The Dirty Martini is a simple variation on the traditional dry martini – it just adds a little bit of olive brine, which clouds the cocktail (hence the name “dirty martini”). If you like a martini with an olive garnish, you’ll probably love this drink. ... READ MORE]]> The Dirty Martini is a simple variation on the traditional dry martini – it just adds a little bit of olive brine, which clouds the cocktail (hence the name “dirty martini”). If you like a martini with an olive garnish, you’ll probably love this drink. The olive brine adds a wonderful salty flavor that stands our from the gin and vermouth. In fact, if you’re undecided about traditional dry martinis, or you’re trying to acquire the taste for them, this drink is a good place to start. You might even prefer it.

Dirty Martini

• 2 ounces of gin
• 1 tablespoon dry vermouth
• 1 tablespoon olive brine
• Three olives

Gently stir everything but the olives in a shaker full of ice. Strain into a martini glass, garnish with the olives and serve.

The Dirty Martini is great for parties or for sipping along in the evenings. It’s also wonderful with meals – particularly hearty ones with bold but mellow flavor: steak or any other kind of meat, or a hearty vegetarian bean chili. Not every seasoning or spice blends well with the flavor of this drink, so keep your food accompaniment simple.

Unlike some drinks that include bitters, the Negroni tastes bitter. Some people love that about it, others wonder how anyone could find it drinkable. The flavor of the drink reminds me of pink grapefruit juice, except with that mild bitterness overlaying it. Maybe an apt ... READ MORE]]> Unlike some drinks that include bitters, the Negroni tastes bitter. Some people love that about it, others wonder how anyone could find it drinkable. The flavor of the drink reminds me of pink grapefruit juice, except with that mild bitterness overlaying it. Maybe an apt comparison would be with the white meat of a grapefruit, just inside the rind – by itself, it would be repulsive, but with the grapefruit juice in the same bite, some people love it. If you’re not one of them, go for a Cosmo, which tastes like ruby red grapefruit juice with a kick.

The Negroni

• 1 ounce gin
• 1 ounce sweet Italian vermouth
• 1 ounce Campari Bitters

Put ice in an Old Fashioned glass, and pour the ingrdients in. Garnish with a slice of orange.

Strong flavors

Be forwarned: this drink overwhelms meek foods. Pick something with bold flavor: steak or salmon dishes, like Green Peppercorn Steak or Osaka Grilled Salmon. For an appetizer, you can’t beat a good mussels recipe, but this eggplant rollati recipe could come close.

The Dry Martini is a simple classic. It features just three ingredients – vermouth, gin and your choice of garnish – and a fascinating taste that’s hard to classify. It’s herbal and a little bit tangy, which is why it goes equally well with an ... READ MORE]]> The Dry Martini is a simple classic. It features just three ingredients – vermouth, gin and your choice of garnish – and a fascinating taste that’s hard to classify. It’s herbal and a little bit tangy, which is why it goes equally well with an olive or lemon twist for garnish.

There are no mixers in this drink – pure alcohol all the way. It’s a strangely versatile drink that’s equally wonderful sipped alone or with almost any meal or snack you care to pair it with.

The Classic Dry Martini

• Dry vermouth
• 2 ounces dry gin

This recipe is about as dry as the martini can get. You pour a little dry vermouth into a martini glass and gently slosh it around the glass until the inside of the glass is coated. Get rid of the excess vermouth. Gently stir the gin in a shaker full of ice, then strain it into the glass. Serve with an olive or lemon twist. If this recipe is too dry, just add more vermouth. The more vermouth, the less dry the drink will be.

Many other recipes suggest stirring all the ingredients together in a shaker with ice, then straining into the glass. You can experiment to find your preferred method.

This is definitely a drink best served chilled, so chill your glass. To really impress guests who nurse their martinis, bring them another chilled glass after the one they’re using has lost its frost, and pour what’s left of their martini into the new glass (you can top it off, too, if you’ve pre-mixed your cocktails). It’s also a good idea to keep your shaker chilled.

Goes well with… food

Maybe I’m biased – this is my all-time favorite cocktail, after all – but if there’s a food that doesn’t go well with martinis, I haven’t found it. The term “six martini lunch” came from somewhere, after all. Gin has a unique flavor (juniper) which I can best describe as reminiscent of pines or fresh rosemary, a spicy herbal. My tastebuds insist it’s equally good with anything edible. Mild foods, such as delicate fish or chicken dishes, pair nicely with this drink. But so do bold flavors, like steak or any beef dish, and game meats. For spicy dishes, you might want a slightly sweeter martini, but if you’ve got simultaneous cravings for a really dry gin martini and pasta arrabiata, you’re not likely to be disappointed by combining the two.

Unlike a lot of the cocktails we feature, the Manhattan’s recipe hasn’t changed much over the years. You can vary the proportion of vermouth to bourbon to get the amount of sweetness you want, or you can shake it instead of stirring it, but the ... READ MORE]]> Unlike a lot of the cocktails we feature, the Manhattan’s recipe hasn’t changed much over the years. You can vary the proportion of vermouth to bourbon to get the amount of sweetness you want, or you can shake it instead of stirring it, but the ingredients always remain the same. The original recipe used rye rather than bourbon, and if you can find rye, that’s the preferred spirit. However, straight rye’s not that widely available these days, so Canadian whiskey is a good alternative, because it’s still mostly comprised of rye. (ETA: see comments below, as this has changed.)

The Classic Manhattan

• 1/2 ounce Italian (sweet) vermouth
• 1 jigger rye (Canadian whiskey) or bourbon
• Dash of Angostura bitters (optional)

Stir with cracked ice, strain into a martini glass, and garnish with a cherry. Can also be served on the rocks.

A preference for rich lovers

The Manhattan is certainly a perfect drink for sipping on its own. But it’s also delicious with rich foods – particularly mild ones. Try this circa ’60s recipe for Crabmeat Canapes:

The instructions are:

Mix 6 1/2 ounce can crabmeat. 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, 2 chopped eggs, salt and pepper. Spread on bread fingers; pimiento garnish.

For best results, you can use fresk crab meat. Or serve your Manhattan with crab legs and drawn butter for dipping. Lobster is also perfect. A white sauce pasta dish would also work well with a Manhattan, as would a salmon casserole or a creamy corn chowder for a chilly night at home. Anything that’s rich or creamy provides a very nice contrast.