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Martinis - A Personal Approach

© Mark Welton

NOTE from Lindsay I'm welcoming this month a guest author. My brother is the family expert on martinis - he teaches law at West Point which may explain his motivation - and I've learned to appreciate his expertise over the years. I'm sure you'll be inspired..

The resurgent popularity of the martini is hard to ignore. Numerous books and articles about this famous cocktail are now available, and I recently had an excellent meal, preceded by one of more than a dozen available martini drinks, at the Blue Martini restaurant in Newburgh, New York. Stories about the martini's origins and debates over the proper method of preparing the drink enliven parties and gatherings, and add to its allure and mystique.

The martini's revival has been accompanied by a profusion of recipes for variations on the classic versions of the drink. The correct proportion of vermouth to gin (one to six? one to twelve?) and the proper garnish (olive? lemon peel twist?) still perplex martini fans, but regardless of the choice the drink is clearly still a martini. A few variations are also considered acceptable to traditionalists. The Gibson (in which a pickled onion is used for a garnish) can be found in most recipe books. But more confusing is whether such concoctions as the Vodkatini (vodka in place of gin), the Appletini (vodka, apple schnapps, and lemon juice), and the Cosmopolitan (vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice, and lemon juice) can be considered martinis, as they are in many books, bars, and restaurants.

My approach to this problem, one that allows me to remain reasonably faithful to tradition but also provides room for experimentation, is to divide the martini into two types, depending on the spirit used for its base. The first type, which I call the "classic" martini, has gin as its base. A small amount of dry vermouth is added to three ounces of gin, and both are well chilled with ice and then poured into a cold martini glass. This is the classic or traditional martini. At this point I feel free to experiment with a variety of garnishes. I have already noted the Gibson, which uses a pickled onion. Olives with different stuffings (pimentos, almonds, or anchovies, for instance), pickled tomatoes, small chili peppers, or other such condiments can be added. Martini purists may recoil at some of these ideas, and the results may sometimes be less than appealing, but very often the drink has a new and interesting taste, and it is always fun to try something different. A visit to a good food store or website can yield intriguing possibilities.