-tini: The Most Abused Suffix in Drinkdom

I recently noticed a colleague of mine sipping an interesting drink at dinner. Its glass announced itself as a -tini drink, but it was not of the fluorescent-colored, overly garnished variety that plaque our drink menus. In fact, it looked like seawater. I was intrigued. I was told that it was a French martini. The drink wasn’t bad; I have since made a couple myself. It was not, however, a martini.

The Cosmo, also not a martini, FYI.

In recent years, "martini" became an umbrella name for vodka-based cocktails served in a fancy glass so bars and restaurants can charge $11 a pop for them. Which is curious because gin, not vodka, is the base for a true, classic martini. Vodka is favored for -tini drinks because of its neutral taste, whereas if you used gin the cocktail might taste as though there was liquor in there. In other words, it would taste like, well, a martini.

I drink both vodka and gin martinis, oftentimes in succession. It’s a matter of preference. But the real deal foe me is gin and vermouth. What makes a martini is how the dryness of the vermouth tempers the juniper bite of the gin. I advocate the term vodkatini when subbing vodka for the gin because they are completely different drinks.

Now that we know gin makes a proper martini, there are plenty other conundrums still to consider:

Ratio of gin to vermouth? Classic recipes usually have a ratio of three parts gin, one part vermouth. I prefer six to one with a London Dry like Tanqueray. For cleaner, new-style gins I prefer something close to what Hemingway called “The Montgomery.” Named after a British Field Marshal, Papa’s drink had a 15 to one ratio, which purportedly the battle odds Montgomery favored.

Shaken or stirred? Stirred. (Sorry James.) You’re not mixing a can of paint. Too much shake causes ice particles to dissolve in the drink, watering it down. The idea is to get the drink as cold as possible. A better way to achieve this is to ice the glass too. Then use a cocktail spoon to give it a vigorous stir for 30 seconds or so. You'll still get some dilution, but not too much.

Olive or twist? I have always been an olive guy, but since getting a zester, I have favored a twist. It really brings out the citrus notes. Twist gets my vote with gin, olives with vodka. Matter of preference.

Bitters? Many believe bitters are essential and some classic recipes included orange bitters. I like it, but mostly I don’t like anything mucking with the gin taste.

Most important thing is to keep it simple when it comes to a martini. Besides, if you have a few, they will cause plenty of complications.