For this week's cocktail, I chose the Martinez. I've been coming across references to this drink fairly frequently. Often other drinks are considered to be twists on the Martinez. Even the classic Martini is considered by many to be a descendant of the Martinez. In some ways, this is pretty surprising, since the Martini is a simpler cocktail than the Martinez. On the other hand, there is a recorded recipe for the Martinez from as early as 1887.
I found this video on Epicurious of the drink being mixed:
Thanks to the technique shown on this video, I finally was able to make a decent twist, which I am quite proud of.
There are a number of thoughts about the recipie for the Martinez, many of which can be found here. Mainly, the differences are in the heaviness of the vermouth. Ultimately, I chose to try the original gin to vermouth ratio, rather than a more modern version that would have been lighter on the vermouth. Also, after seeing recipes with orange bitters and others with Angostura, or even other brands, I chose a dash of each orange and Angostura, rather than two dashes of one type of bitters.
Martinez
1 oz Gin
2 oz Sweet Vermouth
1 tsp (scant) Maraschino Liqueur
1 ds Orange Bitters
1 ds Angostura Bitters
1 lemon twist (garnish)
Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
The verdict: Interestingly, this is the first drink with Maraschino where I didn't find the Maraschino to be the dominant note. For me, the vermouth and the gin come first, and the other flavors are behind that, discernable but nicely balanced. Scott thought it was "a perfect combination of the gin and maraschino, and the vermouth was not overpowering." He even said that before I let him know that I picked the most vermouth-heavy of the recipes, so that's a good sign. I think this is a nice fall drink.
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