As the martini tends to be my drink of choice, I decided to vary my standard practice lest I grow weary of it, that standard being 2 to 3 oz gin with a capful of dry vermouth, into a frozen glass with a twist.
I looked to two great sources to switch things up a bit. First, Robert Simonson’s 3-Ingredient Cocktails, in which he describes the martini as “the undisputed monarch of cocktails,” and briefly notes its long evolution from sweet and vermouthy, pre-prohibition, to the arid glass of gin with olives post-WWII. Only relatively recently has the martini found its balance. Part of that balance is a bitter component, orange bitters which, he writes, “brought the drink closer to it original profile and made it strictly speaking, a true ‘cocktail’ again (that is, a drink with bitters somewhere in the equation).”
David Lebovitz’s more recent Drinking French also includes orange bitters in his martini.
As for the vermouth, I think those who suggest waving the vermouth over the glass are wags. You need vermouth, enough to taste, to balance the gin and round the drink’s steely edges. Simonson likes a 3:1 ratio of gin to vermouth. That’s too much for me—and Simonson readily admits that everyone has their own preference. Eight years ago, when I was being obsessively exact, I called for a 5:1 ratio, 90 grams gin, 18 grams vermouth, for the perfect balance. I was gratified that this is exactly what Lebovitz suggests: 2-½ oz gin, ½ ounce vermouth. I add not 1, but 2, dashes of orange bitters.
And for the video, I flamed orange zest, for variety and color. But honestly, a lemon twist remains the perfect enhancing garnish. This is indeed a splendid cocktail and I would argue that this should be the bedrock standard ratio for the cocktail known as The Martini.
Happy Friday Cocktail Hour all!
(Music courtesy of bensound.com!)
Thanks Ruhlman - I assume you know about the Speakeasy bar list for Providence and all 'The Varnish' Baar in LA which is part of Alperin Enterprises - they really know their cocktail chemistry - pretty obsessive, down to home made ice management.
no, don't know it!
Ce que je ne comprends pas, c'est que vous n'êtes pas beaucoup plus intelligent que vous ne l'êtes maintenant. Vous êtes très intelligent. Vous réalisez beaucoup de choses sur ce sujet, ce qui m'a permis de l'imaginer sous de nombreux angles. Les hommes et les femmes ne semblent pas être fascinés par ce qui touche à Woman gaga.