Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Gin Fizz for Fizzle my nizzle

While I was putting together the recipes for Once Onzas, a couple buddies of mine wanted something refreshing but didn´t have much time to waste. Since I only had a good bottle of gin, a few lemons and my home made simple syrup, a quick old recipe I had read somewhere came to mind. The bad thing was I wasn´t able to remember it´s name. The friends were gone but my mind was going crazy.

I had totally forgot about it, until I was doing some research for my blog, I coincidentially run into some recipes from the Jerry Thomas´ Bartender´s Guide and so the mystery was solve. The lost name was a Gin Fizz but the difference was on the use of Sugar de Gomme or Gum Syrup.

A quick run to the Baking Goods Specialty Store in my hometown, saucepan, heat, patience and surprise!!, we have gum syrup to reproduce this refreshing recipe. My recommendation is to make a pitcher of it, because it will go fast.

Originally these drinks were called "Fiz", but now they inherited an additional Z, to be called Fizz (Maybe because sounds like a sizzle, much like the soda water hitting the acidic flavors). Fiz are regularly include in the Sour Type of drinks. But a Fizz don´t carry carbonated soda, I believe a Fizz is just are a different type of drink on its own. We could say that a Fizz is a Sour with a snap!.

Here I am posting three recipes. Jerry Thomas´ recipe, the traditional, and the modern one. Use the one you fill comfortable with and enjoy it.

Note: I will post a blog dedicated to the Ramos Gin Fizz, since this drink has many variations and its history is one that can be traced to its origins, it makes it a perfect candidate for a complete blog, just for you my Ramos.


Gin Fiz
The original Jerry Thomas recipe
  • 1 tea-spoonful powdered sugar.
  • 3 dashes of lemon juice.
  • 1 wine-glass of Holland gin
  • 1 small piece of ice.
  • (Use medium bar-glass.)
Fill up the glass with Apollinaris or Seltzer water, stir thoroughly and serve.

I know you guys are wondering what the heck is the equivalent to a wine glass, so to make it easier, 1 wine-glass is the equivalent to 4 ounces. Additionally, just remember that in 1887, when Mr. Thomas was shaking "Gin Fizzes", ice was commercialized in Ice blocks, the now popular ice cubes became popular after the DOMELRE (Domestic Electric Refrigerator) made its appearance. So his reference to 1 small piece of ice, meant that is was a small chunk of ice equivalent to 2-3 ice cubes. Keep reading if you want the mistery of the Holland Gin to be dispersed.

Gin Fizz
Traditional Recipe

  • 2 oz. Hollands Gin
  • 1 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice.
  • 1/2 oz. Gum Syrup*
  • 2 1/2 oz. Soda Water
Shaken, pour strained into a highball glass filled with ice, top with soda water, garnish with lemon.

* check out my blog on how to make your own Gum Syrup

If by any chance you want to replace the Hollands Gin (a Dutch Gin know as jenever/genever) with your traditional London-type, nobody is ever going to say a word. For those of you, recipe chasers, Korenvijn is the closer you ever going to get to the original Hollands Gin.  A popular brand is Rembrandt. Other valid replacements might include Oude (old) Jenevers. Bokma Oude Jenever wight be a viable option whenever you are in Europe since it is not easy to find in America. And if you just want to go crazy, try a Lemon Jenever with a very intense citrus flavor, A.V.Wess Citroenjenever might just do the trick.

 
Gin Fizz
Modern Recipe

  • 2 oz. Gin
  • 1 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice.
  • 1/2 oz Simple Syrup
  • Top with soda water
Served on the rocks, shaken, pour over ice into a tall glass.



Bramble 
Dick Bradsell´s Recipe
  • 2/3 oz Gin
  • 1/3 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 1/3 oz Sugar Syrup 
  •  1/3 Blackberry Liqueur (Chambord and Creme de Cassis are suitable replacements)
Build over crushed ice, in a whisky glass. Stir, pour 15ml Blackberry Liqueur over the drink, in a circular fashion. Garnish with a lemon slice, and two Raspberries.

All these Fizzes will give you a pretty good reason to call up some friends and try some of these recipes. Enjoy them!.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Home Made Limoncello


People of the world!!!. Prepare for the amazing and refreshingly surprising Limoncello. Its flavor is tangy, with the right citric aroma and a perfect sweetness that makes it one of the most delectable pousse-cafés.

