Posted on 01/10/2009 2:17:28 PM PST by 1rudeboy
Martini drinkers are conservatives. Not necessarily politically, but in temperament: They abjure fad and fashion in drink, hewing to the Platonic form of the cocktail. They would stand athwart history yelling Stop -- if yelling weren't inconsistent with the proper comportment of a Martini drinker. They dislike change. It is with some trepidation, then, that I bring what is almost certain to be received as appalling news: Noilly Prat, the dry vermouth considered by many devotees to be the only choice for a well-made Martini, is changing its U.S. formula.
"Noilly Prat is a necessary component of a dry martini," wrote the novelist and Martini connoisseur W. Somerset Maugham in 1958. He gave the French vermouth such a formidable endorsement that the company would, for years, devote full-page magazine advertisements to quoting his claim that, without Noilly Prat, "you can make a side car, a gimlet, a white lady, or a gin and bitters, but you cannot make a dry martini."
Maugham's digression into the essentiality of Noilly Prat comes from an essay in which Maugham is exploring a Hindu-inspired notion of man's fallen nature. "Man is born to sin," he writes, and "he would not be a man if he were devoid of evil." To flesh out his point, Maugham argues that "Evil is a necessary component of him just as (if I may be permitted a flippant comparison) Noilly Prat is a necessary component of a dry martini. . . ." The comparison may be flippant, but it does have a certain resonance. Just as evil is necessary to man, vermouth has come to be seen as a necessary evil in Martinis.
The question is, just how evil is the new Noilly Prat?
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Vodka martini drinkers find an interior decorating thread, or something else to do with your time.
Noilly Prat is funny when an oriental girl tries to say it.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
It’s worse than that. Brats who wanted a classic-sounding drink, but decided they didn’t like gin, started ordering vodka martinis until now if you order a martini at a bar you’re likely to get vodka by default.
Still worse, the same kids tend not to like vermouth either, hence ordering “dry” and “extra dry” martinis (more and more liquor; barely a splash of vermouth). So you have a group of people who like neither gin nor vermouth ordering basically a shot of vodka and calling it a martini.
I’m not a big fan of gin, but instead of turning a real drink into a tasteless shot, I just drink stuff I prefer. Like whiskey sours.
And look what has happened to the Bond brand since. The new Bond drinks Smirnoff, for cripe’s sake.
>>Vodka martini drinkers find an interior decorating thread
Agree completely.
I’m more of a Bourbon and Irish whiskey fan myself, but do enjoy a good martini with just a hint of vermouth
There is no such thing as a martini made with anything other than gin.
Period.
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1997/4/1997_4_32.shtml
“THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT A MARTINI”
All landed gentry know that the G&T is the true drink of class and distinction...polo anyone?
If you look a a drink menu at any high class restaurant you’ll find that martinis no longer contain gin or vermouth. They’re all vodka and some fancy ingredients.
My sister drinks a so-called martini that contains a specific brand of vodka, sage leaves and some other very expensive ingredients.
Then there was the “Combat Martini” that was a tradition with the pilots of my unit in Vietnam....where they type of vermouth really didn’t enter into the equasion. Four of the newest pilots in the unit were lined up in a row...the first had ice, the second had olives, the third had a quart of Beefeaters Gin and the fourth had a bottle of Vermouth. Then the rest of us...lined up, like taking communion, a chunk of ice would be placed in our mouth, then you moved to the second and an olive and then on to the third and a good chug of Beefeaters and then finally the vermouth was passed under one’s nose whereupon you went to the back of the line and patiently waited your turn for a repeat performance. BTW...if memory serves me correctly (it seldom does anymore)the Beefeaters was about a dollar a quart. Ahh fond memories..
I’ll take a gin gimlet anyday, Thanks.
Love Tom Collins
Beefeater, Tanqueray worked fine for me.
At the Martini Bar.
I find that a picture of a bottle of vermouth next to the bottle of gin provides the proper ‘hint of vermouth’.
I've only had 6 vodka martinis in my life. I know because I drank them all the same night. It was impressive.
How about a Manhattan? Bourbon, sweet vermouth, and bitters w/ a cherry. I’m a pale ale or stout drinker predominantly, but like those. Or a Dry Mahnattan? Bourbon, dry vermouth, and bitters, w/ an olive. Can’t remember if I like those or not. It’s been a while since I’ve had anything but a beer and a shot. If I ordered a cocktail at my watering hole, I think the music stop and everyone would stare at me.
You are martini drinkers of the Winston Churhill mold: according to WC, a glance at the vermouth bottle across the room was all that was necessary.
You remember that? You might not have if they had been proper Bombay Safire martinis as the Queen Mother prefers. Is she still alive?
As a young signal officer, I attended a function at the battalion commander's home wherein I was deputized to mix the drinks, something at which I had little experience.
One aviator captain asked for a dry martini, for which I mixed what I thought was the appropriate amount of vermouth with the gin. After a taste, the captain corrected me, informing me that the proper procedure was to whisper the word "vermouth" as I was passing the bottle by a glassful of gin.
I thoroughly agree that decent martinis cannot be found outside of the US. Other cultures just don't savor them. When in Galway, just stick to Jameson. I learned that the hard way. Elsewhere in Europe - wine.
I've taken to ordering mine "dry Bombay martini with olives straight" and invariably it will come with ice, I'll be asked gin or vodka (didn't I sat that?), and the vermouth will overpower the gin. Argh. Granted, I like martinis the way I make them, just coating the ice and the sides of the shaker with vermouth rather than an actual ounce, but knowledge of the martini is severly lacking.
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