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The Martinez Re-visited

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I was already a fan of a Martinez over a Martini and making it with Ransom Old Tom Gin is a real treat. The gin is an unusual (for gin) brown color and has slightly sweeter taste to it thanks to the added malt. I like it because it doesn’t taste like a bottle of Pine-Sol although now that I think of it, the brown color makes it look more like Pine-Sol.  The coloring comes from the gin resting in Pinot Noir barrels, which is supposed to replicate the journey across the Atlantic on ships in the old days.

The Martinez

In a Martinez, the Ransom blends perfectly with the thick sweetness of the sweet vermouth and the herbacious (as the BF likes to call it) bitterness of Boker’s Bitters. The drink is a delicate balance of sweet and medicinal, which makes it a relaxing sipping drink.

Cocktail Week: The Vieux Mot

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I’ve said before that I’m not the biggest fan of gin, but the Vieux Mot, a drink served at Please Don’t Tell in New York is slowly turning me around to it.

St. Germain is an elderflower liquor which is all the rage now. I’ve never actually had elderflower or smelled it, but this liquor smells a lot like lychee. I’ve noticed it’s good at giving drinks a hint of sweetness without making it too cloyingly sweet because a lot of it comes from the fragrance. In this cocktail, it plays the role of tempering the strong pine tree scent of gin. With the added lemon juice, the drink is refreshing — something that I wouldn’t mind drinking in the morning.

Cocktail Week: Veiux Mot

I like that the drink has almost a fluorescent sheen to it.  It’s a nice contrast from the richy, orange hue of the whiskey drinks I’ve been having.  It tastes as different as it looks from them.

Recipe (via LA Times)

1 1/2 ounces Plymouth gin
1/2 ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur
1/4 ounce (1 1/2 teaspoons) simple syrup
3/4 ounce (1 1/2 tablespoons) fresh lemon juice

Pour the gin, elderflower liqueur, simple syrup and lemon juice into a shaker filled with ice. Shake, then strain into a chilled coupe.

Cocktail Week: Preserved Meyer Lemon Martini

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My friend Jessica gave me a large jar of preserved Meyer lemons, so I spent most of the afternoon thinking up what to do with it. At first, I thought of maybe a salty soda, like those salty plum sodas Vietnamese restaurants serve. That led to thinking about a salty cocktail, which led to a Preserved Meyer Lemon Martini. It’s kind of like a dirty martini, but instead of olive and olive brine, I used the preserved lemon and a bit of the liquid in the jar.

Cocktail Week: Dirty Lemon Martini

The piece of lemon I included with garnish was great — it completely made the drink. Unfortunately, I think I put in too much gin compared to everything else because it tasted like a science project. Next time, maybe I need more dry vermouth. Or maybe I’m just not as big a fan of martinis as I thought.

Recipe:

Stir the gin and dry vermouth in a mixing glass with some ice cubes for about a minute. Stir in the lemon brine. Strain into a martini glass. Top with garnish.