I like my martini’s 2 1/2:1 or 3:1 Gin to Vermouth.  Whatever your favorite ratio, try combining Dry and Bianco 50/50 for the Vermouth.

This is a play on the Perfect Martini.  One that combines both dry and sweet Vermouth.  Rather than sweet Vermouth, I used bianco, combining Carpano Dry and Carpano Bianco. I was hooked.  These two styles of  Vermouth have become my go-to for anything calling for ‘dry.’  At first the Carpano Bianco seems slightly sweeter than the usual premium dry Vermouth.  I attribute this to the rich wine flavor that comes through along with citrus and a little tropical fruit.  The Carpano Dry is a bit surprising. The nose is wine, lemon, candied fruit and spices, but the taste is bone dry.  Alone, or in combination, these fortified wines are amazing.

I have used London Drys, Herbal, and “American Style”.  I like them all!

When it comes to the garnish, I think that citrus and olives, individually or together, drastically enhances this martini.

Doc’s Classic Martini

• 1 1/2 oz. Gin – You’re favorite premium brand
• 1/4 oz. Carpano Dry Vermouth
• 1/4 oz. Carpano Bianco Vermouth
• Dash of Doc Elliott’s Olive Bitters
• Olives and/or Lemon peel for garnish

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine the gin, vermouth’s and bitters in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill
3. Strain into chilled cocktail glass
4. Garnish with Olives and/or Lemon peel

Cheers!

I had read about freezing martinis and thought it would be fun to try.  Frozen martinis are nothing new, but my various recipes turned into an interesting experiment.  Just to set things straight, a “frozen martini” is not a slushie like a “frozen margarita.”  It is a batched martini, placed in a bottle and put in the freezer.

So, why freeze a martini?  Well, a frozen martini is colder than ice and bone dry with a silky-smooth mouth feel.  As the temperature of a drink decreases, so do the flavors of sweet, sour, and bitter, while the taste of salt or brininess increases.  Herbal and floral flavors also change with some increasing and others decreasing. These changes can be amazing – both good and bad!  More on that in a minute.

Batching cocktails makes sense for events, pop-ups and even when entertaining at home. The ability to pour a craft cocktail from a bottle really helps when you are “in the weeds” bartending.  It’s also nice at home when you would like a little more but don’t want to make a whole martini.

There are a couple of caveats. First is your freezer. Even if you have a commercial freezer, you need to have a freezer thermometer. The temperature needs to remain stable at around 5⁰ F.  A temperature of 0⁰ – 7⁰ F will allow you to serve a cocktail at 25%-30% ABV.  Prior to attempting to freeze your martinis you need to measure your freezer’s temperature at various times of the day.  It will probably be coldest in the morning when it hasn’t been opened.  The coldest temperature is the one you will use to calculate your batches’ ABV.

The second caveat is that liquids lowered to subfreezing temperatures tend to form ice. There are a few things you can do to make this occur less often.

• Keep the ABV close to 30%. This will give you a little margin of error.
• Shake the bottle really well to thoroughly mix your batch before freezing.
• Avoid bumping or jarring the bottle once it’s frozen.
• Use a screw cap or cage top bottle. Don’t use a bottle with a cork.  Removing the cork will create a slight vacuum in the bottle.  Enough to turn the batch to ice.

When your batch does ice, (and it will happen), just set it on the bar and let it warm up.  Add a little gin and refreeze the batch.

When selecting your gin, I recommend a London Dry.  At least choose something that is not overly herbal or floral.  I’ve settled on Botanist.  The subtle salinity really works when frozen.  For an example of what doesn’t work, I tried Gompers Gin.  I really like Gompers.  It makes a great Martini or G&T.  But there is a subtle flavor of pear in Gompers that when frozen, overwhelms every other flavor.  So much for that batch.

Our recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz. Botanist Gin
• 1/4 oz. Dry Vermouth
• 1/4 oz. Bianco Vermouth
• Short dash Doc Elliott’s Olive Bitters

For a 500 ml Batch with a freezer set to 5⁰ F, this calculates to:

• 300 ml Gin
• 50 ml Dry Vermouth
• 50 ml Bianco Vermouth
• 100 ml water
• 4 dashes Doc Elliott’s Olive Bitters

Use this spread sheet to calculate your batch volumes:  ABV Batch Freeze Calc

A 20% dilution will make the drink a little strong but allows you to freeze it without icing.  The spread sheet’s freezing calculation is only accurate for an ABV of 20% – 34%.  It uses the fact that the freezing point of alcohol is a strait line in that ABV range.

Lastly, remember to freeze your glassware!

To serve:

1. Pour desired volume of Frozen Martini into a frozen cocktail glass
2. Garnish with olives

Cheers!

I saw somewhere a cocktail recipe that contained Gin, Suze and Blue Curaçao.  The drink was, of course, a brilliant green.  So in my pursuit of holiday cocktails, this was perfect!  This wonderful aperitif is named after Lily the Haunted Doll.  She is the slightly creepier version of the Christmas surveillance doll “Elf on a Shelf.” The idea being that, after you adopt her, she haunts various places in your home.

