#martini

#martini

Jack thinks (and he's convinced me too) that a martini is a cocktail that's actually best made at home. You only need 2 ingredients-gin and dry vermouth-and you have complete control over the ratios. We both like ours dry, which is how I've written the recipe below, but I've also included notes on adapting it to make a wet martini. Try it a few times, and you'll quickly find a balance you love.

'Shaking tends to be a more energy-intensive process and also creates small shards of ice that melt quickly. This creates more dilution, assuming shake and stir times are equal.'

Can you think of anything besides a martini that you'd ever want "filthy"? A filthy cabernet. A cheeseburger most foul. Gross milk. This does not work with really any other item than the martini, and if you've read a bar menu in the past five years, you'd think dirt is the only thing people want. The classic dirty martini-traditionally made with a splash of olive brine-seems almost quaint now, as iterations with olive oil, MSG, olive and tomato vermouths, and other savory ingredients have proliferated.

These days, any cocktail served in a traditional martini glass is called a martini. But are they really martinis? Purists will argue that a perfect martini consists only of vodka or gin and dry vermouth, garnished perhaps with a twist of lime or lemon, or an olive, and if you like it dirty, a bit of olive or pickle brine. There's a rumor that claims adding apricot brandy will enhance a standard martini recipe, but wouldn't that make the cocktail too sweet, changing the savory nature of the classic recipe?

The weekend kicks off with the "Ultimate Martini Dinner"-a multi-course dinner at Brooklyn's most exciting new restaurant, Confidant. Enjoy some light canapes, starting with steak tartare crackers and seasonal vegetable tarts alongside welcome aperitifs. Later, you can indulge in a four-course family-style dinner, with options like dry-aged steak, crown of Duck or Caraflex cabbage, plus banana cream pie for dessert. A different Ford Gin martini will accompany each course and the brand's founder, Simon Ford, will also be co-hosting the dinner.

"I think it's the tang you get from a high-quality vinegar that is lacking in most store-ready onions," says Meaghan Dorman.