Dan R

Of drinking, and then perhaps of eating

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Dan R
, Nov 24, 2014 at 12:47 AM (3998 Views)
Sometimes when we talk a lot about drinking, I think people tend to think us of alcoholics. Well, that may be the case, but in my case, I do enjoy the taste of certain alcohols.

To give you an example, a while back a friend of mine introduced to gin martinis. Well, I was not a big fan of gin back then, but what he made started to taste wonderful to the palate!

In order to perfect this, I started playing around with the two basic ingredients, gin and dry vermouth. After some experimentation, I decided I liked Bombay white label first and then maybe Beefeaters. If going for an odd kick, Death’s Door from Wisconsin worked well! It is a nice boutique gin. Maybe like Kendrick's but without the cucumber?

As for the dry vermouth, I tossed out Rossi pretty quick and settled on Noilly Prat. I've since dropped them in favor of Dolin.

Now for the olives. I bought olives from everyone. I finally settled on Publix queen olives. They had the best mouth feel in terms of firmness and the proper taste. Trader Joes made the best jalapeño stuffed olives.

One of my more interesting concoctions is as follows. Bombay with Dolin dry vermouth to meet your own flavor. The olives have had their pimentos pulled out and replaced with anchovy capped with a plug of aged parmesan cheese. Oh yes, it is an oily affair, but while some folks love the sweet drinks, I prefer one with flavor.

Perhaps this is a lot of time invested in such a thing, but I know people who spend more time on their eats, and they are nowhere as happy as I am when I finish a glass.

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Comments

  1. OTGabe's Avatar
    I'm not a martini man, but it wouldn't take much convincing to get me to try your creation. The olive/anchovy/parmesan combo sounds very tasty!

    Nice post, Dan!
  2. Dan R's Avatar
    Thanks. I have more than once said (on a low-carb diet) that I would lose weight if I just drank the martinis and ate no olives. LOL!

    Seriously, for under $10 and an Amazon account, you can fill a good olive with better fillings. Here is my olive stuffer.

    The sky is the limit with this thing.

    Cheers!

    Dan
  3. Teeritz's Avatar
    Oh guys, guys! The ONLY thing a Martini Olive should have in it is a (wooden) toothpick. Noilly Prat is my choice of vermouth also, but the Bond fan in me is hankering to try Lillet Blanc.
    Interesting write-up, Dan, and as you know, there are as many Dry Martini recipes as there are Martini drinkers.
    Cheers!
  4. OTGabe's Avatar
    Olive stuffer added to the Amazon cart, Dan. Thanks, and sorry Tee!
  5. Dan R's Avatar
    @Tee - I had looked up Lillet Blanc and read what is now offered is not what was offered in the (Connery) Bond days. What have you read?

    @Gabe - Enjoy in good health!
  6. Teeritz's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan R
    @Tee - I had looked up Lillet Blanc and read what is now offered is not what was offered in the (Connery) Bond days. What have you read?

    @Gabe - Enjoy in good health!
    I read the same thing, but there's a vermouth called Cocchi Americano, which is meant to taste the way Kina Lillet used to taste. Either way, I don't drink Martinis as often as I used to in my twenties, when I walked around thinking I was a cross between Bond and a '40s noir detective.
    Of course, I pretty much haven't changed, chum.

    Here's my idea of a Dry Martini;

    http://teeritz.blogspot.com.au/2013/...ording-to.html
  7. Dan R's Avatar
    Thank you for the blog link Tee, it was very good! I started all good things late in life. Did not try sushi until I was near 40. Did not try martinis until I was near 50. But I have been cookng since before 20 and see the martini as a meal. The sum of the parts make it great.

    And, FWIW, you cannot call anything in a martini glass a martini unless it has gin. Maybe vodka is an exception. But nothing else!

    I will look for the Cocchi Americano, but am quite sure I have not seen it in Atlanta yet.

    Cheers!

    Dan
  8. Teeritz's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan R

    Thank you for the blog link Tee, it was very good! I started all good things late in life. Did not try sushi until I was near 40. Did not try martinis until I was near 50. But I have been cookng since before 20 and see the martini as a meal. The sum of the parts make it great.
    It probably was wise not to go near Martinis until you got to fifty. The one that I prepared for my blog wiped me out for the rest of the night. It was, after all, three shots of gin.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dan R
    And, FWIW, you cannot call anything in a martini glass a martini unless it has gin. Maybe vodka is an exception. But nothing else!

    I will look for the Cocchi Americano, but am quite sure I have not seen it in Atlanta yet.

    Cheers!

    Dan
    I concede to the Vodka Martini only because it was Bond's staple in the movies. But yes, I prefer gin only.
  9. geoffbot's Avatar
    I like my martinis with a lemon twist, with the edges cut clean, not jagged from the peeler. I had a great one at the Connaught Hotel in London earlier in the year http://www.the-connaught.co.uk/martini-trolley/. It had a dash of grapefruit bitters in, much to the purists' dismay, but was excellent. You'd hope so for £20...
  10. Dan R's Avatar
    Ouch! And I thought Atlanta prices were high! But the write-up is interesting. I would ask for one at half the price just to say I have tried it!
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