Gin! Also, Vermouth!

The Savior

So, my mates and I are planning a massing 007 film fest this summer, and what better drink to enjoy such an event with than martinis, right? The problem is that we are all hella not-classy, and know nothing about decent brands and such. This is where you all come in, and educate me.

P.S. I am very intrigued by Dogfish Jin, but it seems that this will be impossible to procure, since I am over 1000 miles from the nearest distributer, and online shops are no help. Any ideas, or people who have tried it to tell me how it is?

KMFurDM

Do you guys drink gin at all? It is kind of an acquired taste. Bombay Sapphire is my personal favorite. I imagine a gin made by Dogfish will be difficult to find. I didn't even know they made gin, and the brewery isn't all that far away from me.

Dance Commander

I'm a fan of Citadelle gin, but it can be very expensive depending on where you live. I'm in NY for school, and it costs about half what it does back home. Bombay Sapphire is good stuff too.

Spackle

The thing with Martini's is it's such a strong drink with pretty much the taste of Gin (Pine needles :P). Also, a lot of Gin is 96 proof instead of your standard 80 proof liquor that you might be used to. I love Bombay Sapphire myself.

Pick up a few bottles of Tonic and some Limes as well incase the Martinis are too strong. You can drink Gin and Tonics instead, equally as classy and very tasty.

tsmvengy

Also, James Bond drinks martinis made with vodka, not gin...

EggyToast

Have not tried Dogfish, but as far as the martini question, you guys will probably want to "practice." Most of the old-school mixed drinks are a far cry from what most people regularly drink nowadays, and the flavors are quite different. Not everyone likes them. Also, while high-priced or high-quality alcohol is definitely better compared to the $10 plastic bottle stuff, if you're not familiar with the taste of good alcohol, the difference in taste is going to be overlooked, as you have no frame of reference. You'll just know it's "better than Gordon's." Hence, it's not really worth spending a LOT on a bottle until you've had more and know what you like.

As for a good, easy to find gin, Bombay Sapphire is really damn good. Doesn't have that "pinesol" thing going on and is good enough to sip by itself on ice. As for vermouth, you use dry vermouth and usually just a teeeny bit. Think 2oz gin and a tsp vermouth.

Like most drinks, you can alter the proportions to something you prefer more, but that's kind of the "standard." Get a shaker, put some ice in there, pour the gin in, and stir for about a minute. Pour into glass, add tsp or so of vermouth. Add an olive, pearl onion, orange peel, whatever.

The Savior

tsmvengy wrote: »

Also, James Bond drinks martinis made with vodka, not gin...

Upon investigation, it seems you are correct. However, this shall not deter (me, at least) from my steadfast path of of a traditional martini, since I am not a fan of vodka. Thanks for the info, everyone, it seems like Bombay will do the trick.

Thanatos

You can buy high-class martini olives that actually come in extra-dry vermouth. Make sure the vermouth you get is extra-dry, and not sweet. Like everyone has said, Bombay Sapphire is a good mid-range gin, as is Tanqueray (not Tanqueray Ten, which is delicious, but very expensive). If you really want it James Bond style, you'll need a shaker, and you have to shake it, not stir it. :P

Gin martinis are best with olives. Using a twist goes better with a vodka martini.

apotheos

Remember: real men stir martinis. Shaking it makes it weaker, and tells the gin you don't love it.

Uncle Long

You might consider both a vodka and a gin martini, I know it may sound sacrilegious, but you can use the vodka to cut the gin if you really dislike the gin taste; or if your party friends want something a little less "gin ee"


I'm a fan of the Burnt Martini = Scotch + Gin
But I'm also a bitter fart who doesn't like people asking to try his drink more than once in a night.

PS. Capote called a mix of gin and vodka a white angel. It's not bad actually.

Shazkar Shadowstorm

apotheos wrote: »

Remember: real men stir martinis. Shaking it makes it weaker, and tells the gin you don't love it.

I mean, marginally so, the amount of ice that will break off and melt from shaking isn't really that much if you don't shake wildly. I guess this matters if you have good gin.

But I stir it anyway.

Pheezer

apotheos wrote: »

Remember: real men stir martinis. Shaking it makes it weaker, and tells the gin you don't love it.

Also, you only shake a vodka martini. Gin has botanicals in it. When you shake it you disrupt the natural balance of things in the gin and make it taste worse. Assholes shake gin martinis. Assholes drink vodka martinis.

A good martini gin on the reasonable budget side is Bombay Sapphire. It has a wide variety of botanicals (not just juniper as a traditional gin would) and as such has a very balanced flavor, making it ideal for the martini. Use Noilly Prat vermouth.

If you want to try a premium gin, Mercury London Dry Gin does the multiple botanical thing, adding orange to the juniper for a bit of a unique flavor that I find to be absolutely perfect for martinis. It's mild, no really overpowering botanicals, and has that bit of a twist to it. It's also one of the cheaper premiums, and it's pretty much my favorite gin.

South 42 or whatever the gin from New Zealand is happens to be very over priced. You may as well just get Bombay Sapphire.

If you want a gin and tonic, Tanqueray is good. It only uses juniper and as such has that distinct pine tree scent and taste, and I think ruins a decent martini, but goes nicely with tonic water. Tanqueray No. Ten is the same thing, prettier bottle, higher price tag. It's okay, but I wouldn't call it necessarily worth it.


Basically I'm saying buy Bombay Sapphire if you're not sure you'll like gin because it's the best gin you'll get at that price range and better than a good many gins you'd get at a much higher price range. And if you hate gin, you can mix bombay sapphire with orange juice and barely taste it.

