Ice In My Martini/Some Martini Opinions

When I'm out drinking I usually stick to beers and wells as I'm too damned cheap to drop seven bucks on a Manhatan or Mint Julep or whatever that I'm pretty sure I can make as good and probably better at home. So my knowledge of the purchased mixed drink isn't as vast as that of you big spending swells and that brings me to my question: Do Martinis always come with a lot of ice chips in them?
Every time I've had a Martini at some joint (whether it's a fancy pants hotel "bistro" or funky Chinese restaurant) it always has ice in it. The last one I had sort of looked like spring thaw on the Bearing sea. So is this standard? Does everyone just expect extra chunky Martinis when out on the town?
I'm curious about the state of the purchased Martini, but I'm already planning to just order my next one on the rocks.

Above the line of stars is my original post for this thread. A question was asked: Does your Martini at a bar come with ice chips in it? Shortly after a few replies the post became an exchange of Martini ideas which was not my original intent. Gasp-! How could this have happened? Oh, right, we're human beings, not a search engine. Plus we've all gone one step beyond human and are Tiki Central members and for the most part Centralites seem to have a wide range of interests, an equally wide range of opinions, and an eagerness to share information/opinions with others. Yee-haw and yippee. I really mean that.

Back to the ice: I know why it happens (restaurant/bar ice machine ice that's small and the use of that metal cup + pint glass combo for a shaker which is then seperated to act as a strainer. I've never seen a bartender use a cocktail strainer.), and I now know that it's not standard to serve ice chip garnished Martinis. I also know that no Martini is served at my house with any ice in it. Ever.

Here's the thread "Martini Time"

https://tikicentral.com/viewtopic-new.php?topic=3642&forum=6

I'll post my opinions about the Martini and the gin I love there.

[ Edited by: woofmutt on 2004-02-14 08:10 ]

this is something i've not experienced, but i usually order 'em dirty.

I'm back! Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

Martini's should NEVER have ice in them it just dilutes them. They should be shaken with ice and then strained, AKA James Bond.

[ Edited by: kon-hemsby on 2004-02-13 03:27 ]

I've never experienced a martini with ice in it. This could be for one of two reasons:

1. If I'm going to have a martini, it's going to be in a place that knows how to make a martini
2. I live in England where ice still appears to be a fuggin' luxury! How many gin & tonics have I had with just one rapidly melting ice cube plopped into it from a height?

Trader Woody

AFAIK, the only Martinis that should have ice in them are the ones that only contains the vermouth. For example Martini Bianco is often served with ice and a lemon slice.

Here's an interesting Martini recipe from the book Atomic Cocktails:

The Sacred Truth Martini

• 2 pitted green olives
• 1½ teaspoons dry vermouth
• 1½ cups cracked ice
• 3 ounces top-quality gin

1. Spear the olives with a toothpick. Pour the vermouth into a small saucer. Add the olives and turn several times to coat with the vermouth.

2. Fill a cocktail shaker with the ice and add the gin (Purists say to pour it without making any noise so that you don't bruise the gin). Stir very gently with a long-handled bar spoon to chill, about 20 revolutions. Or, go the more extreme route and just swirl the gin inside the shaker. Either way, work quickly so the ice doesn't melt and dilute the gin.

3. Set the speared olives in a martini glass. Strain the gin over the olives and serve.

The Surfites

[ Edited by: Klas on 2004-02-13 03:07 ]

The ice you see is chips from them being shaken vigorously. It's normal. A Martini should be served up, as cold as possible, and that usually means shaking, chilling the glass, etc.

I would say that your bag for the buck is best spent on a Martini. The alcohol on one Martini is about what's in 4 beers.

Just learn to order it right and never look back.

Martini, neat, dry, no olive, up... Gin... (Unfortunately, you almost always have to specify gin these days.)

mah 2 co co nuts:

gin = bombay sapphire

a few little chips are acceptable, but it shouldn't be a gin slurpee. the strainer should pick up anything over the size of a pea.

all that james bond stuff aside, stirring provides the most pleasing martini in my book. i've taste-tested a shaken next to a stirred, and all the shaken is is cloudy and fizzy. i think the presentation of a martini should be crystal clear, with condensation forming on the outside of the glass.

the stuffed olive is the coup in my book. the jolt o'salty after the smooth kick o' the gin. to quote ol' blueyes, "that slam bang tang, remaniscent of gin and vermouth..."

peace to all, j$

There're too many new "martinis" on the scene, "Chocolate Martini," "Raspberry Martini," "Blue Velvet Martini," none of these're martinis in my book. Of course Swanky & J$ probably wouldn't go for my personal favorite of a Vodka martini, extra dry, rocks, 2 olives, but it still sticks to the basic idea of chilled, slightly-flavored ethanol with a touch of vermouth.

On 2004-02-13 10:21, freddiefreelance wrote:
There're too many new "martinis" on the scene, "Chocolate Martini," "Raspberry Martini," "Blue Velvet Martini," none of these're martinis in my book. Of course Swanky & J$ probably wouldn't go for my personal favorite of a Vodka martini, extra dry, rocks, 2 olives, but it still sticks to the basic idea of chilled, slightly-flavored ethanol with a touch of vermouth.

i agree dr. freddie, i think the gin and the vodka are from the source. i find a personal preference in the gin 'zing,' but i have much respect for the vodka.

hiccup, j$

No ice in the martini!!! maybe a stray chip or two that falls thru the strain....

