To be pedantic, a martini is comprised of gin, vermouth, and the water from the ice. If you try making one without ice (e.g. with a freezer) it's too strong

A lot of places in America serve room temperature non melted martinis. Pretty horrible.

Most places in France think that when you order a Martini you want a glass of vermouth, not a cocktail. And if you give them the ingredients they will say "ah like a vodka martini but with gin?" ...

That's mostly because "Martini" is the prevalent brand of vermouth in central Europe. It's super confusing... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martini_%26_Rossi

But France is Western Europe, not central. Is it the prevalent brand there too?

>Usually the countries considered to be Central European are Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland; in the broader sense Romania and Serbia too, occasionally also Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

I think that Martini was overwhelmingly the most prevalent brand of vermouth the world over. That's certainly the case in the US.

Vermouth is from Italy, which is more Central European than Belgium, the Netherlands, or Luxembourg.

I've never heard people refer to Italy as "central Europe", personally.

Yea. Made that mistake before. Got vermouth with a slice of lemon

For more nerdy detail on this than you ever realized you wanted, see: http://cookingissues.com/index.html%3Fp=1527.html

Looking at the bottle of vermouth while stirring the gin provided enough vermouth for Churchill and it provides enough for me.

A solemn nod in the general direction of France is sufficient, and don't skimp on the olives.

I thought just a glance towards France was enough for the ol' British Bulldog

The horrors that man perpetrated on a whisk(e)y and soda....

If it has vodka instead of gin it’s not a vodka martini, it’s a kangaroo

nonsense, that's an animal

...so I shouldn't pack up and move to Australia with dreams of draining the wildlife of one of my favorite drinks?

There is a great bracing joy in having an occasional classic proportioned martini. 4:1 with a splash of Regans. Stirred until completely cold and poured in an ice cold martini glass. It connects you with all the great martini drinkers of the past. For a moment you are sitting with Myrna Loy and William Powell engaged in carefree and sarcastic conversation all the while ignoring the depression gripping the country.

As an outsider, this sounds like marketing material from alcohol vendors that their customers use to justify their drug use...

> Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel

I've found I really like the Vesper martini. It's more floral and refreshing than the traditional one

I'm skeptical of a recipe that calls out its gin, but not its vodka, and also refers to a lemon twist as "a large thin slice of lemon peel." Not so skeptical that I won't try making it with several types of vodka. But skeptical nonetheless.

I'm not so skeptical, since Vodka is not generally added for the flavour or aromas (which get clouded by almost any other ingredient anyway) but more likely to add texture, to tone down the flavour profile of another spirit without having to water it down, and sometimes even for economy when using more expensive spirits. Any decent brand of Vodka will generally do the job.

I'm now in an "americana" gin phase (st. george, distillery 209, etc) since they're not as commonplace here in Europe and I've been known to mix them with just commercial Vodkas whilst experimenting with a few cocktail recipes. I do that more with barrel aged gins -- the flavours of oily or smoky spirits don't easily work in cocktails so toning them down tends to produce some more interesting results.

Different gins have very different flavor profiles. The entire point of vodka is not to have distinct characteristics (Dave Arnold's favorite vodka is potable lab ethanol diluted to 40%, and Dave Arnold has forgotten more about liquor science than most of us will ever learn).

I feel like vodka only comes in two classes: "noticeably bad" and "not noticeable".

Adding to the fun, swap out olives for a cocktail onion and you have yourself a Gibson.

Incidentally, this is also the name of one of the best bars I know: http://thegibsonbar.london

The owner is the amazingly talented Marian Beke[1], whom I got to know while living in London and frequenting Nightjar, another fantastic establishment – in the same neighbourhood no less! If you're ever in the area, you should definitely go for a visit.

NB: Beyond being a bit of a drunkard, I have no affiliation with any of the above.

[1]: https://www.diffordsguide.com/people/11764/bar-owner/marian-...

I love Gibsons - I went through a phase about two years ago of ordering them at every bar I went to. It worked out, since I was doing a tour of cocktails bars in Manhattan.

I have watched a barman prepare an oyster martini - which was about as odd to watch as it presumably was to drink.

This actually sounds delicious, I'll get some oysters next Friday by the street market, thanks

A long time ago I learned the saying:

The only things I ever did that I regret.... I did while drinking gin!

“Martinis are the only American invention as perfect as a sonnet.”

-H. L. Mencken