This Italian digestiv (this means and after-meal liqueur, that can be called a pousse-café or coffee-chaser), is an alcoholic cordial served neat and ice cold (in its majority, but not a rule). Digestivs are usually dense with a heavier texture, with dark yellow, red, or brown colors. Think in heavy liquors such as sherry, port, armagnacs, cognacs, brandies, and a wide variety of whiskies.

Southern Italian Brands near the Sorrento region are the better known and most-recommended brands, however some Southern Californian Brands are finally appearing in the American market with good results. If you are, like me, an crazy aficionado, then put on your lab coat and your yellow rubber gloves, and let´s make some Home Made Limoncello.

Suggestions:

  • Purchase only very fragrant lemons, if they don´t smell great, they are not the right ones for this recipe.
  • Try organic lemons or in worst case scenario buy plump grocery lemons but wash them throughly, since they may have been sprayed with heavy chemicals to avoid pests. All chemical contents in your lemon peels may affect the final taste of this liquor.
  • Use 80 or100 proof vodka, Some people likes Everclear because it has no additional sugar content, but I find it unnecesary since you will be adding simple syrup (Sugar based syrup) at the end of the process.
  • You will get a nice drink out of this recipe, so don´t be cheap and please used distilled water. Don´t make me go all "Hell´s Kitchen" on you.
  • Peelers and zesters are ideal tools to obtain the lemon zest needed for this recipe. (Check my blog on Garnishing tools), unless you have the time to regularly removed citric oils and wax once you prepared the original concoction, I would recommend to try to avoid the white pits.
  • Many recipes call to mix all ingredients at the very beginning. I wouldn´t recommend that. Add the simple syrup and the distilled water right before you are bottling it.

Home Made Limoncello Recipe
  • 15-20 lemons
  • 2 (750-ml) bottles high-proof vodka.
  • 7 or 8 cups of Simple Syrup
  • To cook the syrup use refined sugar and distilled water in a 3/4 proportion, more sugar than water.
  • Additionally get a 2-3 litter mason jar with a sealable lid.
  • Sterilized the jar, bacteria may affect the final taste.
  • You can used any other container, just be sure that it will be hermetically shut.

Simming Lemon Peels

  • Carefully wash your lemons. 
  • Only use the unblemished surfaces.
    Zest the lemons with a grater or a peeler.
  • Avoid the angry pits (White membranes under the skin)
    Bitterness on home made limoncellos is usually due to the pits or to avoid removing excess ils and waxes during the maceration process.
  • Leave the lemon peels and the vodka in the sealed jar to simmer for at least 2 weeks (Some people will leave it for 1 to 2 months, that is your call.
  • Keep it in a cool place, preferably your fridge. (Between 32 and 52 Fahrenheit Degrees or between 0 and 10 Celsius)

IMPORTANT
On a daily basis, give a quick swirl to the peels.
Remove excess oils and waxes surfacing the top.
Taste it regularly.

Straining and Bottling

Make a simple syrup.
Use 3 to 4 parts, refined sugar and distilled water or half and half parts sugar/water if you like it a little less sweet. Warm up the mix in a saucepan, stir until sugar dissolves and let it cool before putting in the fridge.

Strain peels
Using a coffee filter or a cheesecloth, strain the peels making sure no peel particles pass through the filter. Get ready to mix the alcohol with the syrup.

Bottle your Lemoncello
Pour the alcohol/syrup mix in the final bottles, and keep the refirgerated for at least one additional week

Another option
If you decided to make a "Crema di Limoncello" (Limoncello Cream). Instead of adding simple syrup, add 3 cups of superfine or confectionery sugar and 4 cups of whole milk cream. Stir and keep refrigerated for another 2 weeks. Continue the daily stirring process for this time period.


Drinking Limoncello

Ice Cold
Neat or straight up frozen in ceramic or glass shot glasses. Italians traditionally have preciously cold the glasses too.

Margarita Royal
Replace triple sec or Orange liquor in your margarita for half lemon juice/half limoncello, the new flavor is fantastic.

Champagne Topping
Add a splash of limoncello to 2 champagne servings and add one small dash of angostura bitters. Serves two. Great on a summer day!!.

