The best martini you will have.
Since this blog is titled Martinis For Breakfast I thought I would share with you my way of preparing a martini – it really is something special, even if I do say so myself. I prefer mine with gin (Tanquery Ten if I am feeling flush) but you could just as easily make this with vodka should the whim take you. This method will also separate you from the rather dull crowd who insist on killing a martini by either shaking it to a watery death or stirring it into monotony.
Ingredients:
Gin
Vermouth
Either a twist of lemon, a pickled silver skin or an olive
Method:
As any barman worth his or her salt will tell you, the secret to the best martini is to keep your spirit as cold as possible. I keep mine in the top draw of my freezer along with two emergency vessels for the cocktail.
Gin and martini glasses belong in the freezer
You will see that I have used Tanquery here – it is an excellent martini gin – but Beefeater would have sufficed. I have also enjoyed a martini made with Plymouth gin at a push, though I would balk at the prospect of using Gordon’s. If you wish to indulge you must try Tanquery Ten for that delicious spirit, I am told, was specially blended to match a martini with a twist. It is a shame that Tanquery’s advertising is so lackluster these days isn’t it?
Now, once you have your gin and glass suitably chilled you need to get your hands on some vermouth. Extra Dry Martini fits the bill very well but, being a perfectionist sort, I like to put mine into an atomizer so as to distribute the wine finely and evenly. I wish I had something more elegant than the device below but I don’t. You should spray the wine around the glass – you are looking to create a gentle liason of the vermouth and spirit. I have tried to capture this photographically here:
The Vermouth in an (admittedly uncouth) atomizer
The atomized vermouth coating the chilled glass
You are now ready to add the gin. Take it, with vigour, from the freezer and pour a liberal amount into the glass and garnish it as you choose.
Remember to pour the spirit with style
A garnish of your choice
Personally, I am a twist man but I like to keep an olive or two in stock in case my date insists.
