Cool Tip: The Perfect Martini

The Martini is one of the most traditional  cocktails - perhaps really “the most famous of all cocktails” according to the UK Bartenders Guild: invented at New York’s Knickerbocker Hotel by the bartender Signor Martini for John D. Rockefeller, and originally including maraschino and bitters - yikes! … shaken (yes! ...but of course, Mr. Bond: 3 parts Gordon’s, 1 part vodka made from grain, and ½ part of Lillet, from the book Casino Royale) or stirred … and served with an olive (stuffed, perhaps), or a lemon peel or twist, or a spritz of lemon, or dirty … or ....

But after you’ve decided between gin or vodka, and made your selection of vegetables (let’s not forget The Gibson, served with a pickled onion), the fundamental underlying question in The Modern Era is … how much vermouth? The question always is “how much is enough? ...or too much?” Making your drink near your bottle of vermouth may be one standard, but that approach denigrates the martini to a mere “liquor on the rocks” drink.

Here’s a way to manage this issue, and to add a different dimension to your choice of vegetables. Large caper berries with stems, rinsed and stored in dry vermouth, will add a tasty different dimension to your martinis! Simply remove a few and rinse, then store in a small jar filled with dry vermouth, and refrigerate … the vermouth will permeate the capers and carry just the right amount of vermouth on their surface when added to your favorite basic liquor. This has been a favorite for a long time!

Enjoy!