Now keep me posted in your Limoncellos.If you run into a better recipe, send it my way!!! Enjoy.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Garnishing Tools

Most cocktails are garnished with wedges, wheels, curls, peels, leaves, flowers, chunks of food, drizzles, sprinkles and even gold and silver leaves, if I don´t write this blog fast enough they might even use edible play doh. Now for most of them the only tools needed might be a pairing knife a channel knife and a micro plane. Now, let´s start with a comprehensive list of things needed to create the most beautiful garnishes in the world, grrrr...

Garnishing Tools

Paring/Kitchen Knife
Small knife ideal for peeling fruits and vegetables or other works that might require a little more precision, but sometimes a kitchen knife too would help with larger fruits like pineapples. Considered a paring knife a basic tool in the kitchen, it is ideal to have at a bar. The blade is usually shorter than the handle, to allow better grip. Its blade´s length oscillates from 2.5 to 4 inches, and it is basically a chef´s knife but miniature.since its tip is pointy, that allows to create patterns, shapes and holes with detail. You usually don´t need a cutting board since the practical handle allows maximum control. I recommend you to read about kitchen knifes in general and get familiar with them.

Citrus Knife
I don´t really think this is a must for any bar, Seriously. But some people I know, might feel release and at ease knowing that they can find a knife especially design to cut citrus (Lemon, Limes, Grapefruits and Oranges). It´s completely serrated edge can easily manage to cut through thick peels. Particularly handy when cutting lime/lemon wedges  or when halving them.

Cutting/Chopping Board
A must nowadays in any bar to use as a cutting surface, easy washable to avoid any bacterial contamination while processing food. The most common materials are bamboo, rubber, and plastic. Durable materials are used in boards. In the bar environment it is uncommon to use boards to cut raw meat and other foods in the same boards, but in such cases it is advisable to have a separate board for meat only.


Channel Knife
These tools are used for garnishing only. It is a short metallic tip with a non-sharped edge, with a handle quite similar to the one found in paring knifes. In its metallic tip you will find a sharp v-shaped edge that is slightly projected onwards. The purpose of this projected v shaped is to dent a hole in the peel of citric fruits and create long and thin perfect twist of citric peels. sometimes a Zester and a Channel Knife will be found on the same tool.

Peeler
There are 3 main types of peelers, The Y shaped with the blade perpendicular to the handle, the Lancashire that is basically an extension of the handle with a sharp, and the Australian, this one supports both the the tip and the base of a swiveling metallic piece that sports two facing blades in the middle of it. Either dtype is design to remove the outer layer of skin or peel from the fruit/vegetable. Again, Nothing that a pairing knife can do, but certainly might facilitate the process.


Zester
With a similar shape than a Channel Knife, a Zester as its name suggests, does help to create long thing zest ribbons, separating them from the pith underneath the skin. Since zesters have 3 to 5 holes in its tips, you will get as many ribbons as holes this knife has.
Personally I prefer zesters over microplanes, since they perfectly separate the citrus zest and not the white bitter pit.

Micro plane
They have a wide variety of uses, grating, zesting, shaving and cutting fingers!!, they are basically photo etched steel tools for grating. Extremely sharp, but safer than the old style graters, because the long handle makes it easier to control.and since it is a sharper toot, it requires less strength to do a similar job. Use microplanes for zesting citrus, grating sea salt or volcanic salt rocks, and shaving chocolate to rim glasses.

Graters
A metallic kitchen utensil used to grate or shaved fruits, vegetables or hardened food. Several types of graters boast different sizes of grating slots, and can therefore aid in the preparation of a variety of foods. They are commonly used to grate chocolate, cheese, lemon or orange peel.If you own a micro plane you probably won´t use a grater.

Lighter
Everybody knows what a lighter is, especially those of you who are/were smokers or boys/girl scouts. A portable device, metallic or plastic, with a flammable fluid or gas that will ignite when a spark is generated, that has some mechanism to extinguish the flame.In a bar environment is used to caramelized the oils of an orange peel by flaming it over a drink, and then rubbing the flamed peel over the edge of the glass.

