Shaken, not Stirred

quote:

Originally posted by Grampy

quote:

Originally posted by Rick F.

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Originally posted by clothier

[Aqua Velva? You're kidding me, right?

This is the joke post to seperate out the posers, isn't it?

+/-. Rumor had it that it could be drunk safely if it was filtered through bread. (Bearing in mind that this was believed at a small university in a "dry" county.) Nobody I knew had the nerve to try it, though. . . .

I heard you could also drink liquid shoe polish if it was strained through bread. No mention of what brand or color. Perhaps these postings belong in the bizarre sandwiches thread.

I think that would be Wonder white bread.

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Originally posted by Cakes

quote:

Originally posted by Grampy

quote:

Originally posted by Rick F.

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

[Aqua Velva? You're kidding me, right?

This is the joke post to seperate out the posers, isn't it?

+/-. Rumor had it that it could be drunk safely if it was filtered through bread. (Bearing in mind that this was believed at a small university in a "dry" county.) Nobody I knew had the nerve to try it, though. . . .

I heard you could also drink liquid shoe polish if it was strained through bread. No mention of what brand or color. Perhaps these postings belong in the bizarre sandwiches thread.

I think that would be Wonder white bread.

... and the color of the shoe polish?

quote:

Originally posted by Grampy

quote:

Originally posted by Cakes

quote:

Originally posted by Grampy

quote:

Originally posted by Rick F.

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

[Aqua Velva? You're kidding me, right?

This is the joke post to seperate out the posers, isn't it?

+/-. Rumor had it that it could be drunk safely if it was filtered through bread. (Bearing in mind that this was believed at a small university in a "dry" county.) Nobody I knew had the nerve to try it, though. . . .

I heard you could also drink liquid shoe polish if it was strained through bread. No mention of what brand or color. Perhaps these postings belong in the bizarre sandwiches thread.

I think that would be Wonder white bread.

... and the color of the shoe polish?

Uuh.....donno, what color are your shoes?

Whatever the color of my shoes, it sounds like it's certain that I would tie one on.

quote:

Originally posted by Grampy

Whatever the color of my shoes, it sounds like it's certain that I would tie one on.

Hence the term laced?

Of course, Martinis would only be drunk by the well-heeled. And indeed would be healed well if too drunk.

I have been reading more and more about Broker's gin. Has anyone tried this? Is it better for a Martini or a G&T?

Re Grampy's reference to Moscow Mules. I had hardly heard of them until I got to Japan where they are high on most menus. It has surpassed "Kahrua Miruku" - Khalua and milk as the drink of choice.

By the by, had an interesting thing made with Shochu - Japanese vodka I suppose, it was flavoured with what amounts to basil!

Woody Allen, among others posed for Moscow Mule ad campaign in Playboy. Happily, he remained clothed.

I guess Japanese vodka has come along way. I recall James Bond taking a sip of clear stuff in You Only Live Twice. He grimaced and said in disbelief, "Japanese vodka!"

I knew someone who made Bloody Marys with basil. I guess he was on to something.

As some Roadfooders may recall, I've had a bit of a negative attitude about female bartenders. I'm not quite ready to give up on that, but I must admit a few recent encounters are making me rethink the whole thing.

I've already recounted to you my good experience in getting a cold frosty beer in Mystic Ct , served up by a competent female.

Last week we were in The Narrows, a somewhat upscale restaurant in Kent Island MD, where we had about a ten minute wait for a table. So we went to the bar ( the wait for a table is, of course, designed to entice you to go to the bar and buy a high profit drink) thinking of maybe a beer before dinner. But as we looked around a number of patrons were enjoying Martinis served up in stainless steel shakers. They seemed to be having so much fun we decided to join them and ordered two Martinis.

Me, to the pretty young bartender: "You understand that a Martini is a drink made with Gin"? She: "Yes, of course". "Do you want it straight up or on the rocks"? "Straightup". Do you want, Beefeaters, Bombay, etc,etc,etc,,etc...."? "Don't you have Plymouth"? "Never heard of it".
At least she spared us the questions about olives, onions, artichokes, etc...

The Martinis arrived in the aformentioned shakers, she poured them into icy elegant glasses, over a plain green olive, and they were excellent ( even though we actually like our Martinis stirred, not shaken) and I had to compliment her on her skill and good taste.
I should add that Mrs Seafarer pocketed one of the shakers as a souvenir of the evening.

