 Ok, we'll let you choose: do you want to screw around with a bunch of sugary, prissy drinks with with cute names like "Sex with the Bartender" or "F___ Me Sidways," or do you want to drink an old standard that always delivers. Yeah, us too. Here are some to make. Martini The debate rages over the proper way to make a Martini: 2:1 gin-to-dry vermouth proportions; only a touch of vermouth; the word "vermouth" whispered at the gin or the bottle waved in the general direction of the gin (that'd be an extra dry Martini). Some even insist on using vodka, but we ignore them. Start with a good gin. Tanqueray always tests well whenever someone does a Martini mix-off and is David's gin of choice. What folks don't care about is the vermouth. Noilly Prat or Martini and Rossi are the ones most folks are familiar with, but if you want a better Martini, use better vermouth. You can have it on the rocks or straight up. For a drier Martini, use less vermouth and more gin -- alter it to suit your taste. The standard recipe as follows:
- 2oz. gin
- 1 oz. dry vermouth
- Ice
Pour the gin and vermouth into a shaker cup filled with ice to chill. Shake or stir, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with either an olive or lemon twist (the rind of a lemon, cut into small strips). If using a lemon twist, run the outside of the rind along the rim of the glass before pouring the drink.
Dry As A Desert:
On one of David's first bartending shifts, a fresh older chick came into the bar at 4:30, and ordered a gin Martini really dry, up. David gave her 2:1 gin/vermouth. She said it sucked, but she'd just finalized her divorce, and drank it anyway. After finishing a second, equally disappointing attempt, she demanded he learn to make one really dry: chilled gin only -- dry as a desert. She downed a third and ended up taking out a room in the hotel next door and asking David to join her. He to turn her down, but today when he makes a Martini, it's all gin with a discussion of vermouth.
 Manhattan
This is a variation on the Martini. The same proportions apply with whiskey (commonly bourbon) instead of gin, and sweet vermouth instead of dry, and garnish with a cherry instead of an olive. Brian likes a perfect Maker's Mark Manhattan, using equal parts (1/2 oz. each) sweet and dry vermouth, on the rocks, but in general, Manhattan drinkers aren't as high maintenance as martini drinkers. The classic Manhattan below:
- 2oz. bourbon
- 1 oz. sweet vermouth
- dash of bitters*
- Ice
Pour the bourbon and vermouth into a shaker cup filled with ice to chill. Shake or stir, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with a cherry or twist of lemon. If using a lemon twist, run the outside of the rind along the rim of the glass before pouring the drink.
MargaritaAn all-time classic. It's a good way to start an evening at parties or more intimately, with a bit of tang and salt to accompany grilled or broiled foods. A traditional margarita is on the tart side. If you don't like it as tart, add extra sugar or you can buy sweet and sour mix, but it tends to be cloying. Be a better guy and make it fresh:.
- 1 and 1/2 oz. tequila
- 1/2 oz. Triple Sec
- Juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime (or 4 oz. of sweet and sour mix)
- Simple syrup
- Ice
Squeeze the citrus juice in the shaker cup with simple syrup. Add ice and pour in tequila and Triple Sec. Cap the shaker with a mixing glass and shake vigorously. Strain margarita into a chilled cocktail glass with rimmed with salt or serve over ice in a highball glass rimmed with salt (To salt the rim: pour some kosher or table salt onto a plate, wet the rim with a wedge of lime or water, dip into salt) and garnish with a lime wedge.
If you're making several margaritas, juice four lemons and four limes in advance, add a cup of water and 1/2 cup of sugar. You can adjust to taste as you get a feel for making the mix.
Margarita Mix-up:
When we were working in Georgetown, there was a bar in Georgetown Park Mall that we went to occasionally that did "Tex-Mex." They made hundreds margaritas for customers using the standard pre-made Margarita Mix, so we stuck to beer and tequila to cut the guys a break from slinging the cocktail du' jour. But on occasion, if you asked Ricky or one of the other bartenders for their margarita, they'd take the time to make one with fresh lime juice, hold the syrupy mix. Mint JulepThe Mint Julep is synonymous with the Kentucky Derby, its official drink since 1938; a simple yet potent drink to sip on a hot day. With all the rage over Mojitos and Caipirinhas in the past few years, it’s nice to know that there’s a home-grown version with good ol' American whiskey. The thing is, for all of its pedigree, not many people have actually had a Mint Julep. If you like bourbon (and we like bourbon), then one thing you know is that on a hot day, straight whiskey on the rocks isn’t exactly refreshing. This recipe lets you have your bourbon and refreshment, too: whiskey over crushed ice in a tall glass. This is the most common version of the Mint Julep: Muddle (mash up) the mint leaves, sugar, and water in a Collins (tall) glass (Tradition says use a silver julep cup or a silver mug, which I’m sure you have hanging around...right next to your white hat and picture of Colonel Sanders). Fill glass with crushed ice and add the bourbon. Add more ice and a sprig of mint for garnish. Pegu Club CocktailThere are many things that we don’t understand: grown men ordering fruit-flavored martinis (why not just ask for Kool-Aid and vodka in a cocktail glass) and the attraction of Tori Spelling, who inexplicably has yet another TV show. But we do know our way around a bar. So when the Pegu Club Cocktail made a comeback after eighty years, we thought we might have found ourselves a winner. The name comes from a bar near Rangoon, Myanmar during British occupation. But imperialistic ancestry aside, the Pegu Club Cocktail is a perfect spring and summer drink. A little sweet, a bit tart, served chilled. It could very well become your new drink of choice this year. 1 ½ oz gin (preferably Hendricks) ½ Cointreau liqueur (orange flavored, you can substitute Triple Sec) ¾ oz of fresh lime juice 2 dashes of bitters
Chill a cocktail glass. Add ingredients and ice to a cocktail shaker and shake it like it owes you money. Strain into cocktail glass, serve with a lime wedge or wheel. |
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