Kitchen Scissors/Shears
 Like regular scissors, they have two sharp blades attached to a pair of handles with openings to fit your fingers through, the handles are usually slip-proof. The advantage?, cutting something from two different angles. Kitchen scissors have the pivoting point farther from the handles than other scissors. Modern cocktails are using cutouts made of edible paper or edible films that can be cut using stencils or kitchen scissors. In a hurry, if you run out of short straws, kitchen scissors will be handy to cut the long ones short.

Squeeze/Mold Painter bottles
 Believe me, when you make your own bitters, or even if you are drizzling your chilled glasses with any jam, ice cream topping syrup, thick home made syrup or chocolate, this item will be a must in your bar. Squeeze bottles are very cheap and easy to find. I recommend that you open the tip with a hot needle or even a hot nail, to make the holes very small, instead of cutting the tip with your kitchen scissors, It will make the drizzle lines more thin but precise. Be sure to purchase caps for your bottles.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Glass Preparation - Chill, Rub, and Drizzle like a pro

I already blogged previously about all the different types of glassware. If you need help deciding which and what kind of glasses you need to serve your cocktail, check it out.

After choosing the glass, prepping it to poor the best libation would be your next step. So the right question at this point would be  

"Do all cocktails need glasses prepared?" 

For me, the answer is pretty simple. If your mouth is touching the glass or if you are using short straws, then prepping is a must. Cocktails served on highball glasses don´t need any preparation.

TYPES OF PREPARATIONS
These are done before pouring the cocktail, for Garnishes, check out my next blog.


Chilled Glass

If you have enough freezer space, you can either chill your glasses before hand by putting them in the freezer for at least 10 minutes or just filled them up with ice cubes for a few minutes. Purist will literally kill me for saying this but if you chilled them for about 5 minutes only, you could use that same ice to shake or stir your drink.If you are a bartender and have no time to prep or you ran out of glasses, you might need to add some water to your glasses to speed up the process. Needless to say, Don´t use the ice water to shake your drink, seems obvious but I have seen some people doing it. Yes, Angelica, I am talking to you... Don´t do it unless you want a painful death by fanatical members of the IBA.

Frosting
Granted, martini glasses look very cute and enticing with a nice rim, but seriously only a few drinks really call for a sugar, salt, chocolate or caramel rim. 

Salt Rim
After you have chilled your margarita or martini glass, rub a lime or lemon wedge outside the glass rim, Have a saucer or a bowl filled with a couple spoon fulls of salt, preferably use Kosher Salt or Sea Salt (this one might need some muddling). Hold the glass by the stem upside down, parallel to the saucer, While doing a rotating motion with your fingers by the stem, dip the glass into the saucer, Shake off the excess over the bowl or the sink. I usually hit the glass on the side a couple times to be sure any excess salt have been shaken off. 

Robert Hess recommends to rim only half side of the glass, since a few people don´t really like salt rims, but I think asking before pouring is a safer bet. Train your bartenders to ask the customer´s preferences in this regard.

Sugar Rim

It basically the same procedure use in the salt rim, but instead of Salt you use Powdered Sugar. First a little explanation. Powdered Sugar is known as Icing Sugar, as well as it is Confectioner´s Sugar and it is 10X Sugar too. But in most cases bartenders will have only regular sugar to rim their glasses (In such case, just pout your mouth for about 10 seconds and proceed to drink)


Caramel Rim

You need to find a quick way to make caramel. Keep reading this blog and you will find how to make caramel (See it under Drizzling) to make a caramel rim for a martini glass in about 50 seconds. Once you have a the caramel nice and warm, rim the border quickly on it. It will solidify in a matter of seconds. to avoid spills, after rimming it, turn the glass parallel to the table and rotate it in your fingers, in that way it will solidify and any drop that falls will stay in the rim.


Rubbing
Not a common practice and this is only my personal preference. But I have created some straight up versions of common cocktails (Mojito martini, Moscow Mule Martinis) in which cases I prefer to rub the rim or even the inside of the glass with the ingredient that portraits the most evident fragrance. 

Peppermint rub
I use this when preparing Mojito Martinis or Passion Fruit Mojito Martinis, Rub 2 to 3 peppermint leaves inside a chilled martini glass, until they leave a soft trace in the glass.Don´t over do it, because you want to leave a fragrance but not the leaves´sap.