And, I have to tell you we had a very nice crab cake - a bit pricey, but no better than the crabcake we have enjoyed many times at the local hangout joint acroos the street - The Angler.

Cheers, John

finally a topic I actually know something about! If it's gin,Bombay Saphire or Boodles, vodka?...Finlandia!!(put in freezer) Vermouth,although traditional,is unnecessary. Olives are best when big and briney(I go to a italian market that has them in a barrel) but I prefer a lemon or key lime twist....martini's can and will
1.make people more interesting
2.lower the shade of indifference
3.make me more interesting

I have decided to jump into the fray and take a three-week course on bartending. I am finding that many people believe that shaking will bruise the gin. The only problem with this is that you cannot bruise gin. The second point stirrers hold to is that shaking makes the gin cloudly. To which I reply, "For how long?" Only a few seconds. I have shaken and stirred, and I maintain that shaking generally gets the drink colder.

On another note, I have finally had Broker's gin. It is crisp and bone dry, and right up there with Plymouth for my money (and theirs).

Grampy,

In that scene from "You Only Live Twice", Bond has just clocked
the henchman from Osato Chemical Co. and went to the safe looking for
clues - he pours a drink from the bar, takes a sip, and grimacing,
looks at the label: "Siamese Vodka?!"

Also, in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service":
"What will you drink, sir? Malt Whiskey and Branch Water, please."

Bond also asks for a julep with branch water in Goldfinger. I recently learned, however, that branch water is nothing more than "pure" water. In the 1800s, with so much fetid, still water, tiny streams provided crystal clean water. The streams were called, you guessed it: "branches."

I have been making Manhattans for friends with the authentic ingredient -- rye whiskey. The brand I like is Van Winkle Family Reserve. Real rye is not CC, but an American whiskey made from at least 51% rye. It was an American staple in drinks, but fell out of favor around prohibition. An old fashioned should also be made with rye.

Question, if you guys use vermouth, which brand do you use?

Personally, I like Noilly Prat, but most I know dont really know it and go for M&R. I find Noilly Prat to have a really nuanced flavor that adds to my gin. For gin, Plymouth and Hendricks are my faves. I have plenty of Sapphire too, but sometimes find it to be too alcohol tasting.

I like to rotate gin for a similar reason, with Beefeater as a clean stand-by. I have become fond of Bossiere vermouth, but occasionally alternate with Lillet Blond (which Bond used in his Vesper).

I'm disappointed to learn that a sensitive soul like Grampy can not hear the gin screaming and crying and begging to be let out of its misery as he violently shakes the innocent brew - even when shaken "to the rhythm of a waltz". And that's not even to consider the pain sufered by the Vermouth.

On Grampy's previous recommendation I purchased a bottle of Lillet.
It is blond in color, but it does not say "blond" on the bottle - maybe I got the wrong stuff. Anyhow, I made a small batch of Martinis with the Lillet and Plymouth. It was a strange drink - not bad - but by no means a Martini. Since then the bottle has sat in our refrigerator and I ,from time to time, pour a small wine glass , and its not a bad swig.

As to James Bond: the guy's an uncultured English bore with pretensions of good taste and every evidence of abysmal ignorance of good food and drink.

BTW: How's the book coming along, Grampy ?

Cheers, John

First draft of the book is with the publisher. I suppose I'll get it back in a couple of weeks to make final revisions. In the meantime, I will continue shaking to 3/4 time.

I think I mentioned it elsewhere, but the oddest variation was vodka infused with nicotine and mixed with Kahlua -- a Nicotini or Black Lung (obviously geared to bars with no-smoking regulations).

Oh come on, Seafarer John...At least Bond knows "that there are
some things that just aren't done, such as drinking Dom Peringion
53' above a temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That's as bad as
listening to the Beatles without earmuffs!"

"Meet me here at seven...black tie!"

This whole thread reminds me of many conversations I have heard at one of the bars I used to own. Rex in expensive San Diego!

Join the party , Rex, or do you like it better on the other side of the bar with the cute young things tending bar?

