Comments on: A Martini by Any Other Name, Ain’t

By: Manolito

Manolito — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:18:54 +0000

my week is saved – interesting blog here

By: sklep wedkarski

sklep wedkarski — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:46:12 +0000

Ciekawa strona, dodalem ja do ulubionych, zapraszam do odwiedzenia mojej

By: Benito

Benito — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 20:52:06 +0000

In response to the garnish: when I grow the tomatoes and basil myself, it’s not quite as embarassing. Yes, I skewer those combinations on toothpicks and let them reside in the glass while drinking. If the conditions are just right the juices from the tomato flow into the martini and the saltiness of the cheese and/or olives help out in a wonderfullly subtle way. The consuming of the garnish at the end provides for a powerfully savory appetizer, and again, if you’re using real vermouth as it’s intended, all of the herbal flavors come together to give your mouth a real treat.

I’ve actually converted martini-haters with this trick, and feel that it’s an appropriate improvisation that still holds true to the taste of the original. It’s not like I’m throwing in Blue CuraÃ§ao and giving it a name generally associated with a sex act.

The trick with the tomatoes is that they have to be split in half; otherwise the juices can’t swirl around.

On the other hand, the pearl onion in a Gimlet does nothing for me. The funniest garnish I ever heard of was in a beverage called the Mother Teresa, invented by Spider Robinson in one of his novels: a martini with a mournful prune resting in the bottom of the glass.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 20:37:23 +0000

My father would be turning over in his grave at the thought of Giglio’s concoction. I can remember him saying, on many an occasion, “a dry martini is a glass of very cold gin over which one whispers, ‘vermouth’”.

Nothing to stir or shake. Sip in peace, dad.

By: Fredric Koeppel

Fredric Koeppel — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 13:38:57 +0000

Wait a sec, Mr. B., you put a bleu-cheese-stuffed olive surrounded by a cherry tomato IN the martini? Or nibble it on the side? And the mozzarella? You’re a brave man to admit this innovation in a public forum.

By: eljefe

eljefe — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 08:22:02 +0000

Martinis are shaken because James Bond, as personified by Sean Connery, ordered his (vodka) Martini that way – and no one will deny that 007 was the sexiest fictional cat of the 20th century. Also, I get the impression it is easier and quicker for the bartender to shake….

Of course Bond did not order his Martini shaken to be sexy, rather – he ordered them that way precisely because the alcohol was diluted more and he wanted to be on his toes. So to speak… Ian Fleming definitely knew his spy-craft.

I for one am sick and tired of feeling like the Titanic maneuvering my way through a sea of ice shards floating in a cocktail glass. They can darn well stir my drinks.

As far as I am concerned, stirred is the sexy of the 21st century – unless of course you are in fact a spy…

By: Benito

Benito — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 07:04:57 +0000

When it comes to martinis, I am a traditionalist in that I enjoy the roughly 4-1 ratio of good gin (I love Citadelle) to vermouth, and I look down upon those who put their vermouth in a mister or–God forbid–swirl the delicate wine in a glass and dump it out before adding the gin.

(I’m not afraid to say it: vermouth is delicious, and it is an excellent liquid to toss over fish that is baked or cooked in a skillet.)

I do prefer to add a few tiny strips of lemon zest via a zester, and I think that the garnish of a standard martini can provide some interesting tastes. My personal favorite is a cherry tomato, cut in half, each piece speared on a toothpick on opposite sides of a bleu-cheese stuffed olive.

A caprese garnish is also fun: a bollito of fresh mozzarella, a cherry tomato, and a big basil leaf all on a toothpick.

Despite these variations–which really marry flavors quite well–I still think such creations as the “Chocotini” are ridiculous.