Today, the term “Martini” is strongly associated with the brand of vermouth, but it is also a famous cocktail, unofficially called the “elixir of serenity.” Martini with olive and gin (the standard proportion of alcohol components is 1:2) is considered an American classic, and the delicate bouquet and soft taste of the drink are perfect like a sonnet. However, it is not at all necessary to buy elite alcohol – white dry (sugar-free) vermouth of any manufacturer is suitable for making a cocktail.
Historical reference. The tradition of putting an olive in a martini glass originated during the Gold Rush in California. In 1849, a prospector who had attacked a gold mine was returning to San Francisco. On the way, the man stopped in the first major city – Martinez – to celebrate his luck. The lucky man went to the bar and demanded champagne, but there was no sparkling wine. The resourceful bartender did not lose his head and offered the guest “something better”, and he himself immediately invented a new cocktail – Martinez Special, olive vermouth. The freshly baked millionaire and bar regulars liked the drink, and over time, the name “Martinez Special” was reduced to a simple “Martini”.
Olives (green berries) are only paired with a dry white martini. Red, sweet and strong types of vermouth are usually served with other snacks or without them at all. Martinis with olives (ripe, black olive fruits) are not drunk at all.
olive martini recipe
The easiest option is to put the olive in a cocktail glass (cone-shaped glass) with a drink. This will be enough: the berry pickle will be mixed with vermouth, the fruit will be saturated with alcohol, and you will get the very classic combination of flavors that gourmets are crazy about. There are also more complex recipes.
For example, the Martini Dry (Dry) cocktail, which appeared in 1922 and since then only the proportions of the ingredients have changed. Initially, 2 parts of London dry gin were mixed in a shaker (today the proportion of this component can reach up to 15 parts) and 1 part of dry white vermouth. The resulting mixture was poured into a chilled cocktail glass with a green olive at the bottom.
A variation of Dirty Martini (“Dirty Martini”) additionally contains 1-2 tablespoons of olive brine or juice. The name is explained by the fact that after adding brine, the cocktail becomes somewhat cloudy.
At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, the olive was only an exquisite decoration, and not a “snack”, but today the rules of etiquette allow you to eat a berry, so sometimes the olive is not put on the bottom, but pricked on a special skewer.
How to drink martinis with olives
Connoisseurs say that the olive is the best and most important part of the cocktail, without which the taste changes. One combination of vermouth with gin is not enough for a cocktail to be called a Martini, and even if you drink pure vermouth, you cannot do without a salty berry.
Three olives are strung on a wooden skewer and placed on the edge of the glass. The taster himself decides whether to put the “treat” into the drink (it is recommended to do so). You can first drink a cocktail or pure vermouth, then enjoy an appetizer, or you can eat the first fruit with the first sip, the second in the middle of the serving, and the last one while draining the triangular glass.
What kind of olives put in a martini
Etiquette does not provide for the use of any particular variety, the main thing is that the berries are fresh. You can take fruits without filling or olives stuffed with garlic, blue cheese, onions, anchovies, almonds. All these variations will diversify the taste and add piquancy.
What you definitely can’t do is use cocktail onions instead of olives: you get a completely different cocktail – Gibson. A real martini is served only with olives.
