641837 Mon Aug 03 21:49:15 -0700 2009 1 36 Spirits 0 4915251 A week or so ago, a few of us Montreal hounds gathered to make cucumber kimchi (kirby cukes, chives, daikon, garlic, ginger, salted shrimp, fish sauce, chile in various forms, etc.). A whack of cucumber kimchi. Enough that jars were distributed to several friends and acquaintances. One of the recipients, hound thomasein, later reported back that he'd been dipping into his jar when he spied a bottle of vermouth. This set the gears in motion and before long he was sipping a kimchi martini (I later dubbed it a kimichitini). His report appeared to shock and titillate our Korean-Canadian kimchi-ista, even as it intrigued the rest of us. On Saturday, friends and I decided to give the concept a whirl. This first effort was 1 part white vermouth to 2 parts Bombay Sapphire gin, stirred with ice, strained into cocktail glasses, each of which was garnished with a small olive-size piece of cucumber kimchi with only the clinging juice, so the flavouring was subtle, though intensifying as the glass was drained. Very enjoyable. This evening I made two drinks. The first was 3/4 oz Noilly Prat and 1 1/2 oz Hendrick's gin prepared as above and garnished with two thin strips of kimchi about 1/2 inch long. This was a serious libation, less charming and sweet than the Sapphire version but complex, suave and very satisfying. The second was a dirty martini using 1/2 oz Noilly Prat, 1 1/2 oz Bombay Sapphire and 1/3 teaspoon of the kimchi juice, stirred and served on the rocks with a thin 1-inch strip of kimchi. Cloudy to the eye (literally looking a little dirty), garlicy on the nose, somewhat coarse on the palate with the kimchi's pungent flavours overshadowing the nuances of the spirits. If I do this again, I'll probably use less kimchi juice and figure out some way to filter it. That said, at this stage I'd say the classic martini format is the way to go. thomasein says his martini was made similarly to our Saturday night effort (Sapphire + NP, strained into a cocktail glass), "except I used a bit more cucumber (using olives as a unit of measurement: 2 or 3 worth) cut into thin strips. I did try to ensure that the cucumber transported a fair amount of kimchi juice on its journey from the jar to the martini glass." Though "clearly more experiments are required," we both agree that, even at this early stage, cucumber kimchi beats green olives as a garnish and that other types of kimchi (napa cabbage, daikon, baby bok choy, etc.) probably wouldn't work as well. Kimchitinis: Google turns up no hits, so you probably heard it here first, folks. Give 'em a try! Mon Aug 03 21:49:16 -0700 2009 10520 carswell 1 4915594 My poor little Korean-Canadian head is still reeling over this one. Kimchi in a drink? Ackkk. Still, I bet it would take off in Korea, surprised it hasn't been done, what with kimchi in space and all the other kimchi innovations that have been tried. The kimchi is still very young and fresh tasting, it has not yet fully fermented. It will be interesting to see what happens as the kimchi matures and you get the full flavour of fermented cucumber kimchi. I daresay daikon kimchi would actually work all right (Kak du gi), and I have some in my fridge if you want to try it for comparison. That being said, the kak du gi is extremely spicy, which might detract from the martini. But perhaps in a Bloody Mary? (My goodness. Why am I encouraging these degenerates?) Tue Aug 04 05:17:02 -0700 2009 4915251 89969 moh