If you like gin, get Mercury, it comes in an awesome erlenmeyer flask looking bottle.

And for vermouth, Noilly Prat.

Pheezer

Shazkar Shadowstorm wrote: »

apotheos wrote: »

Remember: real men stir martinis. Shaking it makes it weaker, and tells the gin you don't love it.

I mean, marginally so, the amount of ice that will break off and melt from shaking isn't really that much if you don't shake wildly. I guess this matters if you have good gin.

Another important point:

You don't use ice and you don't use a shaker. You put your vermouth in the fridge and your gin in your freezer. Vermouth is only 18% alcohol content and will freeze if you leave it in a freezer for too long, gin never will. This way you get a nicely chilled martini without any of that ice bullshit.

Shazkar Shadowstorm

On that note, I Tanqueray #10

EggyToast

pheezer FD wrote: »

Shazkar Shadowstorm wrote: »

apotheos wrote: »

Remember: real men stir martinis. Shaking it makes it weaker, and tells the gin you don't love it.

I mean, marginally so, the amount of ice that will break off and melt from shaking isn't really that much if you don't shake wildly. I guess this matters if you have good gin.

Another important point:

You don't use ice and you don't use a shaker. You put your vermouth in the fridge and your gin in your freezer. Vermouth is only 18% alcohol content and will freeze if you leave it in a freezer for too long, gin never will. This way you get a nicely chilled martini without any of that ice bullshit.

While I'm all for purism and a good drink, that method would create an incredibly strong drink. While the ice does water down the flavor, it also cuts the alcohol, making the evening more than a 2-drink night

Pheezer

EggyToast wrote: »

pheezer FD wrote: »

Shazkar Shadowstorm wrote: »

apotheos wrote: »

Remember: real men stir martinis. Shaking it makes it weaker, and tells the gin you don't love it.

I mean, marginally so, the amount of ice that will break off and melt from shaking isn't really that much if you don't shake wildly. I guess this matters if you have good gin.

Another important point:

You don't use ice and you don't use a shaker. You put your vermouth in the fridge and your gin in your freezer. Vermouth is only 18% alcohol content and will freeze if you leave it in a freezer for too long, gin never will. This way you get a nicely chilled martini without any of that ice bullshit.

While I'm all for purism and a good drink, that method would create an incredibly strong drink. While the ice does water down the flavor, it also cuts the alcohol, making the evening more than a 2-drink night

It takes me six martinis to get to the legitimately drunk stage like that. It's around a dozen that I get sloppy. It's really not that much liquor and honestly, water is not a good ingredient for a gin martini

JWFokker

It partly depends upon the size of the martini glass. I've seen some fucking huge ones, much larger than the traditional 5 oz size.

Zsetrek

My friend is a big Martini drinker. Depending on how dry you like them - if you're using ice, you can "wash" the ice with the Vermouth, then stir the gin through the coated ice so that you get the Vermouth flavour without directly adding it & risking fucking up the balance. You can also wash the inside surface of the glass with the Vermouth too, if you're using chilled gin like Pheezer suggests.

Also - have it with olives. Twists are lame. There's also some rule about only having an odd number of olives - but whatever.

Uncle Long

pheezer FD wrote: »

EggyToast wrote: »

pheezer FD wrote: »

Shazkar Shadowstorm wrote: »

apotheos wrote: »

Remember: real men stir martinis. Shaking it makes it weaker, and tells the gin you don't love it.

I mean, marginally so, the amount of ice that will break off and melt from shaking isn't really that much if you don't shake wildly. I guess this matters if you have good gin.

Another important point:

You don't use ice and you don't use a shaker. You put your vermouth in the fridge and your gin in your freezer. Vermouth is only 18% alcohol content and will freeze if you leave it in a freezer for too long, gin never will. This way you get a nicely chilled martini without any of that ice bullshit.

While I'm all for purism and a good drink, that method would create an incredibly strong drink. While the ice does water down the flavor, it also cuts the alcohol, making the evening more than a 2-drink night

It takes me six martinis to get to the legitimately drunk stage like that. It's around a dozen that I get sloppy. It's really not that much liquor and honestly, water is not a good ingredient for a gin martini

IMO water is never really a good ingredient to any combination of liquors. I can't stand the weird watery taste of a mixed drink held too long. It's like putting ice in milk.

Mad Jazz

I personally can't stand Bombay gins. My personal fave is Hendrick's, which uses cucumber as one of its major botanicals. I hear it makes a good martini with a slice of cucumber instead of an olive, but I've never tried one myself. Citadelle is also a good gin for my taste, and Tanqueray is my choice for the cheaper gin.

Also, if you hate the taste of tonic water (like me), the Gin Rickey will be your best friend forever. Same as a GnT, but with club soda instead. Extra lime for extra delicious!

an_alt

Personally, I'll leave the regular Tanqueray for gin and juice. Tanqueray 10 and Bombay are much better for martinis, IMHO. If you're going to make a vodka martini, try to find some Iceberg vodka. It battles Grey Goose in vodka competitions and barely costs more than Smirnoff. It actually has me drinking vodka martinis for the first time in my life.

badpoet

I enjoy Bombay Sapphire martini's with olive. The dry vermouth doesn't matter much because there is so little in a good martini. People can argue about shaking and stirring, but in the end, they pretty much taste the same. Watch yourself as you drink them as the glass size is widely varied.

MuddBudd

A Manhattan is the classiest drink a man can have.

Get some whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters.