. My wife didn't know what was in each drink when we did the tasting and she guessed that that #2 was a dirty martini because it had a nice brininess to it.

The comparison of #2 to #3 showed that adding bitters to the drink adds a layer of complexity and really changes the drink.

The comparison of #3 to #4 was meant to highlight the difference between a little bitters and a lot of bitters. #4 ended up having too much bitters and wasn't pleasant to drink.

The occasion? My dog and I took a walk to In Fine Spirits to get a 6-pack of Left Hand Milk Stout. They only had one bottle left. Not wanting to leave empty-handed, and remembering this thread, I picked up a bottle of North Shore. I also picked up a bottle of Bittercube Bolivar bitters. The guys in the store were doing a tasting of Buffalo Trace whiskey's to select the barrel that would be the next In Fine Spirits-barrel select.

As an aside, another great gin that is quite inexpensive is Broker's. We usually have a 1.75L of this in the house and it would have been fun to include it in the tasting.

Alchemist wrote:A couple of more things.

Ice. Use filtered water to make it and use lots of it. Water content is the unsung ingredient, it's very important because almost 50% of your drink will be water content (Depending on Proof it could be more) Stir longer than you think. Pull the bar spoon out and give it a little taste. Is it still really boozy? Keep stirring.

Make small martinis. 3-5oz are really nice because they are still blisteringly cold when you get to the bottom. And you can have more of them. See Dorothy Parkers little poem. Put the glasses in the freezer, or at the least put ice and water in the glasses while you make the cocktail.

Vermouth. I really like the 375ml bottles because you go through them faster and they are fresher. Still, Vin-de-Vac them and keep them in the fridge. If it has been sitting around for a while (shame on you) taste it if it isn't something you want to drink by its self, open a new bottle, it's only a couple of bucks, less than a martini in a a steak house. And it will teach you to drink martinis wetter and more often. I like mine between 2-1 to 1-1.

Orange Bitters are wonderful, but experiment with different bitters/citrus combos. Grapefruit bitters and grapefruit twist is wonderful in the winter, paired with Beefeater, Dolin Sweet & Noilly Dry.

Many Happy Martinis,
Toby

I don't think I've ever read anything that I agreed with more completely. Just fantastic advice. I wish I adhered to standards this high all the time.

Oops, sorry....above for "brand of vermouth" I should have put Dolin (dry) in half bottles (375) kept in the fridge to slow oxidation.

Old Raj and North Shore 6 are my fav gins, of course.

One trick to chill glasses if you've forgotten to put them in the freezer beforehand:

Put ice and water in a martini glass.

Make your drink. When ready to strain, put the ice and water from the 1st martini glass into a 2nd martini glass.

Strain your first martini. By the time you've finished drinking your first, the glass for the second will be nice and cold. Repeat as desired.

Kathryn, I think we'll get along just fine.