Lime/Lemon Zest
Again, not you average practice, but I prefer to rub a coin size chunk of lime/lime zest inside the glass and around the riom when I am pouring Kamikazees, Lemon Drops, or any citric predominant flavored martini. 


Orange Peel
Manhattan, Vesper, Bond Martinis might gain some fragrance and a little bit of a bite when a small size orange peel is rubbed around the rim.





Drizzling
 
Chocolate
There are 2 different ways to drizzle chocolate, The easy one and the other one

The easy one is go to your local grocery store and purchase one of the local Chocolate Ice Topping Syrups, be sure to use one that is not too liquid, instead of opening the tip with scissors, use a needle or a tiny, pointy object that won´t open a big hole. Move your hands quick over the glass to make fine lines. Keep it refrigerated until the next party. 

Caramel
You have two options. Use The ice topping Caramel Syrup or you can Make Caramel-Drizzle Topping: Heat together equal parts of sugar and water (About 3 spoons of each) in a microwaveable container for 25 seconds in your microwave oven, until the sugar is completely dissolved, stir and put back for another 25 seconds or stop it when the mixture is turned light golden in color. Keep an eye on it, your don´t want it to turn black or to be scortched. Using a wooden spoon, drizzle the caramel over the glass in a zigzag pattern, drizzling back and forth. Let stand to harden.

Strawberry Drizzle (Option 1)
4 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup orange juice
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice.
Heat in a sauce pan until mixture boils.
Puree and let it cool down. Refrigerate until needed.
 Strawberry Drizzle (Option 2)
Use Ice Cream Strawberry Topping for drizzling. 

 
White Chocolate Drizzle
3 oz white chocolate pieces
1 tsp. vegetable oil
Melt them in a small saucepan over very low heat. Spoon into small plastic bag,
squeezing to one corner. Snip off corner; drizzle over frosted glass. Keep refrigerated. Microwave for 20-30 seconds if the drizzle solidifies or you could warm it on a Baign-Marie!.



You could try frosting, rubbing or drizzling but keep in mind that more not always means better. Balance and flavor is always the final goals when you are mixing cocktails. Enjoy and keep me posted if you want me to add some other ideas when prepping your glasses.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Cosmopolitan - a Kamikazee in disguise

The cosmopolitan is usually served in a martini glass. Very often is mistaken as a type of martini. A Cosmopolitan is basically a Kamikazee cocktail with a splash of Cranberry Juice for colouring purposes.

Suggestions:
- Cosmopolitans should be of a very light pinkish tint. It´s a light colored drink.
- Flamed Orange Peel is not a must, a Lime peel twisted over the drink definitively is.
- Lime Wedge or a Lime Wheel is traditionally the garnish



Cosmopolitan Royal*
* I use the term Royal to describe cocktails prepared with top shelf alcohol

1 1/2 oz Citrus Vodka
1/4 oz Grand Manier
Tea Spoon of Rose´s Lime Juice
Splash of Cranberry Juice

Cosmopolitan

2 oz vodka/Citrus Vodka
1/2 oz Cointreau/Good Triple Sec
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Cranberry Juice

Cosmopolitan CBGB*
* CBGB Stands for Cheap But Good Booze

2 oz vodka
1/2 oz Triple Sec
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup*
3/4 oz Cranberry Juice


A lime wedge is always used to garnish.  Traditionally a coin sized piece of orange should be "flamed" across the top of the drink. This coats the drink with a slick of citrus oil.
*Everybody should learn how to make simple syrup if they want to prepare their own drinks.

Caipirinhas and Caipiroskas - Cachaça Everyone


Cachaça is a brasilian type of aguardiente, which means is distilled between 29 and 40 grades of alcohol. First fermented and then distilled, Aguardientes are inexpensive to produce and highly alcoholic.
Cachaça comes in two versions unaged (white) and aged (gold). White cachaça is cheaper since it does not need to be aged in barrels. White Cachaça is used to prepare caipirinhas.
Dark cachaça is aged in barrels ans usually drank straight up.

