Drink Two - The Classic Martini

I had a soccer game tonight, which made the idea of drinking sound equally good and bad.  That is, bad before hand, and good afterwards.

We lost.  Score: 8-3.

I'll be honest with you, I'm not adding a whole lot to the squad.  There was a time when I was good at soccer, but that was 18 years ago.  Now, I'm lucky if I dribble successfully for a pace or two.

My favorite part of the gameplay?  The intensity and the shit talking.  There is so much shit talking coming from aged men, it looks like each of them just finished watching a Chris Rock special, got inspired, and thought up some lines to use in the match.

Some of the trash talk is an epic failure. 

A lot of it is in the realm of what I'll call the Fading Trash Talker.  This is when a guy starts complaining, maybe even starts down a nice path of what will be a derogatory statement and then...and then...nothing.  Either the game distracts him, or he just lost a train of thought.  These guys aren't all that old either.  It's as though their brain is suffering from a lack of oxygen, and these half-thoughts are the end result.

It was fun, even in the loss. 

Tonight's drink: The Martini. 

This has to be the most famous drink in history, right?  It's everywhere.  It's in movies, TV shows, it's a popular draw at nightlife locations (half price Martini Thursdays, etc.).  Truly everywhere.

But, I don't drink martinis!  Not historically anyway.  I've probably ordered a martini a few times and never really loved them - not enough to order one again and again.  I like gin so maybe I should like it more than I do.

And I'm going to put this out there - a dirty martini is not good!  I'm sorry ladies, it's not.  It's salt water.  It's also guaranteed to give you the worst fucking hangover imaginable.  You know what gives you a hangover?  More than anything else, it's dehydration.  So what do you think happens when you consume a pound of salt from 2-3 dirty martini's?  It's bound to hurt you, hard, the next day.

Let's get down to brass tacks...the drink:

The Recipe

Classic Martini

The Ultimate Bar Book, page 192

2 ounces gin or vodka
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
Lemon twist or green cocktail olive

Stir the gin and vermouth in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Run the lemon peal around the rim, twist it over the drink and drop it in, or simply drop in the olive.

I used Bombay Sapphire gin, Martini & Rossi Extra Dry vermouth, and went the easy route with a simple green olive.  I like gin more than vodka, hence the reason I went with gin.

Alright, so how's this thing taste?  I love it.  Seriously, it's outstanding.

I'm surprised by this, though I'm not sure why.  I guess I just never had a memorable experience with the drink before.

It's like drinking really good cold gin.  I don't know how much flavor the vermouth is adding, because there is kind of a fruit forward taste to the drink - all of which I'm attributing to the gin. 

It's great though.  I might have to make this a regular order.  And, without having had the lemon twist, I can't imagine that it'd be a prudent addition.  The drink, with Bombay Sapphire anyway, probably doesn't need any more fruit or citrus flavor to it - it might too much of a good thing.  The olive doesn't add much, until I eat it I suppose, but even then, its a nice counterbalance to the rest of the drink.

Very solid, all around.