I've actually never had one , but heard a good recipe today. with pomegranet, triple sec, and rasberry vodka, one shot of each. Now of course I've read that this isn't a true Martini, but my guess is you have a few and won't care!!
For some purists, a martini must be made of gin, and James Bond is a villain who should have been iced by Dr. No in his first film before he could popularize the vodka martini. For others, a martini is anything served in a martini glass but a true martini had to have vermouth, no other spirits other than gin or vodka and should be shaken or stirred with ice. There's no telling when an uninvited guest would be impressed by your stunning hospitality and delighted with an ice-cold Martini. Be cold. Be very, very cold. Your guests will thank you
I was in a bartending class once and we were taught that you actually shouldnt shake a gin martini because it would bruise the gin. I for one think gin is nasty so i could care less.
I'm not sure if I like Gin, but Vodka gives me a headache. Now I could go for the pomegranet, that sounds good. One of my favorite drinks is grapefruit juice with peach schnapps, I like the sweet/tart taste!
I spent a few years as a bartender, and here is what I remember from those days....
Martini... Was made by putting ice, gin and a splash of dry vermouth into a metal bar cup. Basically 8 part booze to one part vermouth. It was then stirred using the bar spoon. Then it was left to chill for about ten seconds and then using the strainer, poured into a martini glass. Rocks on the side, was when the ice, and whatever is left in the metal bar cup, are poured into a glass, about 6 ounce size. If someone wants it dry, or extra dry, it basically means that they want very little, or no vermouth. It was garnished with an olive. If the order said martini, they received gin. If someone wanted other than a well brand liquor, they specified the brand before martini. If someone wanted vodka, they always said vodka martini, and received olives as the garnish.
Other older, straight-up, mostly liquor drinks...
Gimlette - Made the same as a martini, but with vodka and a splash of Rose's lime juice. Garnished with a lime.
Gibson - Made the same as a martini, the only difference is that the garnish is coctail onions, not olives.
Manhattan - Made the same way as a martini, but uses whiskey, and sweet vermouth. These are garnished with cherries. Same goes with the whole dry concept, that basically refers to hold the vermouth.
None of the above were shaken, always stired.
Another common straight-up drink, with rocks on the side, was margaritta's. Those are four parts tequilla, one part triple sec, six parts sour mix, and a splash of rose's lime juice. They are shaken vigorously. Very common is to have salt around the rim. We would run a lime around the rim, then dip the glass in bar salt. Margaritta's were made, and mixed in a seperate glass, and poured into the final glass. Garnished with a lime. I personally like mine with Cervo Gold (instead of bar tequilla), and gran manier (instead of triple sec).
Cosmopolitans, apple martini's and all the newer variations have come out in the last ten years, as all the different pucker's have come out, and I don't really know where the cosmo's came from.
And this concludes my little road trip down bartending memory lane. Next will be the tricks for making GREAT frozen drinks, from scratch, and not using those silly mixes that are all over the place these days (yuck1)!