My martini: chill cocktail glass by filling with crushed ice & a little cold water. Dump ice & water, swirl a little vermouth in glass - let it spill over the rim a bit, dump.

Quickly shake freezer cold Bombay Sapphire with a few large ice cubes (shaking aerates the gin, bringing out the complex flavors).

Strain into cocktail glass, twist strip of citrus peel over drink & drop in (I prefer tangerines for this). Enjoy!

I learned on my recent visit to Magic Castle (thanks again Wierd Unc!) that WC Fields liked his martinis with a kumquat instead of an olive.

[ Edited by: Traderpup on 2004-02-13 11:25 ]

Although there are probably a million ways to make a martini, I agree mainly with Johnny Dollar's methods. Despite the overused James Bond quote, stirring is the only way to go. Vigorous shaking is the cause of ice crystals in a martini, as well as cloudiness, which I don't care for in a martini.

Contrary to someone's earlier post, you do want some melting of the ice and proper dilution, so use plenty of ice, gin (vodka if you must) and vermouth at room temperature, and gentle stirring for a long time to achieve proper chilling and dilution (a martini pitcher is perfect for this). Keeping your booze in the freezer isn't necessary because it prevents the dilution from occuring.

I prefer Bombay regular and Noilly Prat vermouth in a ratio of from 1:5 to 1:7. I like to be able to taste the vermouth a bit. Sometimes I throw in a few drops of orange or Peychaud's bitters.

A dirty martini shouldn't be cloudy either - it's just a martini with some olive brine.

While we're on the subject, never, ever, shake a Manhattan. The nasty layer of bubbles it creates doesn't go away.

On 2004-02-13 11:21, Traderpup wrote:
I learned on my recent visit to Magic Castle (thanks again Wierd Unc!) that WC Fields liked his martinis with a kumquat instead of an olive.
[ Edited by: Traderpup on 2004-02-13 11:25 ]

Maybe they were pickled kumquats? I've heard of that in a martini as well as those giant 1" across capers...

Too many drinks are named Martini just because of the glass. Makes people feel special even when they are really drinking a shooter.

Shaking adds anti-oxidants to your cocktail! It's the trend now. Everything is shaken. Who has a stirrer at the bar anymore?

If your shaken martini is coming out cloudy or fizzy, its being way overshaken. Don't shake the shaker up and down, causing the contents to leap up and down, but rather, hold the shaker upright in one hand, and rotate your wrist side to side quickly, swishing the liquid around. I switched to shaken over stirred. After breaking two vintage martini pitchers, the stainless shaker became a good friend of mine!

My thoughts on the freezer gin: if I'm enjoying a gin thats heavy on the botanicals, I don't want a lot of dilution. So the cold gin, shaken with ice, suits me just fine. Also, as many of us aren't bartender pros, we tend to be a bit slower at mixing a drink, and using room temp gin over ice would get a little too diluted by the time it was poured. Generally, the more herbal a gin is, the less dilution it should get.

About the kumquats... Magic Castle, in honoring WC Field's birthday, served up Sapphire martinis with fresh kumquats, not pickled. So I'll assume he enjoyed the fresh ones.

http://www.coolbiz.com/wav/martini.wav
http://www.gotwavs.com/cgi-bin/wavs.cgi?James_Bond=bond_theme.wav

A Tiki Cheers To You

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga on 2004-02-13 19:20 ]

There is NO SUCH DRINK AS A VODKA MARTINI!

but there is a vodka and vermouth drink. :wink:

An interesting article on Martini history.

salut

A Drink With Something In It
There is something about a Martini,
A tingle remarkably pleasant;
A yellow, a mellow Martini;
I wish I had one at present.
There is something about a Martini
Ere the dining and dancing begin,
And to tell you the truth,
It's not the vermouth -
I think that perhaps it's the gin.

-Ogden Nash (1935)

Sorry if this is slightly off topic, but I need to rant a bit.

Last night we had a work party at a place that recently changed hands. For years and years the bartender was a little old Italian man who looked like he had been mixing drinks for about 60 years. He made the best Rob Roy I'd ever had. Well, we get there and of course he's nowhere in sight. So I go up to the bar and ask the Coyote Ugly wannabe for my Rob Roy. After some hesitation, I got my scotch on the rocks that just happened to have, literally, ONE DROP of vermouth floating on one of the ice cubes. (and bitters? what are they?)

With all the hype about cocktail culture and every other Food TV show including drink segments, no one seems to really care about making a proper drink anymore... or have respect for those who can.

just my two Z's

-Z

Thank God The Tiki Bar Is Open
Thank God The Tiki Torch Still Shines...

[ Edited by: Feelin' Zombified on 2004-02-14 13:49 ]

There's a great poem by the great Dorothy Parker:
I like to have a martini
One or two at the most
After three I'm under the table
After four I'm under my host!