Ben has no problem with the other end of the spectrum? Those who insist vermouth be virtually absent? Yeah, I watched M*A*S*H* too. Those wacky sawboneses sure liked their bathtub soju unadulterated. Not a Martini, though. It's called cold booze.

shakydalmatian wrote:Ben has no problem with the other end of the spectrum? Those who insist vermouth be virtually absent? Yeah, I watched M*A*S*H* too. Those wacky sawboneses sure liked their bathtub soju unadulterated. Not a Martini, though. It's called cold booze.

Heh, when I was a waiter I had someone send back a martini four times because he said there was too much vermouth. In the end I just gave him a glass of glass of gin with an olive in it and he said it was perfect.

HOLY CRAP! The is that 'martini' from Honolulu's chinatown? Cause i know those candle holders!

If not, then I guess all the bar/cafe things are decorated the same.

shakydalmatian wrote:Ben has no problem with the other end of the spectrum? Those who insist vermouth be virtually absent? Yeah, I watched M*A*S*H* too. Those wacky sawboneses sure liked their bathtub soju unadulterated. Not a Martini, though. It's called cold booze.

Well, in defense of not having vermouth in it, Churchill thought the perfect amount was when you looked at the bottle of vermouth while pouring the gin in the glass. And I kinda have to agree. You get more than a few drops in there, and it stops being tasty.

I typically follow the Alton Brown method: Pour a little vermouth in the mixer with the ice, and stir/shake it a couple times, and pour it out. Whatever sticks to the ice is enough.

Heh, the part about socks/Full House/peanut oil made me LOL. Whine on, you crazy beetle!

Word up, Ben!
I had a similar rant over what some silly girl was calling a "raspberry mojito".
Ok, you want to add some raspberry flavoring to your lime, mint and rum, fine that's one thing.
But this chick was using raspberry flavored VODKA! And calling it a MOJITO!
"Mojito" is a spanish name for a drink made from a hispanic liquor - RUM!
It's allegedly the national drink of Cuba for crying out loud!
If you make it from vodka, you need to start calling it a Moskvito or something!
(ok, there could be a case made for Cuba, communism and vodka, but that's reaching)
In any case, the actual drink bore not even the slightest resemblance to a Mojito.
Mojitos are trendy, so silly girl wanted to call her drink a Mojito.
In the end, she responded to my rant with "Whatever".
I threw my hands up and responded the same, except with an exclamation point.

The challenge with Vermouth, and the main reason it gets a bad rep, is that it spoils over time. Remember that it's wine, and will oxidize out of existence if opened and then left kicking around on a warm shelf for many weeks (or worse). A gin martini with decent quality, fresh Vermouth is a pretty nice drink.

And another thing: Why do you call it a "martini" if you're only having one? After all, it should be the plural of "martinus", if you follow proper entymology.

So, if someone asks you for "a martini", I say you should demand that they get more than one.

Believe me, they'll thank you later.

My name is Ben.. and I agree with this message!

ScottIL wrote:...if you follow proper entymology...

This really "bugs" me. Which brings us back to Ben. Aaaaand we've gone full circle.

Ben is my hero.

Ben is totally correct! And, with respect to W. Churchill and the M*A*S*H cast, for the proper amount of vermouth, you simply whisper the word 'vermouth' over the glass after you've poured the gin. For an even dryer Martini, throw a bar towel over the vermouth bottle, so the gin can't see it.
Now. How about gettin' down on Margaritis! A Margarita is Tequila and Lime juice, with a little Triple sec! There is no such thing as a Strawberry margarita!!! If it ain't Lime, it ain't a Margarita!
And don't even get me started on Daquiris!

This video was certainly better than the stupid stupid dog video.

I like a Cosmopolitan, and I like it served in a Martini glass, but it is NOT a pomegranate vodka martini.

And a Brandy Alexander is served in a Martini glass but it is not a chocolate martini, it is a Brandy Alexander.

I agree with the bug, misapplying the term martini has gotten way out of hand.

what an awesome birthday present, thanks Ben!

I found this completely on accident:

Go to captions and select Transcribe Audio.

Ben now speaks very bad Engrish.

ScottIL wrote:...if you follow proper entymology...

I found it funny that if you Google "entymology", before it gives you the results it asks "Did you mean: etymology".

Does anyone know who the inspiration for this character is?

I imagine a middle aged balding curmudgeon that works at woot!

ottob wrote:Does anyone know who the inspiration for this character is?

I imagine a middle aged balding curmudgeon that works at woot!

I don't think there is anyone at Woot that is middle aged.

Thank you Ben, you are preaching to the choir.

I'll take mine (Broker's) extremely dry with a twist!

izzyizzo wrote:The challenge with Vermouth, and the main reason it gets a bad rep, is that it spoils over time. Remember that it's wine, and will oxidize out of existence if opened and then left kicking around on a warm shelf for many weeks (or worse). A gin martini with decent quality, fresh Vermouth is a pretty nice drink.

I didn't know that Vermouth could spoil. Thanks, izzyizzo.

girlgeek54 wrote:I didn't know that Vermouth could spoil. Thanks, izzyizzo.

That is good to know, but then, I tend to subscribe to the Churchill school of martinis (in which you simply glance at the bottle from across the room while sipping your drink).

Amen Ben.

OK, OK, insect. But can you still put a little umbrella in it?

inkycatz wrote:That is good to know, but then, I tend to subscribe to the Churchill school of martinis (in which you simply glance at the bottle from across the room while sipping your drink).

An alternate take I'd heard was to just glance at France.