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The Martini Chronicles Pt.4

Published
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Richard
3 years, 10 months ago
in Food and Impressions
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The Martini Chronicles Pt.4
I have to admit it, I am a man of extremes. While the last chronicle featured a very sweet Martini, this here chronicle will detail a rather dry affair.

The recipe used, as mentioned last time, I got from here. The thing that sets it apart from most other recipes, is its very scant use of Vermouth. Which is actually not exactly true. There is quite a bit of Vermouth used, only it’s not there to drink. You see, this recipe had me not mix the Vermouth with the Gin, but instead only coat the chilled glass by swirling the Vermouth in it. Surplus Vermouth I had to discard.

Being the clever fox I am, I already knew that my girlfriend wouldn’t want to be part of this very special experiment, so I shook the gin, poured it into my Vermouth-coated glass, then added an ample amount of sweet Vermouth to the remaining Gin in the shaker. This mixture was then poured into my girlfriend’s glass. She was content (well, almost; I still had to add a bit more water to the mix).

The actual Martini Dry I made for myself was, well, very dry. But the thing is, the drier your Martini, the smaller your sips are. So I started sipping gently, and suddenly the Gin’s flavour, coupled with the tiny amount of Vermouth, kicked in. It’s a delicate kind of Martini, and I recommend it to those not in a hurry.

This batch also saw the introduction of olive-impalement, as opposed to free floating ones:
Martini Cooking

Having learned in above recipe that ideally the olive(s) should be eaten before having your first sip, I had to discard the method of the free-floating olive, as it only facilitated the ingestion of the olive after downing the whole drink.

And as a special bonus, here’s what it looks like when you’re cooking with a Martini:

Martini Cooking

The Martini Chronicles Pt.3

Published
by
Richard
3 years, 10 months ago
in Food and Impressions
. 1 Comment

Martini Chronicles Pt.3

And as promised, here’s the recount of sweet Vermouth Martini preparation.

I used the Martini&Rossi Bianco, which I think is the sweetest one you can get. The ratio was 4 parts Gin to 2 parts Vermouth, which is the ratio recommended on the Noilly Prat bottle, only that they of course talk about dry and not sweet Vermouth.

My co-conspirator/girlfriend was much happier with this mixture. I, unfortunately, wasn’t. I think I just like the bitterness that comes with the rather dry version we had the first time. Or maybe it’s just that I don’t feel like a real Martini creator, considering that any Vermouth less dry than Sahara desert is deemed ill-suited for a real Martini. I know, this sounds snobbish, but frankly, once you’ve gone out and bought Martini glasses, you’re well beyond caring about being called a snob.

The next part will see a special way of preparation as detailed in this little article on the perfect Martini, and let me tell you, it’s not for the faint of heart. But more next time.

The Martini Chronicles Pt.2

Published
by
Richard
3 years, 10 months ago
in Food
. 0 Comments

So here we are, it’s part two of the Martini Chronicles.

I yesterday produced my first Martini Dry, and let me tell you, it’s so much different from what I’d expected. First of all, in the name of full disclosure, I’ll have to admit something. It proves that I’m a total novice in the art of The Martini, but alas, I’m self-confident enough to reveal that shocking secret:

For years I had been under the impression that I’d had plenty of Martinis already. How come? Well, I used to buy that bottle of “Martini” they sell in stores, thinking it’s a ready-made mixture. Well, turns out that what was labelled as “Martini” was in fact just part of the brand name “Martini & Rossi”, which in fact is simply…..Vermouth. Yes, here it is, I’d been drinking pure Vermouth and thought I was drinking Martini.

So you might be able to understand my surprise when I had my first sip of a real Martini yesterday. First I thought I had done something extremely wrong, but then it dawned on me, that yes, that’s simply what a real Martini Dry tastes like. But in the end, it really tasted quite good.

Here’s how I made it:

    Prepared the glasses by putting them in the freezer, for about five minutes. I think they could have been in a tad longer.
    Put five ice-cubes into the shaker (we only have elephant-shaped icecubes, but I think that doesn’t really make a difference. Or so I hope).
    I then poured five parts Gin and one part Dry French Vermouth (Noilly Prat) into the shaker.
    Shook the shaker, for about 20 seconds.

    Removed glasses from the freezer, put olive into one glass, then poured the Martini.

And here they are:

The Martini Chronicles Pt.2

Upon having the first sip, above mentioned total ignorance of what a real Martini Dry tastes like kicked in and I quickly had to add another two parts of Vermouth to the mixture. Yeah, yeah, I know, putting it in afterwards totally destroys the whole procedure and will be punished by cutting out your taste-buds, but hey, I live to learn.

So that was the first real Martini we ever had. After the first few sips, my girlfriend and I decided that even though it’s quite an acquired taste, we do like it.

Next time will see the adding of sweet Vermouth instead of the dry, French one.

The Martini Chronicles Pt.1

Published
by
Richard
3 years, 10 months ago
in Food
. 7 Comments

And in my quest to find new and enticing chronicles for this blog, here’s my latest. I have decided to become the world’s best mixer of Martini Dry, that one and only of cocktails. It won’t be an easy feat, considering how many people lost their lives only because of their devotion to the art of the Martini (seriously, no joke).

Here’s my setup, consisting of Gin, dry French Vermouth, a shaker, Martini glasses and olives:
Martini Chronicles Pt.1

And now off to the kitchen for the first batch.

This…

Published
by
Richard
3 years, 11 months ago
in Food and Impressions
. 0 Comments

Soup
is soup.

I really should start thinking of stories to accompany my images. Well, here’s one:

Yesterday we went to a supermarket stocked only with the most organically grown and produced items. And it was surreal. In a way it reminded me of the Contemporary Christian Music scene, in that it’s like a parallel universe. For every item in the real world, there’s a corresponding one in the other. In one case it’s music, in the other one it’s, say, salad.

We stocked up on a few things that we usually don’t get anywhere else, but also on some things we could get somewhere else but just thought we should check out there. Which was a bit of a mistake, because unless you’re rich, this supermarket was not made for you. Buying your groceries in that supermarket as you would buy them in any other, will bleed you dry, making sure you’ll soon be unable to live off anything else than organically produced pasta. Without the organically grown tomatoes.

They do have an impressive collection of tofu products though:

Tofu delicatessen

Seriously, I wouldn’t have a problem giving up meat if these things actually tasted the way they are advertised. Especially when other supermarkets are selling stuff like that:

Sausages

Even for me, who’s rather well versed in the meats, trying to discern what exactly they are trying to sell here is almost impossible. And why exactly they have to group it together in that way is absolutely beyond me.

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