Traditional Caipirinha
Translates as "Peasant Girl".
1 Lime cut in chunks.Muddle in Rock Glass with 1 spoon full of sugar
Fill the Glass with Crushed Ice. 
Add 2 oz of Cachaca
Shake or Stir. Lime Wedge and short straws                                

Blackberry Caipirina
1/2 Lime cut in chunks and 3 Wild Blackberries
Muddle Lime and Blackberries in Rock Glass with 1 1/2 spoons full of sugar
Fill Glass with Crushed Ice. 
1 1/2 oz of Cachaca
Serve with short straws


Caipiroska
Caipirinha made with Vodka instead of Cachaca.
     1 Lime in chunks muddled with 1 Spoonfull of sugar
     Top with crushed ice on rock glass
     Add 2 oz of Cachaca White
     Shake or stir, top with a little Soda

While Caipirinhas made with Cachaca are seen as the drink of the lower-
classes, the Caipiroska is seen as fashionably exclusive due to its use of the
more expensive imported spirit, Vodka

Janeiro*
Honey Caipirinha

     2 oz Cachaca (sub: aguardiente)
     1/2 oz Honey or Honey Syrup
     1oz Fresh Lemon Juice
     Shake with Ice, and then strain into an Ice-filled Short Glass.


 

Manhattan - Perfect, Modern and other variations

A Manhattan is a combination of whiskey (as the main spirit), Sweet vermouth, and bitters. Stirred and garnish with a Maraschino cherry. You may find many recipes where the ingredients might get a little fancy and where the proportions change. Mixing drinks just like cooking, varies according to the ingredients. With that said, I am posting the recipe for a traditional Manhattan,

Suggestions:
- Rye Whiskey is preferred over others, but others like Bourbon, Canadian, Blended, or even Tennessee can be used.
- Some people choose to have them on the rocks and they might be poor on a low ball glass. That´s O.K.
- Be creative. Dare to switch the Angostura Bitters (With Gentian roots and other herbal flavors) for Orange Bitters (Perhaps doing your own bitters?), Peychaud´s Bitters (Other Gentian root based concoction but more floral in its aroma).
- Vermouth is used in Manhattans because the properties found in "Digestifs" (Post Dinner Spirits), therefore using amari, brandy, grappa, herbal liqueur, limoncello, ouzo, or even tequila may not be out of the question. Just experiment before hand, you don´t want to surprise negatively your guests.

MANHATTAN TRADITIONAL RECIPES


Manhattan
IBA approved recipe

2 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Canadian Whiskey works too)
1 oz Sweeth Vermouth
Dash of Angostura Bitters
Maraschino Cherry as garnish

Stirred over ice, strained, poor on chilled glass,straight up (without ice).




Perfect Manhattan
1 1/2 oz Whiskey
1 1/2 oz Sweeth Vermouth
Dash of Angostura Bitters
Maraschino Cherry as garnish


Stirred over ice, strained, poor on chilled glass,straight up (without ice).




Traditional Manhattan
2 oz Whiskey
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
1 oz DryVermouth
Dash of Angostura Bitters
Maraschino Cherry as garnish




MANHATTAN VARIATIONS

Rob Roy
A Manhattan made with Scotch
2 1/2 oz Scotch Whiskey
1 oz Sweeth Vermouth
Dash of Angostura Bitters
Maraschino Cherry as garnish




Dry Manhattan

A Manhattan made with Dry Vermouth and a Twist
2 1/2 oz Scotch Whiskey
1 oz Dry Vermouth
Dash of Angostura Bitters
Lemon Twisted over drink and used as garnish





Blackberry Ginger Manhattan

(Look for September´s blog on syrups)

1 3/4 oz american whiskey
1/3 oz italian vermouth
1/3 oz blackberry liqueour
1/3 oz ginger syrup
dash of blackberry bitters
shattered blackberries

Swirl with ice to chill, pour into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a maraschino cherries or berries

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Gin Dry Martini - Recipes for Beginners, Intermediate and Ultimate Dry drinkers

Let's get this big subject out of the way from the very beginning. Dry martinis are not a great choice for first time martini drinkers. Seriously!! For amateur drinkers, Dry martinis may seem a little harsh since they have not yet accustomed their taste buds to the particular kick felt in neat liquor flavors.

