Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: New Year, New Martinis

Help and welcome to 2024. Hopefully your holidays were relatively drama and conflict free. Thankfully mine were, and as much as I like the holiday season, by the 4th iteration of Christmas my family had to attend, we were pretty done with running around. Such tiredness is usually cured with a stiff drink, and it just so happens I got a new Cocktail book called The Martini: Perfection in a Glass by Matt Hranek. Having briefly touched in martinis all the way back in 2019, I decided to give it another go for this week. Among the myriad of styles featured in this excellent volume, I decided to keep it somewhat simple and just mix a classic martini:

Classic martini

1.5 oz. London dry gin

1.5 oz. Dry vermouth

3 dashes Angostura bitters (optional)

Olive or lemon twist for garnish

Combine the gin, vermouth and bitters (if using) in a cocktail shaker or mixing glass filled with ice. Shake or stir as desired. Stain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with the olive or lemon twist.

Opted to not add the bitters this time. I added them when I was at my sister’s last weekend, and while it was ok, it wasn’t what I was looking for. I found it overpowered the flavors and made it too bitter. I suppose you could back it down, but I ended up making the completely bitterness version for my father and he preferred it to the sip he had of mine and suggested I go bitter-less, and I’m very glad I did.

The aroma is surpise surprise all booze. The dry vermouth does shine through more than I thought it would, given how strong gin can be.

The taste is a classic, cold, crisp cocktail. The gin and the vermouth pair nicely together. The vermouth tames the gin, but still lets it shine through. Conversely, the gin tones down the dryness of the vermouth a touch, but still leaves enough to keep the balance.

The lemon twist adds a nice citrusy zing deep down inside the flavor profile that adds a nice touch here. Olives would work too, but I’m no fan of them so I’ll pass on them every time.

A quick note here on ingredient quality. Since this whole drink is booze, pick the best stuff you can. The vermouth is dolin, which I normally wouldn’t have on hand before, but now it’s going to be my go to. It’s just so much smoother than what I used before. The gin is from a small distillery in Maine, that makes an excellent spirit, so I figured it would be a step up from the normal Gordon’s I have. Not that Gordon’s is a bad martini gin, but I had the chance to take a step up so I used it. Though I’ll definitely use the Gordon’s more often, since I can find it anywhere, and not have to make a special trip to Kennebunkport to get more gin.

I’m generally not a martini person per se, but the beauty lies in the simplicity here. It’s refreshing and strong, both big pluses in my book when it comes to a drink.

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)