I just tried GL Pease's Jackknife Plug

[jefe1037]

If i want a real martini (or if someone wants one from me, being that I am the one that brings it, more often the one drinking it,) ask for your gin by name, say up, and what you want for garnish, and any special instructions.

"Sapphire, up, blue cheese olives"

caveat: this will have no vermouth... i haven't seen one of my bartenders touch the bottle of vermouth unless someone says they want extra. when someone orders a "martini" by name, the bottle of vermouth rarely even gets a dirty look from across the bar: an extra step, extra cost, or the fact that most people cant taste the drop of vermouth in 4oz of gin (a nice pour, no?) so saying "dry" or extra dry or anything like that doesnt matter... if someone sent back a martini for not having a drop or two of vermouth in it, i would happily ask the bartender to add it, and would probably just get the drink comped off because the guy that ordered it is a boss and knows what he is doing

 

[glpease]

If i want a real martini (or if someone wants one from me, being that I am the one that brings it, more often the one drinking it,) ask for your gin by name, say up, and what you want for garnish, and any special instructions.

"Sapphire, up, blue cheese olives"

caveat: this will have no vermouth... i haven't seen one of my bartenders touch the bottle of vermouth unless someone says they want extra. when someone orders a "martini" by name, the bottle of vermouth rarely even gets a dirty look from across the bar: an extra step, extra cost, or the fact that most people cant taste the drop of vermouth in 4oz of gin (a nice pour, no?) so saying "dry" or extra dry or anything like that doesnt matter... if someone sent back a martini for not having a drop or two of vermouth in it, i would happily ask the bartender to add it, and would probably just get the drink comped off because the guy that ordered it is a boss and knows what he is doing

Bravo! Personally, I don't want my martinis TOO dry. My preferred method of making used to be to pour a capful of vermouth over the ice, then pour it out. I ultimately found it too inconsistent, so I actually measure, now, and make my martinis quite wet at anywhere from 5:1 to 8:1, depending on the gin and vermouth, and my mood. I also prefer mine stirred, not shaken. I want a smooth, crystal clear martin, not a foggy, aerated one. But, for me, cocktails are a hobby, not a business. I'd probably go broke if I operated a bar.

 

[jefe1037]

I have never had a problem with giving people what they want. My favorite way to get the vermouth into the system is to splash it into the chilled cocktail glass, swirl it around, and dump. Olives (or onions or twist) into the glass, then booze on top. Shaken is the standard when you are out and about, because it gets people's attention at the bar, and is "fancier" but if you want it unbruised, noone judges. I like gin shaken, but a manhattan has to be stirred. A martini is like a steak: people are very particular about how they like it prepared, and no one judges. On the other hand, if you order a "diet coke with a little bit of ice and a lemon and a lime wedge and two straws " you are just a pain in the ass.

Let me know if you really want to know how your server/bartender functions... I have been doing this since I was 16!

Oh, and where are you getting martinis for 10? Here in chicago, even the well stuff is going for 12 with an Up pour!

 

[glpease]

I have never had a problem with giving people what they want. My favorite way to get the vermouth into the system is to splash it into the chilled cocktail glass, swirl it around, and dump. Olives (or onions or twist) into the glass, then booze on top. Shaken is the standard when you are out and about, because it gets people's attention at the bar, and is "fancier" but if you want it unbruised, noone judges. I like gin shaken, but a manhattan has to be stirred. A martini is like a steak: people are very particular about how they like it prepared, and no one judges. On the other hand, if you order a "diet coke with a little bit of ice and a lemon and a lime wedge and two straws " you are just a pain in the ass.

Let me know if you really want to know how your server/bartender functions... I have been doing this since I was 16!

Oh, and where are you getting martinis for 10? Here in chicago, even the well stuff is going for 12 with an Up pour!

It's been over a year since I've ordered a martini out, so it probably has reached $12 and up. I don't begrudge them their price; I just don't want to pay for the bottle when I just want a couple of cocktails.

I agree that the shaking is good theatre, and a Manhattan must NEVER be shaken, but I still like my martinis crystal clear, so I continue to stir them. The truth about martinis, for me, is that there really are very few "bad" ones. I have my preferences, but as long as the gin is good, the vermouth is present, and the thing is at the right temperature, I'll probably enjoy it.

