Bree

I know we had a thread on this earlier, but I can't search without getting a "server too busy" message. Oh well, it's well-worth revisiting.

Please list your favourite martini recipe and your techniques for making them. I'd like to start building an arsenal for my next party .

Deadbeat

Okay, you're going to hear all kinds of people bitching about "No, you'll bruise the booze!" and so forth, but ignore them.

I bartended at an upscale country club for more than six years, and was taught how to make martinis properly - not by another bartender or from a book, but from guys who actually drank them everyday.

There are 6 words of wisdom you need to know in order to make the best martinis you've EVER had:

SHAKE THE SHIT OUT OF IT

The reason you do this is simple: a warm martini is a foul martini. The colder they are, the better they taste. It's that simple.

(I don't bartend anymore, so I'm willing to share this with you. My sangria recipe, on the other hand, remains a closely guarded secret. If you've ever been to La Bodega in Vancouver, you've tasted the recipe I use. And no, I'm not telling you how I got it either.)

So here are two recipes to get you started:

Classic Martini:
Take a martini glass (preferably out of the freezer) and fill it with ice - crushed is best, but smallish cubes are fine. Pour about a half ounce of dry vermouth over it and let stand. Fill a martini shaker half-full of ice cubes and pour in two ounces of gin or vodka - depending on personal preference. Bombay Sapphire makes lovely martinis, but that's just to my own taste. Cap the shaker securely and shake the shit out of it. Throw the ice/vermouth mixture out of the glass into the sink, and shake the glass vigorously - twice for a dry martini, three times for perfection and strain the alcohol into the glass. Add two (rinsed) olives on a bamboo or silver skewer and voila!

Metropolitan:
Follow the same instructions for the martini glass as above, but use Triple Sec (or other orange liquer) instead of vermouth. To the shaker add plenty of cubed ice, two ounces of vodka, two ounces of cranberry juice, and just a splash of grapefruit juice - about a quarter of an ounce. Cap the shaker securely and shake the shit out of it. Toss the ice from the glass into the sink (don't shake TOO vigourously), and strain the vodka/juice mixture into the glass. Add a lemon twist or a wedge of lime to the edge of the glass and voila!

The secret to both of these recipes is to serve a deliciously cold drink, well mixed, with tiny ice crystals suspended in it from the vigourous shaking. Your guests will be beside themselves with delight.

Just remember that you tend to use a LOT of ice with my method, but trust me - it's worth it.

everlastingtongue

I don�t drink Gin, so I only make Vodka Martinis.

I keep good Vodka in the freezer, usually Skyy, or Ketel One � I can�t afford anything better.

Dirty Martini:

I pour a small amount of vermouth into the glass swirl and dump. I add one drop of Tabasco � you won�t really taste it, but the one drop seems to add something. Then I add one teaspoonful of the olive brine � I usually use garlic stuffed olives. I shake the martini really well with good ice � don�t use ice made from tap water � and pour it in, adding a couple of olives.

My wife makes lemon martinis, using � vodka and � lemoncello.

Proctors_Gambit

I keep my Gin and martini glasses in the Freezer, no ice needed.
And for God sake, if you use ice don't shake it, you end up with a watered down, opaque waste of a beverage.
Here's the key...
Remove glass from freezer.
add about 1 teaspoon of vermouth.
swirl to coat the inside of the glass (glass will be frosty and swirlying will remove the frost and let you know when glass is coated)
Drain teeny leftover puddle of vermouth into sink.
Remove Bombay Saphire from freezer, marvell at its beauty.
Pour Icy cold gin into glass.
If time is pre-midday, add olive (this is breakfast).
Inhale heady vapour.
Sip.
Gulp.
Drink.

-Gambit

JerryM

The classic martini is made only with gin and vermouth. I prefer Tanqueray. Even though the amount of vermouth is negligible, the best drink will also use a quality brand, such as Martini and Rossi, or Cinzano. About 3 oz of gin and no more than 1/4 tsp of vermouth. I stir it over fresh, cracked ice, which chills it without excessively diluting it. Then strained into a chilled glass (or into the freezer for 10 min or so if the glass isn't pre-chilled.) A good quality olive (or cocktail onion--which makes it a Gibson) to finish off. And that's it. As Kurt Vonnegut wrote, it's the breakfast of champions.

safeinacell

I forget exactly where I found this, but it is very nice.
Sapphire Martini:
Put 4 or 5 ice cubes in a shaker pou in 2 shots of gin and a shot of blue curacao,shake like buggery and strain into a cocktail glass.
Then drink until the floor becomes something to lean on
Oh yeah an you can sling a blue cherry in to garnish, if you like.