How about a Martini?

Since I went over the Manhattan cocktail the other night, I thought I would go ahead and do the Martini next. I don’t want to delve into the debate as to what exactly constitutes a Martini so I will just state my opinion, it is gin and dry vermouth with a dash of orange bitters. How much vermouth? Well I guess that is up to the individual consumer.

There are those who will put the bottle of vermouth on the counter while they mix and consider that enough vermouth, a lot of people will pour vermouth into their shaker, swirl it around to coat the glass or the ice and dump out the vermouth. Some people will use a mister and spritz the inside of the shaker with the vermouth. I reckon traditionalists will say it is a 50/50 split, for me that is a bit to much, so I like to think of myself as a centrist.

How about garnish? When asked for a martini where nothing is specified, I go with my orange bitters and garnish with some lemon zest. If an onion(gibson) or olive are requested, I will leave out the bitters and garnish as requested.

I almost left out the how to mix part. Mr Bond likes his shaken no stirred, so if you want to be super cool I guess you can order one that way. However, to maximize the clarity of the drink and keep the bubbles to a minimum, it is a stirred drink.

With that, here is what I drink.

2 ½ oz Gin (London dry)
½ oz dry vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with lemon zest.

The Manhattan

Not the city, but the cocktail. Since it has been so long since I have posted I thought I would start back up with a cocktail, one of my favorites. A nicely made Manhattan is a wonderful drink, especially as an apertivo. I also use it as a safety drink at bars or as a litmus to see how a bar makes. The key is the bitters, you want to have those nice healthy dashes, I tend to stick with the traditional Angostura, but you can use others.

A note on the spirit. This is not a fruity little drink, it is whiskey and vermouth,mostly whiskey. So your choice of whiskey will impact your end result. If you want a Manhattan that is a little softer, use something like Maker's Mark. If you want something with a little more bite, go with a rye, I like Rittenhouse.

Manhattan

2 oz whiskey
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
2 dashes bitters

Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry or orange twist.