FRIDAY the 13th MARTINI - A little Black Licorice Cocktail

It's FRIDAY THE 13TH! OMG! Stay inside, lock your doors, stay away from ladders, black cats, gigolos and really bitchy women and mix yourself a pitcher of these great Licorice Flavored
FRIDAY THE 13TH MARTINIS!

Let me know if you survive the day.

Please Drink Responsibly

MARTINI FUN DAY - Quotes, Stories, Facts & Gifts

MARTINI FUN DAY!

MARTINI QUOTES
Why don't you get out of that wet coat and into a dry martini? ~ Robert Benchley

The three-martini lunch is the epitome of American efficiency. Where else can you get an earful, a bellyful and a snootful at the same time? ~ Gerald R. Ford (38th US President)

One martini is alright, two is too many, three is not enough. ~ James Thurber

Happiness is finding two olives in your martini when you're hungry. ~ Johnny Carson

A MOST EXPENSIVE MARTINI
You can actually enjoy a $10,000 Martini at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City - the garnish? A beautiful, REAL radiant cut Diamond!

ARE THERE BUGS IN YOUR OLIVE?
In the book "The Bug in the Martini Olive" by Patricia Holt there is a novel idea of creative spydom when the olive in a martini is really a covert listening device - check out Chapter Three "The Bug in the Martini Olive" excerpt.

JAMES BOND - SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED - VESPER or MARTINI?
The famous James Bond phrase "shaken, not stirred" was not a reference to a classic gin martini (which is not shaken as that bruises the gin) it was most likely used for a vodka martini. Bond drank both versions throughout the book and movie series, but the first drink he ordered "shaken" was actually a cocktail that is now called a Vesper:

"Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?" ~ James Bond in Casino Royale, 1953.

So, James Bond, is not a heathen and defiler of the classic Gin Martini, he is simply a man of eclectic martini tastes! The name Vesper, by the way comes from a female agent in the same movie:

"When I'm ... er ... concentrating.' he explained, 'I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I can think of a good name."~ James Bond in Casino Royale, 1953.

PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY & DRIVE RESPONSIBLY!

COCKTAIL & MARTINI ART & GIFTS from The Martini Diva

Click the image below to visit my online Cocktail Art Gift Boutique.

GARLIC MARTINI & GARLIC INFUSED VODKA RECIPES

I have been wanting to create my own recipe for a Garlic Martini for a while. I wanted to start with garlic flavored vodka and decided to make my own so I could control the level of garlic flavor. I wanted something mild and smooth with just a hint of garlic (instead of something that could kill a vampire.)

Both recipes are below.

The

GARLIC MARTINI

INGREDIENTS 

2 Oz. Garlic Infused Vodka

(Recipe below)

1 Tsp. Dry Vermouth

1 Tsp. Garlic Stuffed Olive Brine

Garnish: Garlic stuffed olives, sprig of rosemary; Salt, garlic powder and dried rosemary rim

Tools: Cocktail shaker

Glass: Cocktail (Martini)

DIRECTIONS

To rim glass: Mix a tablespoon of sea salt with a pinch of garlic powder and a pinch of dried rosemary. Dip the rim in some olive brine then into the seasoned salt mixture.

Chill rimmed glass in freezer.

Shake ingredients in an ice filled cocktail shaker.

Strain into the chilled glass, garnish with three garlic stuffed olives and a fresh sprig of rosemary.

Little tip: No matter what, don't leave out the garlic stuffed olives. If you love garlic they're a treat you don't want to miss.

HOMEMADE GARLIC VODKA
Take an entire bulb of fresh garlic, peel and  gently crush each clove to release their flavor. Drop the crushed garlic directly into a 750ml bottle of decent vodka then recap the bottle. Allow this to sit in a dark, cool location for a minimum of two days. Shake the bottle every day. Remember, the more garlic you use and the longer you allow it to infuse the stronger the garlic flavor will become. (I only let mine sit for the two days as I wanted a more subtle flavor.) Test it every day or so to reach the flavor intensity you desire. When the vodka has reached the flavor level you like, strain it through several layers of cheesecloth to remove the solids. Letting this sit for a week up to a month will allow the Vodka flavor to intensify a bit as well as mellow.
Updated 4-2018 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN FLAVORED VODKAS

Updated November 2015  

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN
FLAVORED VODKAS

You can infuse a variety of flavors into vodka - fresh and dried fruits, vegetables and berries, herbs and spices, vanilla beans, coffee or espresso beans, peppers and even garlic cloves can all be used to give your vodka a new flavor profile. There are even rose, bacon and candy flavored vodkas out there!

The key to creating the best home-made flavored vodka is quality. Fresh ingredients, the highest quality dried ingredients or spices/herbs, and a good quality vodka. You don't have to buy the most expensive designer vodkas, a medium quality vodka will do - but don't get cheapo and buy the discount brands. Don't used canned or frozen fruits or vegetables either.

If you're using fruits you will want to slice them (berries remain whole) to allow more of the fruit flavor to infuse into the vodka. Remove any seeds or pits or rinds. 

The same concept applies to peppercorns and herbs, garlic, coffee beans, or whatever flavor profile you're going for. Smashing these up a bit releases the oils which are where most of the taste resides.

