Tonight, the gin had partially frozen in the freezer. It was full of ice crystals and poured out like slush. It looked beautiful although it tasted slightly more dry than normal for the first 5 minutes before it melted. Continue reading Frozen martini
There were no martinis served in the household last night. It wasn’t a problem. Continue reading More Swedish influence
When you have peeled off all the rind of a lemon for martinis, what do you do with the rest of it? Instead of throwing them out or letting them pile up, I have two suggestions. One is to use the juice in one of Laura Santtini’s recipes. Otherwise, slice the lemon into wedges and store in the freezer. They make good ice cubes for … Continue reading Bald lemons
A nice frozen glass really adds to a martini. It helps keep the alcohol chilled after serving and it’s visually appealing. As I’ve mentioned before, when the glasses have been in the freezer for a few hours, I might sprinkle water on them to add to the layer of ice. However, I recently treated myself to a small water sprayer to enhance the process. It’s … Continue reading Frozen glass
There were no crisps or other unhealthy snacks at my parents’ house so I improvised. Oatcakes with Swedish roe paste (dad loved it, mum hated it), olives stuffed with anchovies, and the surprise random addition, crystallised stem ginger pieces. Continue reading New bites
I told you I like Bar Polskie. Here are some of their vodka delights. Oak and quince flavour. They have a massive range of other nice flavours (traditional ones, not trashy vodka flavours). My favourite drink though, was not vodka, but mead. We also had pickled gherkins, pickled herring, and pierogi to eat on the side. Continue reading Bar Polskie
My friend made me an espresso martini. It was a very tasty pick-me-up for the end of the week. If you have your own coffee machine then it should be relatively straight forward. 1 part espresso, 1 part kahlua and 2 parts vodka, put into a cocktail shaker with ice, give a very vigorous shake to chill the freshly brewed coffee, then pour into a … Continue reading Espresso Martini
When I was based in Sri Lanka, a country where they know how to work hard and drink harder, it was almost essential that alcohol was served with food. The Sinhalese actually use the word ‘bites’ to describe this. It was during my time in this fascinating, beautiful but complex country that the importance of serving tasty nibbles with your drink was strongly instilled in … Continue reading Sri Lankan bites
My mother texted to say that my father’s martinis were better than mine. It turns out that dad had hijacked her phone and was attempting to taunt me. Nonetheless he claimed to have developed my technique a little further to improve the quality of the drink and was quietly confident that his new secret method made his drinks better than mine. He is very creative … Continue reading Double lemon
I look forward to Poland’s rise on the world stage. I’m not much of a vodka drinker, but when I do drink vodka, Polish is my favourite. When someone says “flavoured vodka” they are either referring to chemical trashy flavours such as strawberry or chocolate, or they are talking about the real deal: the traditional Polish flavours. I’m somewhat of a traditionalist, but if you … Continue reading The Polish influence
The Martini Socialist 