"Up And Coming" Martinis [sic]

[Joe Riley]

I had a client ask me today for some "up and coming" martinis. (?!?!?) I had no idea what they meant. I suppose that they are tired of Cosmopolitans and Sour Apple martinis.

Any brilliant ideas to share? Any professional bartenders care to comment? I'd appreciate it.

[jparrott]

Three parts gin.

One part dry vermouth.

Dash orange bitters.

Dash Peychaud or Angostura, depending on the character of the gin.

Stir with a few ice cubes and strain into a well-chilled cocktail glass.

Lemon twist.

Here's the important part. Lift the glass and tilt toward you at the appropriate height. The Martini will be up-and-coming into your mouth for enjoyment.

[brettashley01]

A date and I grabbed a drink at Equinox last Tuesday, the first night of their cider drink offerings. One I enjoyed was the Pumpkin Cobbler with cinnamon-infused rum, Laird’s Applejack, hot cider and pumpkin spice liqueur ($10), topped with roasted pumpkin seeds. However, were I to make this for myself at home, I'd probably go lighter on the cider- it was a bit sweet for my tastes- and the seeds seemed superfluous. I know this isn't a "martini" but it was served in a martini glass and sounds like what your customer is looking for.

[jparrott]

it was served in a martini glass

Cocktail glass.

But it sounds like a fun cocktail.

I've been experimenting with off-dry white ports with gin. Very nice, but needs bittering, and precise bittering at that.

[dirtymartini]

Poor Martini, named pulled through the mud with every half cocked fad. A martini is not made with Pucker. A martini is not made with Godiva. Every new drink served in an up glass is NOT a Martini. And perpetuating the problem, any barjocky without the creativity to come up with an interesting name calls his drink a Somethingnotquiteamartini.

3/1 ,gin/vermouth, couple drops of bitters is a Martini. Everything else is something else.

[SrtaJRosa]

Well, I have seen quite a few places that muddle cucumber slices and add Hendrick's gin. Different names for the same idea, that I've seen at Perbacco in San Fran. and saw something similar on the Hudson's drink menu. I prefer lemon juice to lime when mixing this concoction. My personal recipe calls 1 1/2 oz. Hendrick's, 3 thinly sliced cucumbers muddled, equal parts lemon juice and simple syrup served on ice with a splash or two of seltzer.

[ulysses]

This cocktail has come up quite a bit in conversation with some of the guests at my bar, as well as this one. It might be a good sign.

[RobRutII]

Well, taking into consideration that technically anything "served up in a martini glass" constitutes a martini, there are lots of things that may or may not make for an "up and coming" new martini. I suggest we make up some of our own, as that places like this is where "up and comers" come from in the first place. We've got a couple of really interesting new products from Kiuchi Shuzo in Japan that would make for a really interesting new drink, which I'd love to see in one of our town's more fashionable gin joints: Two parts Kiuchi No Shizuku Distilled Hitachino Nest White Ale (distilled with orange peel and coriander, its very much like gin), with one part Kiuchi Yuzu Wine (a lighter, dryer, higher quality triple sec), with maybe a spash of lychee. ... I'll call it a "Hokkaido Hangover." Anyone else got anything interesting?

[Xochitl10]

Well, taking into consideration that technically anything "served up in a martini glass" constitutes a martini, there are lots of things that may or may not make for an "up and coming" new martini.

If by "martini" you mean "cocktail," then yes.

The only new thing we've concocted recently was the Miyazawa Kenji, essentially a Rob Roy substituting Japanese whisky for Scotch. 4:1 Japanese whisky to sweet vermouth, shaken with a dash of orange bitters and garnished with a maraschino cherry. We've also occasionally used pickled garlic as the garnish for a Martini variation, but haven't named it yet. We can't call it the "Iwatini" in good conscience.

Shochu cocktails are very popular in Japan right now, as are highballs using oolong tea (shochu highball, cassis oolong).

[ol_ironstomach]

Well, taking into consideration that technically anything "served up in a martini glass" constitutes a martini...

You can dress Courtney Love in Givenchy, but that still doesn't make her Audrey Hepburn.

[dirtymartini]

You can dress Courtney Love in Givenchy, but that still doesn't make her Audrey Hepburn.

On point

[RobRutII]

You can dress Courtney Love in Givenchy, but that still doesn't make her Audrey Hepburn.

Fair enough-- I may have taken a bit of liberty in my definition, but I am not the only one!

And lest we forget, Courtney Love may not be Audrey Hepburn, but the woman did nearly win a Golden Globe!

(Hmm... guess I might just be diggin' myself deeper there in hindsight...)

[DaveBVI]

Just tell 'em to get a sidecar...

[dirtymartini]

A variation on a martini; 1 1/2 oz Beefeater, 1/2 oz dry vermouth, 1/4 oz sweet vermouth, dash Peysunds bitter. Wash glass with Cointeau then, with Green Charteruse.

[derekmbrown]

Try the Martinez. A touch sweet, this is the precursor to the Dry Martini. Use Aviation gin for a more viscous and sweet taste, closer to the original recipe. (It was originally mixed with Old Tom.) Although I personally prefer a dry gin to balance the sweetness of the vermouth and simple syrup.