Remember the simple original martini?

THOUGH THE MARTINI is viewed with almost reverent awe as a drink of unique power it is no more or less powerful than any other drink containing the same amount of alcohol.The original martini recipe called for one-half dry gin and one-half dry vermouth.

This proportion began to change in the early 1940s to two or three parts dry gin to one part dry vermouth, Today popular proportions for an Extra Dry Martini range from a 5-to-1 to an 8-to-1 ratio. The greater the proportion of gin to vermouth the ‘drier’ the Martini.

So just to recap on the ingredients for the original martini:

2 oz. gin
dry vermouth to taste
olive

Stir gin and vermouth in mixing cup filled with ice. Strain and serve with olive in cocktail glass.

Now here’s an interestingly, tweaked version called Chocolate Martini.. Read the rest of this entry »

With the popularity of espresso shops and martini bars is it any wonder that the espresso martini has become popular as well? Sometimes called the espressotini, this drink is a perfect blend of caffeine and alcohol. If you’re looking for a buzz that picks you up while relaxing you at the same time, then it’s time that you asked your barista or your bartender for an espresso martini.

So what is an espresso martini? Well, that depends on who you ask. There are so many variations of this drink out there that there isn’t a generally accepted recipe. The only consistent ingredients are espresso and vodka and even then the espresso is sometimes substituted with coffee or even instant coffee crystals.
The best espresso martinis are usually made with real espresso. If you’re making one at home, be sure to let it cool to room temperature before adding it to your cocktail shaker. Using ice to cool down your espresso will just give you watered down espresso.

The vodka in an espresso martini is almost always of the flavored variety. The most popular option is using a vanilla vodka and adding a coffee liqueur. But now there are espresso flavored vodkas available as well. Whether you use unflavored vodka, vanilla or espresso just remember that you don’t want to use gin. It’s true that martinis are made with gin but it really doesn’t taste great when mixed with espresso. Read the rest of this entry »

Nowadays, the martini is what you make of it. Take two jiggers of kerosene add a garnish of Dodger Dog and as long as it ends up on the inside of a martini glass, it’s a martini.

As such there’s something like a kazillion different martini recipes floating around out there in Bar Land, and by the end of happy hour tomorrow there’ll be a kazillion more.
We’ve tried to streamline the data by including in our After 5 Martini Recipe Library only martini recipes we can vouch for. Well, some we made up just to feed our sick sense of humor, but the rest are proven martini concoctions tried and endorsed by our friends, family, spouses, exes, co-workers, lovers, children, clergy, even the FedEx guy.

Read the rest of this entry »

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