Quote:
Originally Posted by oooo35980
I was intrigued by the idea of a Martini a few years ago, I never really liked them though, they were good but didn't taste much different than gin on the rocks. The reason being that thanks to Alton Brown I was basically making cold gin with an olive in it. A few weeks ago I stumbled across a website touting a classic martini, and man what a difference. Vermouth isn't some caustic chemical only to be added so that you can say you're technically not drinking a glass of stirred gin, it's an integral park of the cocktail, who knew? I had a few the other night and they just kept getting better and better.
Unfortunately I'm pretty sure there are only 3 types of Gin in the whole state (Not counting the big plastic Jug), Tangueray, Bombay, and Beefeater. The only Vermouth I've found is Martini & Rossi. Is there a large enough variation in Vermouth for me to go out and try to find something different, or is Martini & Rossi pretty much the standard?
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Welcome to the dark side.
Try varying the proportions of vermouth until you find the ratio you like. You may find different gins marry well in different proportions to vermouth. Martini & Rossi is pretty much the standard. Lillet (mentioned above) is supposed to be a bit better but I have not had it before. It is on my list to try. Buy your vermouth in smaller quatities as it is a wine and will turn bad over time.
There are many great quotes about martinis. Two of my favorites:
"One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough."
James Thurber
"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."
Dorothy Parker