Nothing says Friday like talk of martinis and their creation. Pauline made her first the other night and it didn't turn out all that well. She added too many non-gin ingredients. Classic trap. When I was younger, and browsed every Time magazine in existence, I saw countless booze ads depicting all sorts of cocktail party scenarios. I mistakenly thought that all adults knew how to mix drinks (this is, in part, because my parents held social gatherings and the drinks seemed well made by my not-at-all-big-drinker parents). However, not all adults know how to mix drinks. I know this now. Especially tricky is the martini. The secret lies in seeing how simple a drink it really can be. Think of it as a marginally watered-down frigid gin drink with a pickled garnish (in most case this is two to three olives). ¶ Here's how to make my favourite martini: Throw about seven or eight large ice cubes into a Boston shaker. Pour two ounces of your favourite drinking gin (fancy or not; Beefeater and Gordon's make fine martinis) into same shaker. Go a little further than leer at the dry vermouth, which does actually need to be a part of the action. Remember the dish detergant ads when one drop would remove the grease? That's how much vermouth you need. A drop, or two. Shake closed shaker with much vigor until it gets so cold you can hardly bear to hold on. Pour strained and chilled and marginally watered-down gin into a refrigerated martini glass. Insert two to three olives on a toothpick, and drop into the cloudy dream. Drink, in three to four gulps. ¶ People in my peer group were bombarded with cocktail culture done wrong. Misguided martini bars serving vodka-cranberry in fancy shakers for too much cash. Horrible gun-tap mixed drink stations that leave the mouth and body feeling battered. And I know this world is a complicated one, but for basic bars, here are a few key fundamentals: use lots of ice, use fresh cola or soda, don't chince, and have a wide variety of fresh garnish options available. First ice, then booze, then mix, then garnish. Bonus tip: to take the edge of too-sweet simple mixed drinks like Jack and Coke or rum and Diet, splash a little club soda into the mix. ¶ Have a good weekend, everyone. I don't know about the rest of the world, but in London, Ontario it is spring. Oh, and don't forget to check out Monday's National Post, AL1. I've got a bunch of illustrations in that I did for their calendar of events.

Labels: NationalPost, Recipe

¶ 11:17 AM
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