For the cocktail, we chose the slightly floral Oxley Gin, Suze, Carpano Dry Vermouth, and blue curacao.  The nose is bright with citrus and juniper from both the Gin and Suze.  The taste is bittersweet with orange, botanicals, and a bit of spice.  The finish is long with juniper, a touch of pine and gentian.

Ingredients

• 1 oz. Oxley Gin
• 2 oz. Suze
• 1 oz. Dry Vermouth
• 1/2 oz. Blue Curaçao
• 2 drops Doc Elliott’s Actually Bitter Orange Bitters
• Lemon peel for garnish

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients except the garnish in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill
3. Double strain into chilled cocktail glass
4. Express the lemon peel over the drink and discard the peel

Cheers!

Good sipping rum, like any good sipping spirit, can make amazing cocktails as long as you’re careful not to bury those subtle qualities.  An old fashioned, Manhattan or martini can be a vehicle to express and play with the flavors of fine spirits.  This time I’m using Don Q Vermouth Cask Finished Rum, but another fine sipping rum can work equally well.

My friends at Jet Setter in San Antonio created for me an amazing rum old fashioned with Don Q Vermouth Cask Rum and Paranubes*. This is my version. I really enjoy Don Q Vermouth Cask Finished Rum neat or with a big rock.  It is a blended rum finished in Mancino Vermouth Veccio casks.  On its own, the Don Q is smooth, with a nose of vanilla and honey, and flavors of  light molasses and cinnamon, with hints of dried fruit from the vermouth.  The Paranubes is an agricole made from high altitude sugar cane near Oaxaca.  It brings a touch of funky and some vegetal notes.  You could sub with another rhum agricole. Keeping with the sugar cane theme, I used cane syrup as the sweetener.  Finally, I chose Doc Elliott’s Actually Bitter Orange Bitters because it is an orange bitter that is actually bitter.

The nose is vanilla and molasses from the Don Q with an interesting, funky vegetal note.  On the palate it’s light molasses, cinnamon and dark chocolate, with a little dried and tropical fruit from the agricole.

• 2 oz. Don Q Vermouth Cask Finished Rum
• 1/2 oz. Paranubes
• 1/2 oz. cane syrup
• 4-6 drops Doc Elliott’s Actually Bitter Orange Bitters
• Orange peel for garnish

1. Chill a rocks glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients, except the garnish, in a mixing glass with ice and stir to combine.
3. Strain into the chilled rocks glass over a large ice cube
4. Express the orange peel

Cheers!

* Doc Elliott’s Mixology receives no compensation for brands mentioned.

The original martini contained a lot of vermouth, even equal to or more than the gin, and orange bitters.  But over time, the vermouth became a drop or two or just a rinse, and the orange bitters were lost entirely.  This is my version of that classic martini.  I use St. George Botanivore Gin and Dolin Vermouth.  The Botanivore has a nice herbal flavor without a lot of juniper.  Also, use fresh good vermouth, it will cost $12.95 instead of $9.95.  Vermouth goes bad overnight after opening unless you refrigerate it.  Then it will last a week or so, (All right, dig that old bottle out of your cabinet you opened 5 years ago and throw it out!)

I like my Doc Elliott’s Actually Bitter Orange Bitters, (I wonder why?), but Suze Orange Bitters work well.  Also, the garnish is essential.  The olive and the lemon zest impart a very different character to the drink.  I suggest you try this drink both ways.

• 1 1/2 oz. St. George Botanivore Gin
• 3/4 oz. Dolin Dry Vermouth
• 1-2 Drops Doc Elliott’s Actually Bitter Orange Bitters
• 1 jalapeno stuffed olive or a lemon zest for garnish

1. Chill a martini glass with ice and water
2. Add all ingredients, except the olive, to a mixing glass and stir with ice
3. Strain into chilled glass and garnish with the olive on a fancy pick or the lemon zest

Where the dirty martini meets the Cajun martini: Hendrick’s Gin, dry vermouth and pickled jalapeno juice. Guaranteed to tickle your tongue.

• 2 oz. Hendrick’s Gin
• ½ oz. dry vermouth
• ¼ oz. pickled jalapeno juice
• 1/2 – 1 dash Doc Elliott’s Olive Bitters to taste

1. Chill cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Add all ingredients to shaker
3. Shake well with ice 10 – 15 sec.
4. Strain into chilled glass
5. Garnish with jalapeno stuffed olive or jalapeno spear

Cheers!

I decided to play with my Dry Martini.  Using the St George Botanivore Gin, I substituted Lillet Blanc for the vermouth.  The result is a very pleasant drink.  Goes well with our Olive Poppers.

Olive Poppers

• 2 oz. St. George Botanivore Gin
• 1 oz. Lillet Blanc
• 1-2 drops Doc Elliott’s Actually Bitter Orange Bitters
• Lemon Zest

Dry Martini with Lillet

1. Chill a martini glass with ice and water
2. Add all ingredients, except the Lemon Zest, to a mixing glass and stir with ice
3. Strain into chilled glass and garnish with the lemon zest

Cheers!