I had damn near forgotten how amazingly good a martini can be. But I just had a Perfect Martini, so I remembered. I thought I'd share.
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Perfect Martini
Of course, as with any standard martini recipe, you can subsitute vodka for gin and stirring for shaking (forget what Bond, Jame Bond has to say about it--a gin martini should be stirred), but I much prefer gin martinis.
Combine in a mixing glass filled with ice:
2 oz. gin
1/4 oz. sweet vermouth
1/4 oz. dry vermouth
Stir
Pour over a cocktail glass garnished with a cocktail olive (or, if you're like me, 3 cocktail olives).
Friday, February 9, 2007
Friday, February 2, 2007
Tools of the Trade: Part 2, The Home Bar
Sitting here, sipping Brazil's greatest contribution to the world of cocktails, the Caipirinha, it occurred to me that it might be useful for some of you to know what you need to make one. Really, this is a drink you simply must try, and good luck getting in a bar (unless you happen to be in or around Brazil, I would assume).
Thus, another post on bar tools. Again, www.barproducts.com is the place to go for cheap, good, tools, despite how horrifically annoying their website is.
Admittedly, there are a few more bar tools than those I'll discuss here, but as I've noticed my lack of them I can't honestly recommend them. Also, you should note that I'm omitting things like a cutting board and a paring knife (and a blender for frozen drinks!), although they're no less essential.
Muddler
This is the device needed for the Caipirinha mentioned above, not to mention Chambar's Kentucky Caipirinha, whose recipe I'm fortunate enough to have. Muddling is also critical to the original method of making a Mojito, so the muddler is not a tool to do without.
Basically any blunt wooden implement with a handle and at least a 1" diameter base will do, so if you're too lazy to track down a made-to-purpose one you can always just saw the end off a (thick) wooden spoon.
Bar Spoon
A venerable old cocktailing device, the bar spoon serves as a stirrer, measuring spoon (1 bar spoon is roughly 1/2 a teaspoon), stirrer, and garnish retriever (perfect for extracting maraschino cherries or cocktail olives from the jar). You can even get them with a little fork on the other end (as the one pictured here) to help with the garnishes.
Citrus Stripper
Sometime tricky to find under this name (barproducts.com has it as 'lemon lime peeler'), the citrus stripper is the only way to create lemon, lime, or orange twists. Basically, you cut a thin strip out of the peel (avoid blemishes), run it around the rim of a drink (assuming the drink in question doesn't have a sugared rim), twist it over the glass (so the oils on the inner surface of the peel spray over the top of the drink), and drop it in.
Thus, another post on bar tools. Again, www.barproducts.com is the place to go for cheap, good, tools, despite how horrifically annoying their website is.
Admittedly, there are a few more bar tools than those I'll discuss here, but as I've noticed my lack of them I can't honestly recommend them. Also, you should note that I'm omitting things like a cutting board and a paring knife (and a blender for frozen drinks!), although they're no less essential.
Muddler
This is the device needed for the Caipirinha mentioned above, not to mention Chambar's Kentucky Caipirinha, whose recipe I'm fortunate enough to have. Muddling is also critical to the original method of making a Mojito, so the muddler is not a tool to do without.
Basically any blunt wooden implement with a handle and at least a 1" diameter base will do, so if you're too lazy to track down a made-to-purpose one you can always just saw the end off a (thick) wooden spoon.
Bar Spoon
A venerable old cocktailing device, the bar spoon serves as a stirrer, measuring spoon (1 bar spoon is roughly 1/2 a teaspoon), stirrer, and garnish retriever (perfect for extracting maraschino cherries or cocktail olives from the jar). You can even get them with a little fork on the other end (as the one pictured here) to help with the garnishes.Citrus Stripper
Sometime tricky to find under this name (barproducts.com has it as 'lemon lime peeler'), the citrus stripper is the only way to create lemon, lime, or orange twists. Basically, you cut a thin strip out of the peel (avoid blemishes), run it around the rim of a drink (assuming the drink in question doesn't have a sugared rim), twist it over the glass (so the oils on the inner surface of the peel spray over the top of the drink), and drop it in. Ice Bucket and Tongs
I'll spare you the picture, as I'm sure you can imagine what an ice bucket looks like. While decidedly the most optional of the tools I've described here, it is definitely nice to have. The tongs will keep guests (and you) from having to reach into an ice bag, and the bucket, if kept in the freezer, will greatly increase your non-store-bought ice capacity. In fact, the ice bucket is the only way I manage to not run out of ice when my wife and I have more than one guest over (and sometimes not even then...).
