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Martini Making Guide

Let’s face it—going out and buying drinks at bars and restaurants doesn’t come cheap.

By Johnnie McArdlePublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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Some martinis can cost $10 just for one! As university students, we can’t always afford buying drinks. But you could have a martini night with your friends. Depending on how many people and how much alcohol you buy (splitting the cost of course!), you could make a few fun nights out of one purchase. Even if you don’t have martini glasses or bar tools, you can still make your own martinis. So here’s a guide to mixing the perfect martini and a few recipes to try out this Wednesday “hump day” evening or the weekend!

First of all, you need a big glass to mix your martini in. It might be easier to make just one or two drinks at a time. That way everyone can make a different kind if they want. Fill your glass with ice. Now rinse the ice in your glass with water. Drain the water by putting your (clean) hand over the top of the glass. This basically just cleans off the ice and gets rid of loose small ice chips.

Pouring Flavouring

Now you add your flavour and your alcohol, depending on what type of martini you’re making. In the liquor store, or some grocery stores, you can buy flavour mixes—usually some type of flavoured syrup, like lemon, sweet and sour, lime or other fruit flavours. These mixes will have a recipe on the package, but you should experiment to decide what proportion of syrup-to-alcohol works best for you. Using a shot glass to measure is the easiest, since one shot is equal to one ounce. If you like things sweet, do at least three shots (or ounces) of syrup to one shot of alcohol (like vodka, gin, or whiskey). If you don’t want your drink to be sweet and don’t want to taste the alcohol, do two shots of syrup to one shot of alcohol. And lastly, do half and half if you like your drinks strong! Or even less syrup than alcohol.

Pouring Drink

Once you’ve added your syrup (or other flavouring, like juice or soda) and alcohol, use a small spoon to gently stir the liquid in the ice. Alternatively, you could use a chopstick or real stirring stick for this part. You’ve probably seen martinis being shaken with ice before, but that method leaves ice chips in the martini. If you stir gently enough, you should end up without ice chips in your drink.

Now, using your hand over the top of the glass, pour out the liquid into another glass. Fancy up your glass with a slice of lemon or lime on the rim, or drop in a couple of olives on a toothpick. Enjoy!

Recipes (all make one drink)

Classic Martini

  • 2 ½ ounces gin
  • 1/2 ounce dry vermouth (or less, depending on what you like, you could even just use a drop)
  • 1 or 2 green olives

If you’re using very little vermouth (which is actually flavoured wine), one option is to add your vermouth into the ice and stir it, then drain out the extra. Using the same ice, add your gin and stir. This very lightly flavours the gin with the vermouth. If you use more vermouth and leave it in with the gin, it will add more flavour to your martini. Also, if you want to make this a “dirty” martini, add in juice from your jar of olives.

Lemon Drop Vodka Martini

  • 1 ounce vodka
  • 2 ounces lemon syrup
  • Slice of lemon for garnish

These proportions will give you a drink that tastes just like a real lemon, but not quite as bitter. Change the proportions as necessary to make this drink taste more like vodka or more like lemonade!

Cosmopolitan

  • 1 ounce vodka
  • 1/2 ounce triple sec (orange flavoured liqueur)
  • 1/2 ounce lime juice (either fresh or store bought)
  • 1/2 ounce cranberry juice
  • Slice of lime or orange for garnish

Stir all of your ingredients in ice then pour into a martini glass. Garnish and enjoy!

Johnnie McArdle is a writer at an app promotion service and a coffee enthusiast.

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