Martini Mondays #2 - The Vodka Question

One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough.
    --James Thurber

Once you establish the classic, as we did last week, the door opens to endless variations of ingredients. Dozens of gins are available everywhere these days, and each brings something to the table when talking about martinis. More or less flavor overall. More or less body. More or less botanical profile. And that's just talking about gin, without considering the vermouth or garnish. Then come the variations in base spirit. While James Bond films have popularized the vodka martini, vodka presents an interesting question.

Let's establish a couple of ground rules for the weeks to come. (1) Every twee drink name that ends in "tini" should not be confused with an actual martini. So, Chocotinis and Appletinis are not what we're discussing. They're a marketing gimmick where sweet drinks are dumped into cocktail glasses to ride a true martini's coattails.  These drinks are made for people who want to get their drink on, but don't actually like the taste of spirits. (2) I'm a minimalist when it comes to garnishes. I don't want a meal in my glass. I want a good, old-fashioned, ice-cold cocktail.

Vodka is designed to be essentially flavorless, making it the ideal mixer if you want to add punch to non-alcoholic beverages, but on its own is not particularly interesting. Using it in a martini, vodka yields the stage to the vermouth and the garnish. If you use last week's classic recipe substituting vodka for gin, you end up with a slightly vapid, flowery, citrus-forward dink. How to improve on the base vodka martini? This brings us to garnishes.

The eternal argument of lemon twist vs. olive as garnish in a martini reaches extreme proportions in the "dirty" martini, which includes various amounts of olive brine in the mix. Any olive will add a salty, vegetal spin to the drink, no matter the base liquor. I happen to think it ruins a gin martini. However, vodka is a different matter.

The Dirty Vodka Martini

2 oz Kettle One Vodka
1 oz Martini Extra Dry Vermouth
1 dash Olive Brine
1 dash Angostura Bitters
Garnish with olives to your personal taste

Where this martini is concerned, I agree with Bond. Shaking is the way to go. It should be brutally cold when served.

The Taste

As long a you don't overdo it on the olive juice, you won't be overwhelmed by salt. In my version, the color actually comes from the Angostura and the bitters adds a sharp edge to balance with the viscous mouthfeel of the olives. This version is milder and softer than you might imagine.

A note on the olives: really, whatever you like is what you should go with. I avoid ones that are stuffed with anything, because then that tends to dominate the flavor. For me, smaller olives are better because the large ones tend to feel rubbery and meaty if they sit in the drink too long.

While the dirty vodka martini will never be at the top of my goto list of drinks, its popularity and appeal are undeniable. In case you were wondering, I would never dirty-up a gin drink. I'm not insane.

Next week: James Bond's OTHER big contribution to martini lore.

#martinimondays