World's Greatest Martini Recipe

[PoppiYYZ]

Couldn't find a good post on the subject, so here goes the fireworks. IMO the greatest fancy martini recipe is :

"The Kawartha" :
1 oz Good Vodka
1 oz Good Ice Wine (not late harvest, the real stuff)
1 oz Champagne (substitute Cava if you must, but I have never seen Champagne go to waste)
Stir in ice (don't shake), strain and serve straight up.

Really. You've got to try one (or two on a non-work night).

[EvergreenDan]

If I may, this thread illustrates clearly why authors should be able to a) edit their threads forever and b) edit the title forever.

If 1 or 2 posts pointed out that this probably shouldn't be called a Martini, then the author could have changed one word, avoided a whole rehash of the "what's a Martini" topic, and then the thread could have focused on this interesting wine-based cocktail. (OK, no bitters, so maybe it isn't a cocktail. Oh no, ...)

I hate it when I post something with typos or a misunderstanding or a flash of stupidity and I can't correct it.

Back on topic. This seems like a very good application for vodka since there would seem to be plenty of flavor from the wines (particularly the ice wine). I assume the sparkling wine is to dry out the sugar in the sweet ice wine. This seems to be a time-honored technique where, for example, vermouth is used to dry out a liqueur.

My only practical problem is that it requires opening two fairly expensive bottles of wine, so you'd have to serve it to a group of people who all want this cocktail. Perhaps this could be the foundation for an evening of wine-based cocktails (French 75 and that sort of thing.) I'm also wondering about substituting ice wine for, say, St Germain in some cocktails. Hmmmm.

[SourberryLily]

You have an interesting point about the expensive bottles.

I don't know about other countries, but over here we have a lot of small sample or half sized formats of ice wine. Even more choices for ice cider here. It could be something to look out for when trying this recipe.

[PoppiYYZ]

Thank you Evergreen for your thoughtful comments. I do apologize for my naive use of the "M" word.

As SourberryLily points out, small (approx 2oz) bottles of Icewine are available in Canada for under 7 dollars. They are usually available during December (if not during the rest of the year) and I usually stock up when I can. In addition, Cava or a dry Californian sparkling wine make a satisfactory substitute for the more expensive alternative.

On the other hand, I have yet to see an opened bottle of Icewine or Champagne go to waste...

[TheDewster]

I agree ice wine bottles are 250ml up to 330ml it will get consumed in one sitting. A magnum of champagne needs a group on a work day. If a cocktail has gin, bitters and Lillet is it a martini?

[thew]

yes it is a martini. a very classic martini in fact

[TheDewster]

The LCBO is carrying it will have to try Lillet. www.lcbo.com lists all products and it is interesting to compare to american pricing, usually higher but not always. I bought an Amarone for $80.00 here that is $330.00 in New York City. They do reviews sometimes that can be spot on.

[SourberryLily]

Is ice wine easily accessible outside Canada? Not so long ago, it was hard to get i believe.

[haggisdragon]

Its easily accessible in Germany. Oh I'm sorry, were you talking about the United States?

[SourberryLily]

I'm from Canada, so i i know we produce it here (and according to wiki, so does Germany) but was wondering about the exportation. Thanks for the info.

[thew]

a few years ago it was the drink of the moment here in the US

[SourberryLily]

Do you have ice cider too? That would be a fun alteration the Poppi's original recipe :D

[haggisdragon]

I was thinking a sparkling ice wine would be great.

[PoppiYYZ]

There is an excellent iced apple wine, but only available in Quebec. www.lafacecachee.com. They may do mail orders too.

[jgg13]

We definitely have ice wine down here, but I've only seen ice cider up there.

[JMF]

As they others said, that may be a vodka cocktail, but it isn't a martini.

I think that replacing the tasteless vodka with cognac would improve the drink, and always add the sparkling wine after stirring and pouring the drink. If you lose the sparkle, you lose the charm of using a sparkling wine.

[SourberryLily]

Replacing vodka with cognac... champagne with sparkling wine.... My oh my, it's not even the same drink anymore is it?

Dring making is very fun isn't it? In my opinion, Ice wine is very fine itself and flavorful, as compared to vodka and champagne which have light or no flavor at all. If you change for cognac, you<d be overruling the ice wine and making something much "stronger", and i am not referring to alcoholic contents. Just musing... i haven't actually tried either recipe.

[yarm]

An interesting Vodka Cocktail, but no Martini.

And I would consider stirring the vodka and wine with ice, straining, and then topping with sparkling wine. Otherwise, the drink will go flat quicker.

