The House Martini by Guillaume Le Dorner

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J On paper, a Martini appears to be the simplest of drinks to make. It has four ingredients - these are then combined and finished with a simple garnish. In my opinion, I find it one of the most difficult to make well. First of all, a Martini is a very personal drink, many people prefer it in a certain manner, this can be down the style, choice of gin or vermouth, which garnish and so forth. There are so many variations of the Martini, a Dry Martini, a Dirty Martini, a Roosevelt Martini, a Gibson – there are so many options to choose from.When you are making a martini, the key is the dilution that you bring in to it. It is important to make it as cold as possible but with the right dilution – this can be tricky and it takes a lot of practice. If you stir for too short a time, the result will be too warm, harsh and alcoholic. If you stir for too long - the drink will be flat and watery. We always stir our martinis in a metal tin, as metal can cool very quickly, which helps us reach the right temperature at the right point of dilution.The house martini at 69 is made with Beefeater Gin and Martini Extra Dry. We serve a wet style, with a twist of lemon, however we do add a personal touch., by adding Dry Essence to the vermouth before mixing. The ‘Dry Essence’ is made at Drink Factory by macerating grape seeds in alcohol, the liquid is then re distilled and reduced. We chose to use grape seeds as they contain tannin, which brings a drying sensation, this way we are able to create a balanced martini that has good mouth feel, length and a dry finish.The Martini is an integral part of the menu at 69 and has been since we first opened. Over the years, we have offered variations on this drink on the menu.We produced a really great Dirty Martini recipe. Instead of using olive brine, we placed olives in a centrifuge. This process allowed us to extract all the flavours from the olives, which resulted in something that was not as salty as the brine and a more intense olive flavour – it really took the classic Dirty Martini to another level.In 2013, we developed a homemade vermouth called ‘Senza Nome’ (in Italian meaning ‘with no name’) at the lab at Drink Factory. We wanted to create a vermouth that paired beautifully with Beefeater Gin (our house gin). So after much research, we bought base wines that were made with grapes that would typically be used in the production of Vermouth - Picpoul and Clairette. We then oxidised the wine slightly, fortified it with high proof alcohol and added sugar and 16 botanicals. Some of the botanicals are distilled, whilst others are cooked sous vide in the base wine. Experimenting with the botanicals was quite a lengthy process - it took us almost a year to get to the final product.

On paper, a Martini appears to be the simplest of drinks to make. It has four ingredients - these are then combined and finished with a simple garnish. In my opinion, I find it one of the most difficult to make well. First of all, a Martini is a very personal drink, many people prefer it in a certain manner, this can be down the style, choice of gin or vermouth, which garnish and so forth. There are so many variations of the Martini, a Dry Martini, a Dirty Martini, a Roosevelt Martini, a Gibson – there are so many options to choose from.

When you are making a martini, the key is the dilution that you bring in to it. It is important to make it as cold as possible but with the right dilution – this can be tricky and it takes a lot of practice. If you stir for too short a time, the result will be too warm, harsh and alcoholic. If you stir for too long - the drink will be flat and watery. We always stir our martinis in a metal tin, as metal can cool very quickly, which helps us reach the right temperature at the right point of dilution.

The house martini at 69 is made with Beefeater Gin and Martini Extra Dry. We serve a wet style, with a twist of lemon, however we do add a personal touch., by adding Dry Essence to the vermouth before mixing. The ‘Dry Essence’ is made at Drink Factory by macerating grape seeds in alcohol, the liquid is then re distilled and reduced. We chose to use grape seeds as they contain tannin, which brings a drying sensation, this way we are able to create a balanced martini that has good mouth feel, length and a dry finish.

The Martini is an integral part of the menu at 69 and has been since we first opened. Over the years, we have offered variations on this drink on the menu.

We produced a really great Dirty Martini recipe. Instead of using olive brine, we placed olives in a centrifuge. This process allowed us to extract all the flavours from the olives, which resulted in something that was not as salty as the brine and a more intense olive flavour – it really took the classic Dirty Martini to another level.

In 2013, we developed a homemade vermouth called ‘Senza Nome’ (in Italian meaning ‘with no name’) at the lab at Drink Factory. We wanted to create a vermouth that paired beautifully with Beefeater Gin (our house gin). So after much research, we bought base wines that were made with grapes that would typically be used in the production of Vermouth - Picpoul and Clairette. We then oxidised the wine slightly, fortified it with high proof alcohol and added sugar and 16 botanicals. Some of the botanicals are distilled, whilst others are cooked sous vide in the base wine. Experimenting with the botanicals was quite a lengthy process - it took us almost a year to get to the final product.

Submitted July 14, 2015 at 10:28AM by DrinkFactory