Cauld Gyn

As evidenced by the stark martini glass on my banner, I cover the finer drinks as well as the finer food. The monarch of all alcoholic drinks is the martini. It represents a rich history of alcoholic enjoyment without the negative connotation of being a mere street drunk. Its regality is reflected by the sleek contours of the glass. The elegently slim stem balancing a wide cone, crystal clear, yet frosted by condensation.

There is also no division of sexes with this drink. On the contrary, it helps bring them together. The martini is gender-neutral, enjoyed by men and women alike, without being called fu-fu or shi-shi, girl drink or gay drink [insert favorite Seinfeld cliche here].

On the contrary, it is a hard hitting, unadulterated drink. I like both vodka and gin martinis, but I am going to focus on gin, since that is the original drink.

There is good natured dissention on whether to shake or stir a martini. James Bond set the worldwide precedent of shaking a martini, but many believe it 'bruises' the alcohol. Bruising is when you get too many ice chips in the alcohol, lending to a watered down flavor. I agree, a stirred martini has more punch.

Fill a mixer up completely with ice. Fill your martini glass with ice and water and let stand. This will chill the glass nicely. Do I freeze my glasses? Not anymore. Freezing a glass is overkill, and melting ice gets all over everything you put the glass on. Better to just chill the cone.

My personal preference is Bombay Saphire, and I really can't think of another premium gin worthy of drinking straight. It has a complex citrusy flavor that you have to taste for yourself, it is really indescribable compared to other gins.

Timing is important. You need to rim the glass with some vermouth, so dump the ice water and quickly pour a couple of drops of extra dry vermouth into the glass and swish it around.

While that rests, pour a heavy two shots into the shaker, but instead of shaking, use a chopstick or other stirrer to swirl the gin 40 times. When it is through quicky dump the vermouth and pour the gin into the glass.

I think it's more appropriate to garnish a gin martini with a lemon or lime twist, to compliment the citrus flavor of the gin. Olive tends to add salt and is perfect for vodka, but not gin.

Put on some Esquivel and get swank!