[Tripeler]

Totally agree with Yarm on this -- in my mind, no Gin, no Martini.
Brilliant tip on the sparkling wine, too.

[thew]

the issue isnt vodka vs gin, its champagne vs vermouth

[tommy]

I think more to the point it's cocktail vs martini! all martinis are cocktails. not all cocktails are martinis. they are not interchangeable as one is a subset of the other.

just as you could call a cat a mammal, you wouldn't call a dog a cat just because it sort of resembles one. you'd call it a dog, a mammal, or some name that you could make up if one hasn't already been assigned. but no, you wouldn't call it a cat. if you did, please would like at you funny, possibly snicker, and definitely not know what you were talking about.

[thew]

i understand - but if you read the comments here people were focusing on the vodka/gin dichotomy. a vodka martini is acceptable as a martini at this point in time, but a drink with champagne but not vermouth is not.

[epabella]

absolutely agree, the fundamental martini is altered so severely with vodka (flat and neutral) and champagne (fizzy and not dry at all) replacing gin (nice fragrance of juniper) and vermouth (complex aromas). the OP's kawartha is an entirely different concoction so far departed from what the inventor of the martini had in mind.

prepared like yarm suggests, it's sounds like a very tasty cocktail though.

[invinotheresverde]

Yep, definitely NOT a martini.

[PoppiYYZ]

Sorry purists. A rose by any other name....

Thanks Yarm for the procedural change, but it is very nice still.

Please try one with your friends. I'd love to know how you find the flavor...
-P

[invinotheresverde]

What constitutes a martini is a point of contention for many of us on the Spirits board, that's all. I'm sure your cocktail is lovely, although I think gin would pick up the honey, tropical notes in the ice wine and really make the cocktail sing. Vodka does nothing to enhance the flavor of a drink.
My $0.02.

[tmso]

I think you're right, turning that into a variation on a martini might make for a really nice drink. Something like 2 parts gin, 3 parts ice wine, stirred, up, a splash of cava and a dash of grapefruit bitters.

[yarm]

The "world's greatest" would require it to make all purists happy though.

[EvergreenDan]

Hmmm. Interesting.

Is the best movie of the year the one that the most people saw? Paid to go see? Best average professional critic rating? Best blogger / forum / social media average review? Best according to film scholars?

I'm not sure what the definition of a Martini is exactly, and in this forum there isn't consensus. I'm not offended if someone makes a Chocolate Martini or an Apple Martini and serves it in what they call a Martini glass, but I'm not calling it that. I'm sort of glad that it has been identified as not a regular Martini.

I'm not sure any one recipe could possibly make all the purists happy, but I agree this should probably be "Wine Martini" or maybe a "Grape Martini" .

Maybe an acid test for Martini-dom should be whether you can put an olive in it without feeling queasy. :)

[yarm]

"Wine Cocktail" sounds pretty good to me.

The fact that the spirit is lower than 50% (I dig a 50-50 Martini, but lower than that, it is more of an aperitif) and that it is given a champagne float puts it in a different category. Unless of course anything served in a cocktail glass is a Martini.

[hazelhurst]

No doubt this has been raised elsewhere but I rise ton point out that, for those who want a Bright LIne, the American National Standards Institute (or something like that--I do not have my copy to hand) issued The Standard for the American Dry martini, away back in the 1960's, when martinis WERE martinis. . It admits of scant variations. so, if you want A Law, there it is....

[susanl143]

If you order a Martini in Europe, unless they are oriented to US tastes, you will get a glass of vermouth. A Martini is short for Martini and Rossi vermouth. In the US, it became the name of gin or vodka mixed with vermouth -- usually the dry M &R brand. In the last few years they have been calling Martini anything served in a Martini glass which I think is seriously stretching the name, especially as vermouth of any brand isn't a required ingredient.

[hazelhurst]

I've had this confusion in Europe many times, even when the bartender ways he knows teh difference. I did get a real one in Moscow once and I suspect it was becuase the place was near the Foreign Office and probably had plenty of Americans in there. And, of course, The American Bar at teh Savoy was, for years, the ONLY place to get an American Martini in Britain.

[JMF]

Sorry, but if you order a COCKTAIL called a Martini, in Europe, that's what you get. If you order martini vermouth that's what you get.

[JMF]

NO, Martini is gin, vermouth, and bitters. Anything else is a cocktail;, but not a Martini!

[thew]

like it or not, words change meaning over time.

to use my oft cited example - if you tell me you had a terrific martini, you don't mean it inspired terror in you, do you?

[jgg13]

depends ... was there vodka and sour apple pucker in it?