Shaul-Ike Cohen
One Too Many
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So, as we're repeating things, let me chime in:
Yes, Old Raj is a fine gin.
No, Hendrick's isn't, in my opinion. Blown-up nonsense, watery, and you really have to believe the hipster advertisements that try to make you believe they're anti-hipster.
Yes, different kinds of gin for different drinks, positively. Some of the top-range varieties are good on their own, good in a gimlet though they make a different drink than with more discreet gins, but they'd simply kill a martini.
And finally, still my personal opinion or experience: Yes, a martini is best very cold, but not for the price of lacking the water from the ice cubes! If you shake or stir it the way you do that with other cocktails, it'll be cold enough. Decent amount of ice cubes and some 20 seconds of shaking, or 30 of stirring will do. The difference a chilled glass makes is mental - it might both suggest the brain the drink is colder than it is, or create an expectation that isn't met then. I like my martini cold, but my glass dry on the outside.
There's no need whatsoever to keep the gin in the freezer, or the vermouth in the fridge, except to extend the best-by date, and to look cool. But you want a good drink, you don't want to impersonate Sean Connery and end up to be a poor Tom Cruise copy, do you?
Yes, Old Raj is a fine gin.
No, Hendrick's isn't, in my opinion. Blown-up nonsense, watery, and you really have to believe the hipster advertisements that try to make you believe they're anti-hipster.
Yes, different kinds of gin for different drinks, positively. Some of the top-range varieties are good on their own, good in a gimlet though they make a different drink than with more discreet gins, but they'd simply kill a martini.
And finally, still my personal opinion or experience: Yes, a martini is best very cold, but not for the price of lacking the water from the ice cubes! If you shake or stir it the way you do that with other cocktails, it'll be cold enough. Decent amount of ice cubes and some 20 seconds of shaking, or 30 of stirring will do. The difference a chilled glass makes is mental - it might both suggest the brain the drink is colder than it is, or create an expectation that isn't met then. I like my martini cold, but my glass dry on the outside.
There's no need whatsoever to keep the gin in the freezer, or the vermouth in the fridge, except to extend the best-by date, and to look cool. But you want a good drink, you don't want to impersonate Sean Connery and end up to be a poor Tom Cruise copy, do you?
