The Classic Cocktail

Cocktails of Note: A "Little Water"
 goes a Long way

So, obviously, I missed a few blog posts, and am trying to correct this grievous error.  So it's time to get back into the swing of things with the cocktail which sits best in the "Martini" glass:  The Martini... which, nowadays, means any drink you put in a martini glass... It's a vicious cycle.


Before I begin, I would like to say a few words about my favorite spirit:  Vodka.

Vodka comes from a derivative of the Russian word voda meaning "little water."  That's right, to the Russians vodka is water.  Technically, any clear, distilled liquor that goes from the distillery into the bottle is technically, a vodka (silver rum, silver tequila, gin... all technically part of the larger "vodka" family).  Typically, however, vodka is a high proof spirit (70 proof at the low end) distilled from grain or potatoes (although in Turkey they use beets) and is filtered through vegetable charcoal.  The better vodkas are filtered through "activated" charcoal (processed charcoal so that is extremely porous, thus increasing its surface area and its adsorption capacity) or very fine quartz.                                

Activated Charcoal, magnified

Quartz

The thing about Vodka is it easily absorbs any flavor you mix it with, but more on that another time.  Let's get on to the Cocktails of Note:

The Vodka Martini:

The Vodka Martini is the classic cocktail (though not the first, according to legend, but that will be spoken of in the next cocktail entry).

The Vodka Martini is technically made with


2 1/2 ounces Vodka
1 1/2 teaspoons of Dry Vermouth
an olive or a lemon twist for garnish


Place the Vodka and the Vermouth in a Cocktail shaker with cubed ice.  Shake for a count of 30.  Why 30?  To chill the vodka and vermouth, but also to melt a sufficient amount of ice into water.  The Vodka Martini should be about 20% water.  


Now, I like a Martini quite dry, so a few drops of vermouth are all I ask for.  And I prefer the olive (always use an odd number of olives) over the twist.

This particular Martini is high versatile so I recommend it just about any course, even a citrusy dessert. 




Because this a is a cocktail of Note I've decided to recommend appropriate drinking music.  For this classic, by all means pick up just about anything song by the members of the Rat Pack:  Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Or Sammy Davis Jr.

Thanks for Drinking,


The Giant