Today's cocktail is another gin-based elixer, the Martinez. Taditionally this cocktail is equal parts gin and sweet vermouth with a soupçon of maraschino liqueurr and a dash of bitters. An excellent cocktail. But for me, it's a little on the sweet side, what with all that vermouth and the sweet Luxardo, bitters not withstanding. Can't add more bitters in the form of Campari because then it would be a Negroni! But I do think that you are justified in finessing the amounts to taste--as long as you don't change the ingredients.
Many will cry foul on that (see Jorge Luis comment in the Negroni post). I believe a Martinez denotes specific ingredients, not proportions (unless they're way out of whack). Is a 6:1 Martini a real Martini whereas a Martini with a drop of vermouth is not a Martini? A martini with vodka instead of gin is a Kangaroo, as everyone knows, just as a Manhattan made with scotch is a Rob Roy and a Negroni made with whiskey we call a Boulevardier. (It's a losing battle I know, trying to rid the term vodka martini from the language, but a guy's gotta try.)
It seems I was more strict back when I lived on Berkshire Road in Cleveland Heights. Because I used virtually these very same proportions many years ago and called it a Berkshire Martinez. I was further honored when Paulius, owner of the best bar in the world, put it on the menu.
Now I will simply call it an adapted Martinez. The combination of flavors remain solid and delicious.
We live in deeply troubled and divisive times. I hope you'll enjoy a calming cocktail with loved ones either near or Zoomed and have faith that the America will one day reunite as our forefathers so brilliantly and heroically foresaw.
Until then, a cocktail, and this lovely poem by Wendell Barry. (Thanks, Elizabeth.) The Peace of Wild Things.
The Martinez (adapted for our times)
Ingredients
- 2 ounces gin
- 1 ounce sweet vermouth
- ½ ounce maraschino liqueur (such as Luxardo)
- 3 dashes bitters
- 1 orange twist
Instructions
- Combine the fluids in a mixing glass. Fill it with ice, stir and strain into a thoroughly chilled glass.
- Garnish with a twist.
Bravo; I am on the Kangaroo evangelism bandwagon as well!
The Martini, the Kangaroo, the Margarita... ALL let you search for your own ratio.
I tend to be strict, though, on the Negroni and Boulevardier. In fact, a 2:1 Boulevardier has a formal name; it's a 1794 Cocktail.
Try Ransom old tom gin in your Martinez!
Here's a Bourbon riff on the Martinez I developed, and you might enjoy:
BUBBA MARTIN
Summary:
The Bubba Martin is to the Martinez what the Dry Mahoney is to the Martini; the spirit is changed to Bourbon.
Martinez, Martini; hence Martin.
Kentucky bourbon; hence Bubba.
I think this cocktail is much better balanced than the Dry Mahoney. It’s in the family with a Manhattan or a Red Hook. The bourbon is sweet, as is the Old Tom in the Martinez relative to gin in the Martini.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounce bourbon
1 1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
1 teaspoon maraschino liqueur
2 dashes orange bitters
lemon twist, for garnish
Directions:
Add ingredients to an iced mixing glass and stir 40 rounds. Strain into a chilled coupe or Nick and Nora glass. Twist lemon peel over cocktail to express its oils. Rub rim of glass with peel and drop in.
fantastic comment, thanks Steve. Will have to try!
my anniversary is this week and I think I might have a Martinez.
To combat the sweetness I use Ransom Old Tom gin and Antica Carpano vermouth if I have any, both are more bitter.
Always a twist of orange, it’s better than lemon twist in this drink. But the white Negroni I go with lemon twist. Rob Roy I use Laphroig, less sweet and more like a Manhattan. I’ve tried all these and that’s why I usually skip the Friday cocktail, it’s not for geezers, except for special occasions.
Cheers!
good call on the vermouth.
I like Ketel Vodka on the rocks with a drop of Gib on the top & a lemon twist.. is that a Kangaroo?
a modified kangaroo, but I love the gin on top for flavor. add some lilet and you're close to a vesper.
What would you call a drink with just gin and sweet vermouth?
I once ordered a martini and was surprised that it was brown. It occurred to me that maybe the bartender had used sweet vermouth. When I tried it myself, I found that I liked it better!
I like to make them 'dirty' too, i.e. with olive juice or brine and (stuffed) olives, if I have the latter.
it may be the original martini. https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/original-martini-237573
Very tasty cocktail enjoyed it with it's complexity of flavors, I used a local, herbaceous gin. I recently bought another local gin that was aged in bourbon barrels, it might taste more like a Manhattan, we'll see!
which gin, where?
It is made in Windsor VT, Silo Distillery, great place to visit, next door to VT Cheese Co. and Harpoon Brewery