Fraters Libertas

I Hope I Never Get Dry Before I Get Old

Here's my two cents on the martini thing.

I drink a lot of Bombay Sapphire. A lot. And when I drink it, I want to taste it. I prefer to keep the bottle in the freezer which eliminates the need for ice. Ice melts and I don't want water mixing with my gin. It's unseemly.

Vermouth? Don't care for it. Perhaps it dates back to the time we ran out of booze on the last night of a fishing trip. All we had in the cabin was a bottle of dry vermouth. I did what had to be done and polished that sucker off. Since then, I've kinda developed a speech impediment. (Not really, but the taste of the stuff just turns me off.) These days, I simply whisper 'vermouth' over the edge of my martini glass and leave it at that.

Shaken vs. stirred? Unnecessary for reasons given above.

Olives are necessary, however, provided they are properly rinsed free of any excess olive juice and dried off before being introduced to the gin. Again, I prefer to taste the gin. The olive also gives you an extra treat after you've sipped the last drop. Ain't nothin' better than a gin soaked olive to whet your appetite for another round.

As far as the best place to find this drink, that would be in my kitchen as no self respecting bartender would indulge a guy requesting a rinsed and dried olive.

Can the drink I have described above be called a 'martini'? Probably not. It really isn't a mixed drink at all. But, to paraphrase the Stones: It's only a glass of gin with an olive, but I like it.