When you think martini you probably think Bond, James Bond, right? Shaken, not stirred? A big, ole, yucky olive?
Nope. Nope. Nope. Absolutely not.
I guess I’m a cocktail snob but one of my biggest pet peeves is when I order a martini and it’s automatically assumed I want a dirty vodka martini.
When I think martini I immediately think Hawkeye Pierce, MASH 4077. Dry, drier, driest. To me that is the only way to go!
In the words of Hawkeye:
“I’d like a dry martini, Mr. Quoc, a very dry martini. A very dry, arrid, barren, desiccated, veritable dustbowl of a martini. I want a martini that could be declared a disaster area. Mix me just such a martini.”
“I’m pursuing my lifelong quest for the perfect, the absolutely driest martini to be found in this or any other world. And I think I may have hit upon the perfect formula. You pour six jiggers of gin, and you drink it while staring at a picture of Lorenzo Schwartz, the inventor of vermouth.”
Hawkeye’s Gin Martini
2 oz. gin (my go-to is St. George Terroir but I like to experiment)
1 oz. dry vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters
Garnish: lemon peelCombine all ingredients (minus lemon peel) in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until chilled. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with lemon peel.
Source: Ruth’s Table, 2017
I love a good martini and especially a dirty one but I never thought to use bitters and a lemon peel. Thanks!