San Jose Martini

Ingredients:

• 3 oz Gin
• 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
• Teaspoon Menjure de Ancho Reyes (Ancho Chile Liqueur)
• Olive

Take a classic American martini and add a dash of ancho chile liqueur from the Pueblo de Zaragoza en Mexico and you have a drink that is quintessentially San Jose, California.

San Jose, my adopted home town, was home to Costanoan Indians when Spaniards arrived in 1776. It was part of the Mexican state of California until 1846 when settlers revolted and declared California an independent republic. Then the territory was annexed by the United States and became a U.S. state in 1850. San Jose is proud of all these heritages. They are reflected in our language(s), food, architecture and more.

The use of chiles for flavor came from Native Americans in Mexico (likely dating to before the Mayans and Aztecs.) And today my neighbors and I use salsa and chile sauces like the rest of the USA uses salt or ketchup.

Ancho Reyes does provide a kick but it isn't super hot. Instead it gives the San Jose Martini a warm, smoky aroma and roasted chile flavor.

Dry Martini

How have I gotten this far without giving you a classic, dry martini? For those of us who like gin, I mean really like gin, then this is the ticket. But you have to follow the instructions carefully to achieve the perfect cocktail!

Ingredients:

• 3 oz Gin (Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, Gordons, Beefeater and even others could work)
• Dry Vermouth (ONLY Noilly Prat or Dolin will do)
• Optional: Twist of lemon
• Optional: Olive

If your vermouth has been refrigerated, take it out of the refrigerator and allow it to warm to room temperature.

Prepare ice. I recommend 5 small cubes, approx 1 inch (2.54 cm) per side. If your cubes are too big, cut them to size with a jeweler's saw or laser cutter. Gently lower the cubes into a shaker being careful not to damage them.

Pour the gin into the shaker. Pause for 15-20 seconds to allow the gin to settle. This prevents "bruising" that many fear when it is shaken.

While the gin rests, open the vermouth and allow it to breath briefly.

Pass the vermouth within 2-3 feet (60 to 90 centimeters) of the shaker. Ensure the cap is still off the vermouth. If more vermouth is desired this can be repeated up to 3 times but be careful not to move too fast or cause splashing.

Shake for at least 30 - 45 seconds. After shaking, you may allow the martini to again rest but for no more than 15 seconds to prevent the ice from watering down the drink.

Pour your martini into a tall cocktail glass. If you like you may garnish with either lemon twist or olive.

Enjoy!

(Note: if you find you have allowed too much vermouth vapor to penetrate the martini, simply pour it out and try again. This time hold the vermouth farther away from the shaker. If the taste of vermouth is still too powerful, try waiving the vermouth over the shaker with the cap still on the bottle.)

The Bloody Carrie (Raspberry Martini)

"Bloody Carrie" Martini raspberry martini.

Tonight's experiment: we give you the "Bloody Carrie" (thanks to Heidi Randall for the name):

• 3 oz Gin (Tanqueray)
• 1 oz Raspberry Syrup
• Twist of lemon
• Shake over ice then pour

I hate to admit this but tonight's recipe was the result of cleaning out my refrigerator. A bottle of Cascade Conserves brand Willamette Red Raspberry Syrup has sat untouched for probably 10 years. The syrup is supposed to be great for pancakes and on top of vanilla ice cream. Sadly, those are not things that I have at home very often. So it was headed for the trash. But I looked for an expiration date on the bottle and there was none. The seal had never been broken. I figured gin should kill any bugs if there were any!

Despite these dubious beginnings, I think it created an incredible drink. Temperatures in San Jose were in the 90's (33+C). The day beckoned for something cool, crisp and refreshing.

Our mixer--Cascade Conserves Willamette Red Raspberry Syrup.

Select an appropriate cocktail glass - Seneca leaded crystal in this case.

We're pouring Tanqueray tonight.

About this much gin.

The raspberry gave a nice red hue as it was poured. 

Add syrup until the color and taste seem right.

Pour the contents of the glass into a shaker with ice and shake.

When the sides of the shaker are nice and cold, pour the contents back into the glass.

Bloody Carrie Martini with gin & raspberry syrup.

I ended up adding some more syrup to the mix, increasing my original dose from about 1/2 ounce to a full ounce or maybe even a bit more. This particular syrup is a natural raspberry puree with very little added sugar (75% fruit.) So at 1/2 ounce there was just a hint of flavor and not much sweetness. At a full ounce I could taste the fruit and the drink remained crisp and refreshing. The color went from a something that looked like pink grapefruit at 1/2 ounce of syrup to something that looked like a blood orange at a little over an ounce of syrup.
 

Bloody Carrie Martini

Balsamic Martini, Take 2

Tonight was redemption for the awful attempt of this martini last week.

Balsamic Martini:

• 3 oz of Gin (I used Tanqueray)
• 1/4 - 1/2 oz 3 Dry Vermouth (I used Gallo for very mild flavor)
• 2-3 drops fine Balsamic Vinegar (I used Bellindora Balsamic Fig)
• Twist of Lemon
• 2-3 Castelvetrano Olives

The balsamic vinegar gives a subtle, kind of savory and still sweet undertone to the gin and vermouth. It pairs well with the olives. I put some Castelvetrano olives in this time. They are not a perfect martini olive in most cases--small, a bit soft and the flavor is very mild and more sweet than other olives. But they match perfectly with this drink.