 

[mike_68]

Another bump because I love this stuff...goes great with a beer and some NCAA basketball too!!

It can be beer friendly, provided you're drinking one with some body and/or flavor. I've had a bowl with a good gin martini and it was divine. 8)

Must be my simple yet unrefined taste...it was just a nice, cold Yuengling lager but it was perfect, IMHO of course! :afro:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

It can be beer friendly, provided you're drinking one with some body and/or flavor. I've had a bowl with a good gin martini and it was divine. 8)

Must be my simple yet unrefined taste...it was just a nice, cold Yuengling lager but it was perfect, IMHO of course! :afro:

Unrefined or not, if you found a good combination and a good moment, you're ahead of the game as far as I'm concerned. My friend's grandmother used to throw a shot of vodka in warm TAB cola and smoke Benson & Hedges menthol cigarettes on her porch during lunch. I doubt she gave two shakes what anyone thought, and she always had a smile on her face. 8)

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Speaking of martinis, vespers, gibsons and the like...

...I have a feeling the art of the martini has gone to hell because (cue old man comment) the kids these days have no idea how to order them, let alone drink or make them, as a general rule (exceptions noted). I have ordered gibsons stirred and they still shake them. I order them "a touch dry" and they pour in a small stream of vermouth. They ask if I want it dirty with an olive jar gaping and waiting for my answer.

After I tolerate my drink, I do one of two things for the remainder of my bar visit: I order beer, or I order whisk(e)y. If I feel they can handle a little "level 2 action," I see if they can make a cocktail. If they lack ginger ale to pour over ice in a lowball, and give me sad-dog eyes like "sorry charlie," I tell them to serve neat whatever whiskey I wanted, and when they come back, tell them how to approximate the "ginger ale" with the soda gun and some bitters, and they look at me in amazement. Then they go try it and the light bulb clicks on. Unbelievable. Also, real bars have ginger ale, ginger beer or at least a stick of ginger to fake it. :lol:

Sometimes I have to remember I'm in Reno, and my drink was only five bucks. :lol: Then again, there's a very good wine and beer scene here that rivals other towns this size...I've learned a fair bit about the spirit of non-spirits.

8)

 

[George Kaplan]

...I have a feeling the art of the martini has gone to hell because (cue old man comment) the kids these days have no idea how to order them, let alone drink or make them, as a general rule (exceptions noted).

I once had dinner at a fairly upscale restaurant with a "designer" martini list sporting over a hundred whimsically-named "martinis". I sat there and read through the whole damn list and couldn't find a single one with gin and vermouth. Neither my waiter nor bartender could explain to me what qualifies a drink as a martini. It seems to be just another word for cocktail these days.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

It's another bastardization, re-hash, throwback "fad" common with art, music, movies, food, clothing, etc. I mean, it's been going on for years, but now it seems that there's different generations of "how to ruin what was." They think there's some kind of inventiveness and ingenuity with a "classic foundation," and they end up with neither. Kind of funny in a sad way. Morons. :lol:

As a musician, speaking of music, I hear songs that have been mashed up and remixed--from remixes 20 - 30 years ago. I'm astonished.

Remember when you'd make a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy--say, 50 times? Remember what happened to the quality? Yeah. That. Which is why I find it funny a Star Wars movie only 10 years old is being re-released in the theaters with the faddish "3D" crap (we remember the first generation of 3D--that never became the new standard, either)--entertainers (among many others) are out of ideas. It's just a money game, now: how long will they, can they, put up with it, the public?

Even funnier is when a kid tries to pull their "this is cool and new" routine to someone who's been around the block at least once or twice--and you can actually prove to them why their stuff sucks, and they'll agree (which means you just successfully disrupted time and space... :lol: ) It's no longer a matter of "...adults are just set in their ways and non-experimental," or they just hate anything new--because it isn't new or experimental. :lol: I think anyone roughly in their 30s (ala myself) was about the last generation that found anything innovative or experimental in their youth they could count on. What a shame.

Which, to bring this back full-circle, is why I love GL Pease's Jackknife Plug: Jackknife Plug--sure to satiate the newest generation of crotchety, pipe smoking old men everywhere! Buy your can today! :lol:

8)