Suggestions: 
- Keep a bottle of gin in the freezer for your dry martinis exclusively
- Ice/water is a key element in this drink. Always use fresh ice.
- Olives or Lemon Twist? - your choice, if you use a lemon twist, then use it, by that I mean, Twist your lemon peel over the glass, to enjoy the fragance and flavor provided by the citric oils to your libation.
- If you prefer the olives, then EAT THEM. Seriously, Eat one of your olives before drinking your Dry Martini, that will guarantee that your taste buds are covered by the natural oils of your olives and create a prefect recipient for the herbal notes fo the gin.

I am posting 3 recipes for Dry Martinis. 
  • Begginners (Occasional drinkers) - 4 to 1 ratio - Shaken and bruised
  • Intermediate (Your average weekend drinker) - 7 to 1 ratio- Stirred
  • Ultimate drinkers (You know who you are, oh, my regulars!!) - "In and out" Martini- stirred
The original recipe calls for 4 basic ingredients. Gin, Vermouth, Olives, and Ice. How you combine them and in which proportions you mix them, will be the key element to create a different drink.

Beginners Dry Martini

Option 1: 
 "Long" Dry Martini, Shaken not stirred
The original recipe calls for 1 part gin, 1 part vermouth, but Gin´s quality is much better nowadays and its proof has increased to the point that lees vermouth is required)

4 parts of Gin
1 part Dry Vermouth
Olives as a garnish
Shaken (Bruise* it, Only for beginners...)

Option 2:
Dirty Martini, Shaken  
Check out my blog on Dirty Martinis coming on September

4 parts of Gin
1 part Dry Vermouth
1 Part Olive Brine
Olives as a garnish
Shaken (Bruised*)

* Bruised means that will be over shaken, to the point that the ice will be broken in tiny shards providing more presence of water in your drink. 40 to 50 Mississippi counts will be about the right shaking time to bruise the ice. Remember this is just an exception, average drinks will take from 15 to 20 Mississippi counts to be perfectly shaken.

I prefer to serve Shaken (Bruised) martinis to beginners with a more pronounce Vermouth flavor and garnish with 3 Olives (first time martini drinkers need to soften up the presence of herbal flavors in their palates, so don´t be shy, stuff them suckers with either red peppers, anchovies or blue cheese. Don´t forget that you are enticing new Dry believers!).

Intermediate Dry Martini
 
Option 1: 
Mr. Bond Martini (or 007 Martini), Shaken or stirred, your choice 

7 or 8 parts of Gin
1 part Dry Vermouth
Lemon Peel Twisted over the finished drink
Shaken (if you tasted less than 20 of these drinks in your lifetime)or Stirred (If you have gain the confidence and palate to enjoy the herbal notes while drinking)



Option 2: 
Gibson Martini, Shaken

7 or 8 parts of Gin
1 part Dry Vermouth
1 part Onion juice
Cocktails Onions as Garnish
Shaken, definitively

Option 3: 
Gimlet Martini, Shaken

7 or 8 parts of Gin
1 part Dry Vermouth
1 part lime juice
Lemon Peel Twisted over the glass
Shaken


Ultimate Dry Martini

Option 1: 
In and out Dry Martini
3 ounces of Gin
Rinse the glass or the ice with Vermouth, eliminate the excess after rinsing.
Lemon Peel Twisted over the finished drink or Olives. Your drink, your choice
Stirred, You have earned this right.

Extra Dry Martini
3 ounces of Gin
Swirl or Spay the glass with Dry Vermouth
Lemon Peel Twisted or Olives, or both
Stirred for 20 euphoric Mississippi counts

Types of Glassware

There are 2 kinds of glassware in general with stem or without it. They are called stemware and tumblers respectively.

Tumblers: Flat-bottomed drinking glasses. Originally they had a round bottom, therefore the name.
Stemware: Type of drinking glass that stands on stems above a base.

Tumbler Glassware List: 

Highball or Tall Glass
    8 oz to12 oz volume.
    Similar in shape to Collins glasses but smaller
    Know also as Slim Jim or Cooler (Russian Table Glasses are faceted version of them)
    You can use them to serve cocktails with ice cubes or crushed ice (except for Tequila based cocktails). Intechangeable with Collins glasses or water, soda or beer glassware

    Collins Glass
      8 oz to14 oz volume.
      You can use them to serve cocktails with ice cubes or crushed ice (except for Tequila based cocktails)
      Highball are usually interchangeable with Water, Highball, soda or beer glassware.


