this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2025
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They seem so good in the movies, but actually taste mostly just like straight vodka, which most people aren't going to enjoy.

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[–] [email protected] 48 points 6 days ago (6 children)

Let's start with Vodka. What a fucking waste. Vodka, at it's best, is supposed to be flavourless. So you're already off to a terrible start. If you're asking for a Vodka Martini you're asking for Strong Vermouth.

So let's get that out of the way. You need the standard gin. Gin is delicious. There are many different Gins to choose from. Gin has actual flavor. I like Hendricks, but try and figure out which Gun you like best. Beefeater is great for a gin & tonic, might not work as well in a Martini. Try a few different options.

Now we've got Gin and vermouth. Those two work together beautifully.

Now I like a good olive. I say make that fucker dirty. Extra dirty. OLIVE ME THE FUCK UP! That's what I want. You want it straight up? Fine. I think it's packing but it's the traditional way and I won't complain. You want a cocktail onion? That's called a Gibson and I ain't complaining.

But GIN THAT FUCKER UP. Fuck off with your weak ass Vodka Martini. I don't care if it's Grey Goose or some other "fancy" shit. That ain't no Martini.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I remember hearing a theory that he deliberately orders a mostly flavourless cocktail with very basic and common ingredients because it would make it easier to detect if someone had spiked his drink with something.

Standard, off the shelf ingredients means you can't just spike the whole bottle ahead of time as each ingredient is pretty standard.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

He also liked it shaken because that waters the drink down more. Meaning he’d be able to sip it without getting as drunk.

But the sad reality is that Ian Fleming was likely just an alcoholic who wrote his own vices into his characters.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 6 days ago (1 children)

...try and figure out which Gun you like best.

A warm one, they're happiness so I'm told.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago

Bang bang, shoot shoot.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago

And make sure to use enough vermouth! None of this “wave the vermouth bottle near the shaker” nonsense. A martini should be about 1/4 vermouth as a starting point.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

Beefeater is straight up nasty, though... I agree with the rest.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

And you need cold ice. It should be dry and close to 0f, not wet and already melting.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago

Good gin is genuinely awesome and I generally don't like alcohol. Have you tried aged stuff like Slo Gin? It's quite a different treat

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago (2 children)

That's because they're watered down weak martinis. The whole reason you don't shake a martini and you should stir it is because when you shake it it chips the ice and makes it melt faster. By shaking it he's making it weaker.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (2 children)

It “bruises” the gin as well.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It is, but it’s more that forceful oxygenation impairs the perception of certain olfactory compounds changing your impression of the drink. Saying it “bruises” the gun is just easier

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Aeration is a known factor in cocktails, it also requires some kind of protein or structure in the liquid to hold onto air for more than a few moments. Slurping a bit as you sip will impact the taste more than shake/stir (assuming equal dilution, temperature, and clarity) The other factor bruise-truthers trot out is Volatile Organic Compounds and the "top notes" evaporating out or oxidizing and I'm sure that would happen if you left a neat glass out on the counter for half an hour, but ten seconds of tumbling is nothing compared to the distillation and bottling process.

It's like the "espresso dies in thirty seconds" thing that's actually an efficiency training benchmark that got misinterpreted at some point. The chemistry just isn't that fast.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago

Aeration is a known factor in cocktails, it also requires some kind of protein or structure in the liquid to hold onto air for more than a few moments.

Which is all you need to change some components like those found in fresh citrus oils.

Slurping a bit as you sip will impact the taste more than shake/stir (assuming equal dilution, temperature, and clarity)

Shake is almost certainly creating more dilution though. You can’t handwave that away though it is unrelated to “bruising”

The other factor bruise-truthers trot out is Volatile Organic Compounds and the “top notes” evaporating out or oxidizing and I’m sure that would happen if you left a neat glass out on the counter for half an hour,

Im fairly positive that is why we can smell things and I believe your assertion that leaving a glass of gin out for 30 minutes with a much greater exposed surface area will lose taste faster than innthe bottle

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

False, the gins ego is bruised that someone would order an inferior vodka martini.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago

False! Gin is not angry, just disappointed that someone would order an inferior vodka martini.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

Thank you for getting that I didn't think anyone would

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

So, I would love to know your recipe. Because that's where I'd guess you fucked it up.

I would guess you used vodka and used either too much vermouth or too little. (I'd guess you used too little rather than too much...) But what do I know?

You used dry vermouth, not sweet?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Who uses sweet vermouth in a martini? That’s a different drink.

Martinis are gin or vodka and extra dry vermouth.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago

Some very early martini recipes call for equal parts gin and sweet vermouth. There's been a century-long trend toward dryer and dryer martinis until we arrive at the modern recipe:

fill a tumbler full of ice, add three ounces of gin, pour half an ounce of dry vermouth down the sink next door, stir, strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with a green olive.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

That is absolutely correct.

I was asking the op if he used sweet vermouth to determine if op used sweet vermouth. Because that would be a Manhattan. Sorta.

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