Let's Start at the Very Begining, part two

The Martini

A classic never goes out of style.

It's the drink I cut my teeth on and there was no looking back after that. Rum and Cokes were hence
forth dead to me, and I have my Grandma Clare to thank for it. And if you think this is a drink with vodka in it, sit yourself down right now and take a deep breath, you'll get over it.

Bitters (Nicola) shared with us last week her love at first taste with the Manhattan, and how this led her to find confidence in building her own cocktails, classics or riffs there of. This week, I'll tell you about the drink that started this journey of libations for me, (Rind, aka Julz) and how the very notion of this blog ever even happened.

An Acquired Taste

It has always been about developing a palette for me. It started when I went to college in Charleston, SC; a foodie's paradise, even way back then. When most kids in colleges around the US were having date nights at Denny's I was experiencing a food and beverage town that takes its Southern hospitality very seriously! Although, back then,

Grandma Clare, she didn't bake, but she raised three boys
who all thought they were her favorite.

Charleston still had antiquated blue laws on the books that prevented the free pour of liquor. This greatly inhibited the cocktail industry down there for years, which meant when I was learning to drink, it was very common for us to order two shots of whatever liquor split three ways, due to the mini bottles. But that's a story for an entirely separate post. Suffice it to say the mini bottle culture did not allow for much education in classic cocktail construction.

After college, the lady, the legend, my idol, Grandma Clare passed away. My family raised up Martinis in her honor at the reception after her funeral. To say this was her drink of choice is a gross understatement. She and my Grandpa Stanley drank them nightly for 50+ years. And while she preferred hers with Boodles and on the rocks in a tumbler, this was when I grew to not only love the Martini, but cultivated my own personal preferences for how one is made.

Know What You Want

It's actually very yogic, (think mind-body connection) to be able to know what it is you want. But

"We're silently judging how you order your next martini."
Grandpa Stanley, Great Grandma Rosie, Grandma Clare
The greatest generation knows.

when asked, we often can't come up with a decent answer. "What'll you have?" the bartender asks. "I don't know!" A simple question that stumps so many of us. I had made it my personal mission to acquire a taste for the Martini and carry on Grandma Clare's tradition, a noble cause, I know. Some people start scholarship funds to honor their deceased loved ones, I write a blog about cocktails. Don't judge me.
As I began ordering Martinis at every bar and restaurant in my early-mid 20's I started to recognize when one tasted divine, and others like horse piss. So what made the difference? The type of gin? Shaken? Stirred? With a twist? Dirty? How dirty? I couldn't answer a single one of these when I began, but as my quest continued I slowly unraveled the mystery of what it was that I wanted in a Martini.

Build Your Own

We often encourage you to try drinks outside your comfort zone on this blog. Most adults have had some form of a Martini in their lifetime. I would now challenge you all to discover how you like yours best. Dry? Very dry even? Meaning, the dry vermouth barely acknowledges the Martini glass was even in the room before the drink was made. Or perhaps you prefer yours wet, with closer to equal parts dry vermouth and gin. Maybe you'd like a 'perfect' Martini, similar to a 'perfect' Manhattan with equal parts gin, sweet, and dry vermouth. And tell James Bond to simmer down with his insistence on the shaking; have you even tried what stirring your Martini on ice does to it?
So many options to consider, take your time and test them out.

I Did It My Way

Here is how I like my Martinis. Now go do Grandma Clare proud and find out how you like yours.

A little wet and dirty, stirred, not shaken, please.

2 oz. Gin (I'm using Drumshanbo Gunpowder Gin these days)
3/4 oz. Dry vermouth
1/2 oz. Olive juice
2 Olives

Stir on ice for 30 seconds or so, then strain into a chilled Martini glass.
I like my Martini a little wet and with gin because I find the combination of herbs in the gin and the herbs and other botanicals of the fortified wine intriguing. I want my Martini to actually taste like something. I want to have to work for it a bit.

Stray Thoughts

- There are a lot of great quotes about Martinis, but here are my three favorites. Feel free to use them at will.
        1. Martinis are like boobs; one isn't enough and three are too many.

        2. “I like to have a Martini, Two at the very most. After three I'm under the table, after four I'm   under my host.” - The incomparable Dorothy Parker
        3. For those of you who like it dry, take Winston Churchill's approach: "Glance at the vermouth bottle briefly while pouring the juniper distillate freely." 

- Sorry, Scrubs, appletinis don't count.
- My husband prefers his with vodka, (which I allow because I love him and relationships are about compromise) very dirty, a little wet, and stirred...because that is how I make them for him and he has no complaints.
- "The Truthmaker" is not only a great name for some Valyrian steel, but also what we have dubbed the above mentioned vodka Martini.
- When Grandma Clare died we collected all the photos we had of her and they overwhelmingly fell into the following three categories: Clare with family, Clare partying with friends, Clare in a bathing suit. Legendary.

By Julz Vivalo