[Leica] Memorial Day 2007

[jbm at jbm.org (Jeff Moore)]

2007-05-29-20:22:57 G Hopkinson:
> Chilled glass, blue sapphire and double olives. As long as it was no
> more than wave the vermouth cork over the top you have it perfected.

Now see, I have to disagree with this whole hyper-dry Martini craze
which apparently accelerated into a kind of madness during the Cold War
era and hasn't yet been properly recovered from. The common
late-Fifties-on exceedingly dry Martini tends to be calculated with gin
in the ounces and vermouth in the dashes (if it makes any real
appearance at all), so what you get is basically a glass of gin --
which, if it's good gin, isn't that terrible a thing, but I think the
dry Martini arms race has become one of those self-conscious exercises
in machismo, like pretending to relish the most painfully corrosive hot
sauces.  (Yes, Habaneros add a lovely smoky flavor all their own; but
you don't have to toss in so many that they slough off a few layers of
oral skin.)

A proper Martini is a perfect blend of gin, vermouth, those notes of
olive-y brine, and cold (yes, I count the chill an essential ingredient
in its own right). I contend that, to my palate, these 11:1 gin:vermouth
concoctions just aren't as enjoyable as (as you ready for this?) a
classic '30s to '40s (think Nick and Nora Charles!) 3:1 Martini.  Try
it sometime, with an open mind. As a nod to modernity, though, I'll
acknowledge that I think the true sweet spot lies in the neighborhood of
4:1.

One area I think we'll agree, though:  a Martini is by definition a gin
drink.  Full stop, no prevarication.  There can be lovely vodka-based
drinks, but their name isn't Martini, no matter how much a chorus of 20-
and 30-somethings may try to insist that it is.  (There was a nice
mention of this silliness in an article in the NYT recently.)

As for your blueness: if it's Bombay Sapphire to which you refer, I
agree, it's a tasty Martini base.  If you like that, I bet you'll also
like Plymouth, should you not have tried it yet.