Friday Happy Hour: Vermouth

Before ordering our drink today, let's talk about a common ingredient: vermouth. This charming 60s-era advertisement from Martini & Rossi calls to mind several drinks made with vermouth. What is vermouth, exactly? Here's a short explanation from Playboy's Host & Bar Book:

Okay. Maybe you're familiar with the difference between sweet vermouth and dry vermouth. Basically, one is clear(ish) and one is dark red/brownish. In Martini & Rossi's advertisement above, they feature 6 different options: an Americano, a Negroni, sweet vermouth on the rocks, dry vermouth on the rocks, a Martini, and a Manhattan. Before we get to the recipes for these drinks, let's consider for a moment the idea of vermouth on the rocks. Whether dry or sweet, would you consider it for a drink order? It's an aperitif -- and it's definitely an acquired taste, one which RPR doesn't have. Still, some old ladies might still order a vermouth on the rocks. Good for them. With some courage, they might also work their way up to an Americano:

This is a little light, a little sparkly! How about a Negroni:

A little more substantial. On to a Manhattan:

And the granddaddy of all cocktails:

So, vermouth (both sweet and dry) makes a lot of great drinks possible. It marries very well with spirits. Vermouth by itself, though -- well, give it a try and see if it's for you. But, the real point of drink mastery is best illustrated (again) by Playboy's Host & Bar Book:

Suddenly, it seems like the vermouth is merely incidental. Cheers!

Friday Happy Hour: a Martini or a Martinez ... or a Golf Cocktail?

At risk of repeating ourselves, and as we have recently noted (and not that it takes any saying so from us) the Martini is the preeminent classic cocktail.

It's certainly one of the most storied drinks, and a drink whose origins are shrouded in mystery. Let's explore that a little bit. First, the classic recipe, with some commentary:

Okay, so there was this place called "Martinez, California" -- other versions say the bartender was a guy named Martinez. Sometimes, the bar patron is a guy named Martinez. Who knows -- it wasn't exactly well documented.

But, the idea is that a Martini is gin (or, nowadays, vodka) with dry vermouth, right? And, the drier, the better, right? What do you make of this, then:

This is a recipe from an old Mohawk liquor recipe booklet of uncertain origins, but probably circa the 1930s. It bears noting that "Italian" vermouth is the same as sweet vermouth (dry vermouth is "French"). So, not only do the proportions of this recipe (2:1) make for a wet drink, it's made with sweet vermouth. Not your daddy's Martini, is it? And the bitters are an ingredient from left field.

What this is, actually, is kind of a Martini recipe with vestiges of its ancient evolution from a drink called a Martinez. The Martinez actually has the proportions of the sweet vermouth and gin reversed; the vermouth was the dominant ingredient, and the gin is the minority contributor. Also, a Martinez has bitters (just like this Martini) and also adds a "dash" of maraschino liqueur (which this Martini recipe has lost).

A Martinez is actually a good drink -- but keep the gin as the dominant ingredient -- there's a reason why the vermouth-based idea never caught on: it sucks.

But, from the same booklet, check out this drink:

Now, except for the bitters, this is a "wet" Martini (meaning that it's a 2:1 ratio of the gin and vermouth -- not at all aridly dry, as fashions have come to demand).

Frankly, we don't know what ever happened to the Golf cocktail, or if it was ever very popular. Why not give it a try next time you order a Martini?

Of course, one of the amazing things about a Martini is the utter clarity of the drink, frigid and cold, with the oils of the olive shimmering on the surface. Simply gorgeous. A Martinez, with the sweet vermouth, looses that simplicity and starkness. But, with it's reddish color -- maybe kind of like the clay in Martinez, California? -- it has its own elegance.

Cheers!

Friday Happy Hour: The Bronx

Each of the five boroughs of New York City has a cocktail named after it, except for Staten Island. Poor Staten Island. Of course, the most celebrated cocktail named for a borough of New York is the Manhattan. A close second, however, is the Bronx. Even though everyone has heard of a Manhattan, you'd be excused if you haven't heard of a Bronx. It has fallen out of fashion, but it is a truly vintage cocktail with a genuine pedigree.

In an old recipe booklet from the Mohawk Liquor Company, circa 1930s, their receipe goes like this:


















Of course, it's nice that they offer a 'dry' version, as well. We should add that so-called "French" vermouth is what we call dry vermouth now, and "Italian" vermouth is sweet vermouth. Also, we should add that this booklet specifies that a jigger is 1 ounce. So, yes, with this recipe you end up with a 1 ounce drink. Hope you're not thirsty. Or, just order a triple. I guess people back then didn't have the iron constitutions we have now.

Here's a recipe from a Fleischmann's Liquor booklet from 1947:














This recipe is interesting because it calls for muddling the orange. The ingredient of the orange brings up a topic that often vexes us: recipies that call for "juice of half a lemon" or "juice of one lime" or, as we saw in the Mohawk recipe above, "1 piece orange." This recipe calls for "several small pieces of sliced orange." I guess this is supposed to test the savvy of the bartender to figure out how much of the ingredient to add. Odd, since the measurements of the spirits are precise. Just sayin'.

Anyway, here is a recipe with some of its own comentary, from a book called "Famous New Orleans Drinks and how to mix 'em" in its 1964 printing:











Some interesting local color thrown in there .... but, note that they, too, call for measurements adding up to 1 ounce (minus whatever orange juice "1 thick slice" adds).


Here's a recipe from a 1957 edition of Mr. Boston's ("Old Mr. Boston's DeLuxe Official Bartender's Guide"):



















They also throw in some interesting variations:


























Egg yolk ... yum!