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Caipirinha
As far as I know, the Caipirinha is the only (good) way to drink the Brazilian sugarcane rum, cachaça (pronounced 'kashasa,' or something like that). It's also an exceptionally good way to get drunk very, very quickly. I have a friend (now sadly returned to Spain) who still doesn't let me forget the night I poured her two of these in a row after she'd been drinking for a while....
Combine in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass:
Half a lime, quartered (more if it's a small lime)
2 bar spoons superfine sugar
Muddle (That is, mash up the limes and sugar until all the juice has come out of the limes and dissolved the sugar)
Add ice, then:
2 oz. cachaça
Stir
Kentucky Caipirinha
I'm pretty sure that the only reason I was able to get this recipe is that my wife wrote a review of Chambar in their early days, in which she aptly described this drink as being "like Britney Spears in a Tenessee Williams play." The analogy is particularly good, since 'caipirinha' literally means something like 'country bumpkin.' At any rate, I don't feel bad publishing this recipe, since it's no longer on Chambar's superlative cocktail menu. Besides, the recipe they gave me left out some critical details, so I had to fiddle to get the proportions right anyway.
Combine in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass:
1 lemon, cut into eighths (is 'eighthed' a word?)
2 dashes vanilla extract
Muddle
Add ice, then:
3 oz. kentucky bourbon (use a single-barrel or small-batch bourbon)
Stir
Mojito
I'll admit it, the mojito has never been my favorite drink. But seeing as so many seem to go bonkers for it, I'm adding it for completeness, as it's another of those few excellent drinks that requires muddling.
Combine in the bottom of a highball glass:
1 oz lime juice
2 bar spoons superfine sugar
6-8 fresh mint leaves
Muddle
Add ice, then:
2 oz. light rum
3-4 oz. club soda
Optional garnish:
1 mint sprig
I'll spare you the picture, as I'm sure you can imagine what an ice bucket looks like. While decidedly the most optional of the tools I've described here, it is definitely nice to have. The tongs will keep guests (and you) from having to reach into an ice bag, and the bucket, if kept in the freezer, will greatly increase your non-store-bought ice capacity. In fact, the ice bucket is the only way I manage to not run out of ice when my wife and I have more than one guest over (and sometimes not even then...).
__________________________________________________________
Caipirinha
As far as I know, the Caipirinha is the only (good) way to drink the Brazilian sugarcane rum, cachaça (pronounced 'kashasa,' or something like that). It's also an exceptionally good way to get drunk very, very quickly. I have a friend (now sadly returned to Spain) who still doesn't let me forget the night I poured her two of these in a row after she'd been drinking for a while....
Combine in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass:
Half a lime, quartered (more if it's a small lime)
2 bar spoons superfine sugar
Muddle (That is, mash up the limes and sugar until all the juice has come out of the limes and dissolved the sugar)
Add ice, then:
2 oz. cachaça
Stir
Kentucky Caipirinha
I'm pretty sure that the only reason I was able to get this recipe is that my wife wrote a review of Chambar in their early days, in which she aptly described this drink as being "like Britney Spears in a Tenessee Williams play." The analogy is particularly good, since 'caipirinha' literally means something like 'country bumpkin.' At any rate, I don't feel bad publishing this recipe, since it's no longer on Chambar's superlative cocktail menu. Besides, the recipe they gave me left out some critical details, so I had to fiddle to get the proportions right anyway.
Combine in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass:
1 lemon, cut into eighths (is 'eighthed' a word?)
2 dashes vanilla extract
Muddle
Add ice, then:
3 oz. kentucky bourbon (use a single-barrel or small-batch bourbon)
Stir
Mojito
I'll admit it, the mojito has never been my favorite drink. But seeing as so many seem to go bonkers for it, I'm adding it for completeness, as it's another of those few excellent drinks that requires muddling.
Combine in the bottom of a highball glass:
1 oz lime juice
2 bar spoons superfine sugar
6-8 fresh mint leaves
Muddle
Add ice, then:
2 oz. light rum
3-4 oz. club soda
Optional garnish:
1 mint sprig
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