Where can I find a martini that takes me seriously?
At the end of a challenging week, martini aficionados expect the details of their order to be carefully enacted. Regardless of the choice of gin or vodka, the amount of vermouth requested or even if dirty with olive brine, this most elegant cocktail requires proper attention. Here are five local spots where martini fans can have a James Bond-worthy experience. (Bond, of course, preferred his martinis shaken, not stirred, as do I, because the drink is colder. Those who stir argue that shaking dilutes and “bruises” the cocktail.)
Apropos at The Abbey Inn (Peekskill)
The request: A dry (I specified this meant “a few drops of vermouth”) martini made with Grey Goose vodka, served up (chilled), with a twist of lemon.
The result: The martini arrived nicely chilled with a thin film of Boissiere Extra Dry vermouth from Italy, providing a delicate infusion of elderflower, chamomile, iris and bitter orange peel.
Bird and Bottle Inn (Philipstown)
The request: A dirty martini. Feeling liberated like a schoolboy with the arrival of summer, I let bartender Connor Mercaldo-Bernard do his thing.
The result: A surprisingly smooth and balanced martini stirred with 2.25 ounces of Botanist gin, 0.75 ounces of Queen Elizabeth green-olives brine and Dry Dolin vermouth.
Dolly’s (Garrison’s Landing)
The request: Again, riding the wings of early summer, I gave bartender Devin Gell free rein on my gin martini order.
The result: An ultra-smooth martini shaken with 2.5 ounces of Gin Mare from Barcelona and 0.5 ounces of Dry Dolin vermouth from France. Gin Mare, with arbequina olive, adds a Mediterranean twist. Highly recommended for those getting their start.
The Roosevelt Bar (Beacon)
The request: Continuing the summer theme, bartender Dayan Arantes suggested Listening Rock gin from Wassaic. Per usual, I ordered it well-chilled, dry and garnished with olives.
The result: Surprise. Who knew that the town at the end of the Harlem line could produce such a citrus-forward, floral gin? It arrived very chilled, thanks to Dayan’s technique of keeping a metal shaker buried in ice.
Wonder Bar (Beacon)
The request: After spying an unopened bottle of Monkey 47 Schwarzwald dry gin behind the bar, I requested a well-chilled martini made with one bar spoon of Dolin dry vermouth and garnished with olives.
The result: Bliss. Monkey 47 — a reference to its claim of 47 ingredients — produces a complex but balanced martini. A third of the ingredients are said to be sourced from the Black Forest and are atypical for gin, e.g., angelica, verbena, camomile, acacia flower, bramble leaves, spruce shoots and lingonberries.
What Does “Dry” Mean?
A dry martini traditionally meant adding a splash of vermouth, and a bone-dry martini was a coating on the glass. Today, however, use the word dry at the bar and you may get a glass of chilled vodka or gin. Martini lovers are best served by interrogating bartenders on how they understand the term. As one bartender noted: “You can always add vermouth. You can’t take it out.”
I am writing to take great exception to this article. I would like to know, where can we find a writer who takes the martini seriously?
Martinis can be made only with gin. They should never be shaken. James Bond was wrong. Shaking breaks down the ice and renders your drink watery. When it comes to the gin, please Mr. Kater, no botanicals. This is not a riverbank, and no one is in a regatta. Some kind of London dry, the most adjacent to petroleum as possible, and straight from the freezer, is all you need.
Recall Seth Lord, swirling a spoon around a cut-glass jug in The Philadelphia Story or Nick Charles in The Thin Man. There was no verbena or spruce or bramble leaves. There was no vodka. There was a heap of ice-cold gin that would lubricate the evening and put the world to rights.
Some may find Mr. Rose’s view rather pinched, but I believe the martini tent to be a large one. It’s one thing to call Bond wrong for ordering his martinis shaken, but why dismiss vodka? It’s said that Ian Fleming, author of the 007 novels, developed a taste for it while working as a journalist in the Soviet Union. Though considered a “neutral” spirit, well-crafted vodka offers a variety of tastes and perfectly showcases fine vermouth.
I’ve always found the best martinis in town are served twice a year at the Garrison Art Center!
This pithy mixologist clarification means Fleming’s James Bond drinking shaken vodka martinis was bang out of order.
Carters Restaurant & Lounge has the best martinis! [via Facebook]