The Raitini (cucumber raita martini)
What kind of martini should you serve before a curry? This one. Indian summer? No, just a British one. As much as I love a classic gin martini, sometimes it can leave your mouth just a little too raw before you eat a fiery dish, so I started to contemplate an alternative, something with less alcohol but more flavour to compliment the curry. Of course, … Continue reading The Raitini (cucumber raita martini)
The Frukostini (the Swedish breakfast martini)
The classic martini will always be my favourite, but of the non-classics, I think this is definitely one of the tastiest (even if it looks slightly alarming). The breakfast martini was invented by Salvatore Calabrese in the Lanesborough hotel in London. It involves gin, marmalade, lemon juice and Cointreau or Triple Sec. However, I’ve had some lingonberry jam in my fridge from my last Ikea … Continue reading The Frukostini (the Swedish breakfast martini)
Peartini
I’ve posted about this before but I’m going to do it again as I changed the garnish and the company. The peartini is very easy. My rough recipe is as follows: 1 part vermouth 2.5 parts gin 3 parts pear juice from a tin Garnish with one or two pear slices And adjust the measurements to taste. It’s not really set in stone. It’s sweet … Continue reading Peartini
Chilling the glass
I went to a bar last night where they chilled the martini glass using ice cubes. This really doesn’t work. The glass will warm up very quickly, especially if the alcohol content hasn’t been stored in the freezer either. It may take a bit of pre-planning and adjustment to get everything organised, but soon you will realise that keeping everything in the freezer is the … Continue reading Chilling the glass
Cherry martini
My cousin was visiting for a catch up so I decided to make her something sweet and dark. I saw fresh cherries for sale, incidentally from the same shire that she comes from, so I bought them and went from there. So here is the result, the dark cherry martini. 3 parts gin or vodka 1-2 parts sweet vermouth (to taste) 2 parts cherry syrup … Continue reading Cherry martini
Classics
I’ve been making some very standard martinis lately, rather than experimenting, but why vary on a classic when it’s so good? I also made a dirty martini, just with a little olive brine to add a salty taste and whet my appetite before a meal. Still, the clean, sharp original remains my ultimate favourite. Continue reading Classics
Le Jacques Coustini
For mid-summer I like to gather friends in the evening for seafood and drinks as the sun slowly sets. Akvavit normally features strongly in the blueprints for the night but before I served the food I wanted at least one martini as an aperitif. For a seafood theme I made a slight alteration to a classic gin martini, adding a dash of olive brine for … Continue reading Le Jacques Coustini
The martini from Tanzania (aka the Serengetini)
My friend brought me some Konyagi back from Tanzania. Konyagi is a local spirit made in Tanzania that resembles something between gin and vodka. It’s a clear spirit with less juniper or other herbs. It’s also sold in plastic bags which adds to the novelty. Obviously my first thought was “how do I make a martini out of this?” So I put the konyagi in … Continue reading The martini from Tanzania (aka the Serengetini)
Spicy martini
This spicy drink was inspired by the mermaid inn in New York, which does a tasty oyster happy hour. I had a spicy vodka martini there before consuming a platter of various types of oyster with friends. They garnished theirs with a hot pepper, but I didn’t have any of those available so I improvised with olives and sliced spring onion. The latter went very … Continue reading Spicy martini
The simple guide to making a dirty martini
While I waited for dinner to cook I was craving something salty so I whipped up a quick dirty martini (as you do). -Vermouth to taste -Olive brine to taste (I use roughly the same amount of brine as vermouth, but my brother likes 3 teaspoons of brine) -Gin/vodka for the rest I squeezed in some lemon oil from a piece of peel but then … Continue reading The simple guide to making a dirty martini