      Rock Glass or Low Ball
        6 oz to10 oz volume (Called Old Fashioned too)
        Short tumbler, around 2 inches tall
        You can use them to serve neat drinks or drink with ice cubes
        They are used preferably for drinks such as Whiskey and  Old Fashioned


        Water Glass
          8 oz to 12 oz volume
          Elongated tumbler type of glassware, around 4 or 5 inches tall
          Usually confused with Collins and highball glasses, as well as beer and soda.
          if found in a situation where you find 3 similarly shaped glasses and need to choose which one is the water glass, choose the smallest of the three options, The taller glass is used for soda or beer, and the medium as a Collins or a highball glass.




          Shot Glass
            1.5 oz volume.
            A smaller tumbler created to hold one single measure of alcohol, a "shot" that is usually served to be taken straight from the glass. They can be decorated and used as souvenirs with humurous or colorful depictions of states, cities, or popular destinations.


            Whiskey Tumbler
              6 oz to10 oz volume.
              Short tumbler, around 2 inches tall
              You can use them to serve neat drinks or drink with ice cubes
              They are used preferably for drinks such as Whiskey and  Old Fashioned




              Beer Glassware (Pilsner, Pint, Pony, Beer Stein, Handle, and Jugs amongst others)
                6 oz to10 oz volumen
                Short tumbler, around 2 inches tall
                You can use them to serve neat drinks or drink with ice cubes
                They are used preferably for drinks such as Whiskey and  Old Fashioned




                Stemware Glassware List:

                Martini Glass (Cocktail Glass)
                  6 oz to10 oz volumen
                  Short tumbler, around 2 inches tall
                  You can use them to serve neat drinks or drink with ice cubes
                  They are used preferably for drinks such as Whiskey and  Old Fashioned

                  Wine Glass
                    6 oz to10 oz volumen
                    Short tumbler, around 2 inches tall
                    You can use them to serve neat drinks or drink with ice cubes
                    They are used preferably for drinks such as Whiskey and  Old Fashioned


                    Water Glass
                      6 oz to10 oz volumen
                      Short tumbler, around 2 inches tall
                      You can use them to serve neat drinks or drink with ice cubes
                      They are used preferably for drinks such as Whiskey and  Old Fashioned




                      Snifter (Brandy Glass)
                        6 oz to10 oz volumen
                        Short tumbler, around 2 inches tall
                        You can use them to serve neat drinks or drink with ice cubes
                        They are used preferably for drinks such as Whiskey and  Old Fashioned


                        Bordeaux, or claret
                          6 oz to10 oz volumen
                          Short tumbler, around 2 inches tall
                          You can use them to serve neat drinks or drink with ice cubes
                          They are used preferably for drinks such as Whiskey and  Old Fashioned



                          Burgundy
                            6 oz to10 oz volumen
                            Short tumbler, around 2 inches tall
                            You can use them to serve neat drinks or drink with ice cubes
                            They are used preferably for drinks such as Whiskey and  Old Fashioned



                            Champagne coupe or saucer
                              6 oz to10 oz volumen
                              Short tumbler, around 2 inches tall
                              You can use them to serve neat drinks or drink with ice cubes
                              They are used preferably for drinks such as Whiskey and  Old Fashioned


                              Champagne flute

                              6 oz to10 oz volumen
                              Short tumbler, around 2 inches tall
                              You can use them to serve neat drinks or drink with ice cubes
                              They are used preferably for drinks such as Whiskey and  Old Fashioned



                              Cordial
                                6 oz to10 oz volumen
                                Short tumbler, around 2 inches tall
                                You can use them to serve neat drinks or drink with ice cubes
                                They are used preferably for drinks such as Whiskey and  Old Fashioned

                                Sherry glass
                                    6 oz to10 oz volumen
                                    Short tumbler, around 2 inches tall
                                    You can use them to serve neat drinks or drink with ice cubes
                                    They are used preferably for drinks such as Whiskey and  Old Fashioned







                                    Highball glassware is a standard in any collection of cocktail glasses and can be used for drinks such as Salty Dog, Colorado Bulldog, Vodka, Cranberry and the ever popular Whiskey Sour. A traditional highball drink is made by using one shot of rye whiskey over ice. The rest of the glass is then filled with ginger ale.