Spirited Cocktails

Our friends over at The 50 Plus Male – a blog for men of the baby boomer generation – asked us to write a guest post about cocktails and the role of the cocktail hour in social life. We chose to write about the cocktail we most identify with the baby boomers – the Martini. You can find the full post over at The 50 Plus Male. The boozy part is provided below.

One of the best parts of writing about cocktails and spirits is that the audience is nearly universal. I actually come from a technology background where, with a few exceptions, there wasn’t much diversity in the crowd. But writing about spirits on Spirited Cocktails, I’ve met so many people from so many different backgrounds and walks of life, and it truly enriches my experience.

All of that being said, there are a few mainstay groups of the cocktail world, and one of them includes men of the baby-boomer generation. When I meet these guys at various bars and events around New York City, they’re generally the type that appreciate the classic cocktails – Manhattans, Old Fashioneds, Gimlets and so on. And of all the cocktails that the 50 plus male seem to appreciate, none comes up more frequently than the Martini.

There’s a folk lore surrounding martini. It’s probably something we should blame on James Bond, but it seems that everyone has their own recipe for the perfect martini. To be clear, though, in my mind, a martini is not any cocktail served in a martini glass (Appletinis are most certainly not martinis). Again, in my mind, a martini is a cocktail made with gin, not vodka. Many of you may prefer vodka, and that is certainly your choice, but if you’ve never prepared a classic gin martini with a quality gin, I strongly urge you to give it a try.

So for those of you who may not be used to preparing your own martini, I wanted to share two variations that might help you get started.

The first is the classic dry martini. This recipe dates back to around 1895, and is my preferred method when preparing martinis for my guests. The recipe is as follows:

1.5oz gin (I prefer a London Dry gin, such as Beefeater 24)
1.5oz French dry vermouth
1-2 dashes orange bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with fresh ice, stir well to chill, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a peel of orange or lemon.

Those that prefer the extra dry variety may prefer this more modern recipe:

3 oz gin
1/8oz French dry vermouth

To make this extra dry, add ice and the vermouth to your mixing glass. Swirl to coat the ice with vermouth, and strain off the excess. Add your gin, stir well to chill, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. The traditional garnish for this variation is a pitted Spanish olive.

A few notes:

-Yes, I said stirred. The general rule of thumb is that any cocktail made with only spirits (no citrus juice, sugar, etc.) should be stirred. A shaken martini is a cloudy martini, and probably a bit too watered down as well.
-The orange bitters in the classic recipe may be unfamiliar to you, but trust me – it’s a worthy addition. A dash or two of bitters in any cocktail can go a long way towards providing the depth and character that makes a good cocktail great. If you can’t find orange bitters in your local grocery or liquor store, you can order them online from my friend Greg at Cocktail Kingdom.
-As with any cocktail (just as in cooking), the quality of ingredients matters. Use a cheap gin, and you’ll get what you paid for. Gin has seen a wonderful resurgence in the past decade, and there are some wonderful, high quality gins for you to chose from. For a martini, a classic London Dry like Beefeater or Tanqueray probably works best. But some other brands worth trying for your home bar include Plymouth, Hendricks, and my favorite hometown gin, Blue Coat (distilled in Philadelphia!)

Cheers!

-Josh

Whenever I have drinks at Pegu Club, one of my favorite cocktail bars here in NYC, I always make it a point to try something new. Because I had a little extra time on my hands before a dinner reservation last night, I got to do just that.

Being a tea-drinker myself, I’m surprised I hadn’t yet gotten around to trying the Earl Grey MarTEAni; a creation of the very talented and renowned mixologist behind Pegu Club, Audrey Saunders. Fortunately my time in the dark has come to an end!

At first, this drink seemed a bit intimidating, as the key ingredient is Earl Grey-infused gin (not something one generally keeps lying around). But in truth, it’s really just a traditional Gin Sour, altered to create a unique and wonderful cocktail.

Here’s what you’ll need:

2oz Earl Grey-infused gin
1oz simple syrup
3/4oz lemon juice
1 egg white

First and foremost, don’t be turned off by the egg white. You’ll learn quickly that when making fine cocktails properly, eggs can be an essential ingredient. They go a long way to adding both texture and volume. When mixed with a citrus juice (in this case lemon) and when emulsified by being shaken vigorously, which helps create a nice foam,  any possibility of bacterial trouble is pretty much wiped out.

To make the Earl Grey-infused gin simply add 1/4 cup of your favorite Earl Grey tea to 1 liter of high-proof gin (I used Tanqueray in this case, but you could certainly try others.) Shake the bottle well, and let steep for 2 hours at room temperature. Then simply strain out the tea with a fine strainer or filter, rinse out the bottle (to get rid of any remaining loose tea) and add the infusion back to the bottle. From what I’m told, this will keep well in the refrigerator for quite a long time.

Once you have your infusion, you’re ready to go.

Add all four ingredients to your Boston Shaker, fill with ice, seal up the shaker, and give it a good hard shake (remember to shake until the tin of your shaker is almost too cold to hold anymore; at least 10-15 seconds.) Then simply strain into a martini glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

If you want to get really fancy and replicate the way this is served at Pegu Club, you can serve it in a sugar-rimmed glass. Before straining your cocktail, just run a lemon wedge along the outside of the glass, and roll the outer-rim in a plate of fine granulated sugar. Then strain and garnish.

This is one of those cocktails that’s great for guests – it’s not only delicious, but it looks a lot harder than it is!

And certainly if you find yourself in New York City, make sure to treat yourself with a stop at the Pegu Club (77 W. Houston St., NY, NY 10013; peguclub.com). You will not regret it. 

Cheers!

Update: I made this cocktail for some friends the other night, and some felt the lemon flavor was a little too strong. I reduced the lemon to 1/2oz, and they enjoyed it better. I think this is in large part related to the particular type of tea I used, which has a citrus flavor to it. The moral of the story is that recipes are simply templates, to be modified to suit your tastes. If you feel the lemon is too strong, just dial it down a bit. It’s okay to experiment!