Shaken Not Stirred

When as a young adult I enjoyed the night spots in New York City the places that I favored knew how I wanted my Martini served. It had to be ice cold, in a Martini glass, straight up, and the glass filled with green olives stuffed with pimentos. It was like having a Martini with a marinated olive salad. World-famous super spy from filmdom Bond, James Bond, Agent 007 wanted his shaken not stirred. However, if you prefer your Martini your way, you can choose among all different kinds and make one your signature cocktail. Cheers!

I will begin with a favorite mix that is my very own. I believe there has never been a printed recipe for this but is it good and is it blue. I call it My Blue Heaven. The cocktail includes gin, dry vermouth, and Blue Curacao liqueur. The photo is of how a cocktail with this liqueur would look.

Apple Martini/Appletini

This cocktail comes in many varieties and colors. It can be bright green mixed with vodka and apple liqueur. A drier version made with butterscotch or spiced with cider. Others prefer to add green melon Midori or orange-flavored Cointreau.

Aviation Cocktail

To me, this cocktail looks beautiful and it comes in my favorite color purple in this case a shade of violet. To make this cocktail you take vodka and add crème de violette liqueur. It can also be made with gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, and crème de violette liqueur.

Banana Split Martini

As a child, you probably loved having banana splits. Now you can return to your childhood and have your martini too. This is a delicious cocktail you can customize for yourself. Take vodka, add crème de bananas liqueur, and crème de cacao liqueur and mix well. Then garnish with banana slices, or strawberries, or pineapple.

Chartreuse Martini

A cocktail perfect for a holiday like St. Patrick’s Day or even Christmas since it is green. It is prepared with gin, dry vermouth, and Chartreuse, the green herbal liqueur.

Chocolate Martini

Now you can enjoy chocolate flavor in a cocktail. The recipe calls for vodka and crème de cacao. It can also be made with chocolate liqueur.

Cosmopolitan

This is the tasty and ideal fruity martini. It consists of plain vodka or citrus vodka, Cointreau with lime and cranberry juices. It was made popular in the TV series “Sex and the City”.

Dirty Martini

You’re probably wondering what could make a martini “dirty”? This cocktail features dry vermouth, gin, or vodka, and you can even opt to have it with tequila. The cocktail includes the brine from the jar of olives or you can use one of the olive juice options made especially for this cocktail.

Dry Gin Martini

This martini is made with gin and dry vermouth and can include a dash of bitters. Again you can personalize by choosing your preferred gin like London Dry Gin.

Espresso Martini

This is a very interesting cocktail which includes vodka with mocha or vodka with crème de cacao, coffee liqueur, and chilled espresso.

French Cocktail

Parlez-vous, francaise? Perhaps after this cocktail. It is a mix of vodka, Chambord black raspberry liqueur, and pineapple juice. Chambord comes from the Loire Valley of France.

Lemon Drop Martini

This cocktail makes me picture a glass full of gin or vodka, and filled with lemon drops. The ingredients are gin or vodka, fresh lemon juice, and simple syrup. If preferred a sugary rim can be added.

Manhattan

This is one of my favorite sweet cocktails. This a combination of whiskey and sweet vermouth topped with a maraschino cherry. You can choose from rye whiskey, Canadian, or bourbon whiskeys.

Martinez

This is an old recipe dating to 1887. The cocktail is a combination of gin, sweet vermouth, and maraschino liqueur. It is topped off with aromatic bitters and a lemon twist.

Massey Cocktail

This cocktail is a combination of gin, sweet vermouth, and Irish whiskey. To make it even more interesting you can add Green Chartreuse and Campari.

Perfect Martini

The perfect martini must include equal parts dry and sweet vermouth. Dry gin is preferred for the perfect martini but if you like you can also make the perfect Manhattan with sweet vermouth and whiskey.

Saketini

This cocktail is like a “sock it to me” cocktail because it includes Japanese sake. It is a mix of gin or vodka, and sake. It is garnished with a sliced cucumber.

The Last Word

With four potent ingredients you might choke up before you get the last word out so proceed with caution. This cocktail consists of four main ingredients which are gin, Green Chartreuse liqueur, maraschino liqueur, and lime juice.

Vodka Martini

The 20th-century classic is the vodka martini. This uses vodka instead of gin. You can personally make it your own by ordering it with your favorite vodka like asking for an Absolut martini. It is served with an olive garnish or a lemon twist.