Cheers, John

Jump in, Rex (and if you're viewing this post, Ort)!
As Bond said while 35,000 feet in the air on Mr. Goldfinger's
private jet bound for Kentucky and sipping his usual vodka martini:
"Here's to Operation Grand Slam!" [|)]

quote:

Originally posted by Grampy

I am finding that many people believe that shaking will bruise the gin. The only problem with this is that you cannot bruise gin. The second point stirrers hold to is that shaking makes the gin cloudly. To which I reply, "For how long?" Only a few seconds. I have shaken and stirred, and I maintain that shaking generally gets the drink colder.

For some, the martini is a exquisite experience with subtle complexities that may almost rival some Japanese tea rituals. Like fine wine, a martini starts by being satisfying to the eye. Most martini aficianados begin with a momentary appreciation of that special tranluscence which takes on a certian turbulent lubriciousnous during pouring. That very fleeting experience is marred by any initial cloudiness, however brief. On the other hand, if the prepared martini is to be served in another room, go ahead and shake the hell out of it. But then again . . .

Many people overlook the fact that, like the salt from the olive, the water from the ice has an important role: in the just right amount, it "rounds out" the gin/vermouth experience. Leave out the water altogether by using ingredients from the freezer to eliminate the need for ice and many will note a harsh edge. On the other end, leaving the mixture in the ice too long will result in a "watered" drink. And therin lies another problem with shaking: in contrast to less-violent stirring, it tends to lives chips that continue to melt in the poured drink, adding unwanted additional water.

I don't know that shaking gets the drink colder but, done with sufficient vigor, it does get it colder more quickly. That may reduce the icing time somewhat, resulting in a bit less water, however that adantage is immediately lost to the extent that the drink is left with tiny slivers of ice still melting in it. My own solution is to use cold ingredients, a cold shaker with ice cubes, stir deftly and briefly, then pour.

Tom

It's late, and I'm about to shake my first. Naturally, gin, sterling shaker, and crystal glass are in the freezer. There's no question about this one being underchilled.

quote:

Originally posted by Grampy

Of course, Martinis would only be drunk by the well-heeled. And indeed would be healed well if too drunk.

I've been well-healed tonite!

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Originally posted by seafarer john

Oldfrt: That thing your are drinking is NOT A MARTINI! It is some pretender hiding in a Martini glass. I would hope that the evil person who first poured vodka in a Martini glass and called it a Martini would be suffering the pangs of Hell by now. What a lack of imagination! What poverty of ideas! Why couldn't she (it had to be a "cute young thing - female bartender") have invented a name for the thing? When a man first was inspired to put a tiny pickled onion in the Martini, he had the decency to give it a new name- "Gibson". It is not a Martini - it is a first cousin to a Martini - it is a GIBSON. A fine drink, but not a Martini, the classic, the very definition of the word cocktail.

I dont blame Oldfrt for this problem , he like milions of others is the victim of the feminization of the drinking class - the ruin of America's saloon culture - the reductionof the honorable profession of bartender to little more than a shop clerk dispensing notions.

I herewith offer the munificent prize of the price of a good bottle of Gin in your local liquor store to the Roadfooder who can come up with a fitting name for that atrocity currently knows as ,( ugh) the vodka martini (ugh). I will forward a check in the amount of $35 to
the winner of our contest. The contest to close on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7th, next. I beg that the Mayor Al Bowen draft another two Roadfooders to form a committee to choose the winner. If the Mayor will accede to my request I will forward the check to him to dispense to the winner who should be chosen withina a week after December 7th. I do this in the hope that we can correct the terrible wrong that has been done to the classic Martini by by giving that poor little bastard without a name a proper name all his own.

Cheers to All, John

Just getting around to this thread What makes the Martino magical is the way the junniper Berries blend meld with the vermouth ( favor Moully-Prat) Sadly in the US today if you order a Martini they ask Vodka or Gin or just bring you vodka.

Martino? Two many Martini's

I was just hired as a bartender in a local restaurant opening in November. I will create a specific drink menu with ingredients and sometimes proportions, so the customer will get exactly what he or she orders. I will also specify that all Martinis and Manhattans will be shaken unless otherwise instructed.

Grampy, you have received excellent instructions regarding proper mixing.

you can not mess up on mine as it is stricly rye and ice.

To you my friend:

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I prefer 3 to 1, that is 3 jiggers Tangueray or Bombay Sapphire to one jigger Noilly Prat Vermouth. I know, I know, all you "misters" and "whisperers".....but it's the way they always were made in the old days, and I like them that way. It must be 5:00 somewhere, so I'll now retire to the freezer to chip out some ice and fixin's. Cheers!