Be sure to wash your fruits, remove stems from herbs and any leaves from berries or peppers before you place them in the vodka. I often put my flavorings into cheesecloth bags. Since I like to use the original vodka bottle for my container (for gifts I get some fun decorative bottles) - I make these bags small enough to fit into the bottle opening. In the case of larger elements like fruit slices I forgo the cheesecloth bags but when my vodka has reached the flavor peak I'm going for I will pour it through a fine strainer and/or cheesecloth or even a coffee filter to remove any solids then pour it back into the bottle.

When infusing with herbs, most can simply be gently placed in the vodka and their flavor will infuse over time. If you want to speed up the process, you can chop or lightly mash the herbs, but be gentle, you don't want to release bitterness of the herbs.

The main thing to remember is the more of the flavoring element you use and the longer you let it infuse in the vodka, the stronger the flavor will be. I generally start checking the taste after 2 days and 2 weeks is the usually longest I let them distill though for certain items, like vanilla beans, I've let them work longer. Just be careful not to let certain flavorings (coffee, some herbs, etcetera) start bringing bitterness to the party. This is where daily taste tests help.

Once you have added your flavor enhancers, seal the bottle up and leave the container in a dark, cool place. Shake it once a day, if possible. When your vodka has reached the flavor level you want you will want to strain it (even if you did use cheesecloth bags) to remove all the solids. You can then pour it back into the container you want to store it in. After you strain the vodka you can let it age for a few more weeks, this sometimes allows the flavors to continue to enhance the vodka, many flavors get richer and more mellow in the second aging.

If you're using dried fruits you can use the actual fruits separately for other purposes, like topping ice cream, pound cakes or as a sauce for savory or sweet dishes. I make Drunken Cherries a lot - I love eating the cherries straight out of the bottle - and I get the cherry flavored vodka at the same time. The one thing I will tell you - I prefer the dried fruits after only a day or two of infusion. If left longer they get overwhelmed by the alcohol flavor of the vodka and aren't as pleasant to eat - but the vodka gets a deeper flavoring.

Here's my recipe for bacon flavored vodka - no, I'm not kidding and I'm going to try this one myself! Wow, pig and booze - how can you beat that combo? Be still my heart has a whole new meaning now.

You can use candies as well as fruits, nuts, vegetables, Skittles and Jolly Rancher infused vodka was a big thing some years ago. Not my cup of tea (and speaking of tea - it makes delightfully subtle flavored vodka), but they are easy, all you do is drop the candy into the vodka, shake every so often and wait until the candy pretty much dissolves.

Experiment and have some fun. Think of flavor profiles you like when you eat or cook. Because vodka is (or was traditionally) a potato based alcohol it does not carry a strong flavor of it's own which makes it ideal for flavor infusing. Other liquors have been flavored too, such as rums, brandies, whiskeys and wines but you will have to watch that the flavoring element does not clash with their unique tastes.

Can you infuse other liquors? You betcha! Check out my yummy Toasted Walnut Maple Bourbon. You just have to be more discriminating in your flavoring elements because most liquors other than vodka bring a lot of their own flavor to the party.

Use your flavored vodkas as gifts or just hoard them to drink yourself - either way you will have discovered a whole new world of cocktail creation and your Happy Hour will have some extra happy in it!

PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

CHERRY KISS MARTINI - Cherry Vodka, Kircsh Art

Just for fun I decided to do a little pencil sketch of my latest martini recipe. The Cherry Kiss Martini is a direct result of finding a bottle of Kirsch in my cupboard, a bottle I never think of unless I'm planning on doing a classic fondue which calls for Kirsch!

Kirsch is a German liqueur originally called Kirschwasser which means "cherry water" in German. Kirsch is traditionally made by double distilling Morello cherries and has the deep, tart flavor of those dark cherries. I thought it would make a really interesting martini when paired with my favorite cherry vodka from Three Olives. I also added a splash of soda - I like to cut the pure alcohol and thin the syrupy consistency, also the soda also adds a little effervescence. If you prefer you can leave the soda out.

The White Russian - NOT A MARTINI? OMG!

Yes, occasionally The Martini Diva does drink something other than a martini! I like a nice cold beer in the summer (preferably a Bohemia), I enjoy a nice margarita (especially fruit flavored ones), and I love champagne (Dom is my fav) though it usually bites me in the butt the next morning because I like it too much!

But I see no reason why many of these can't be enjoyed in a martini glass. Not all, just some - a beer for me is best enjoyed right out of the icy cold bottle and champagne should only be drunk in a crystal champagne flute. I confess, I'm kind of a glass snob, okay?

So with that being said I thought that occasionally I would share some of my favorite cocktail recipes with you - Martini Diva style of course - designed specifically to serve in a martini glass.

Today it's a White Russian. I favored these during my trips to Las Vegas because the caffeine kept me awake and they tasted like coffee milkshakes.

The basic recipe for the White Russian consists of equal parts of all three ingredients, a ratio of 1:1:1 or, in other words, one ounce each of the Kahlua, Vodka and Cream. That's it - pure and simple. You can either shake these up with some ice in a martini shaker and serve "up" in your martini glass or be classic and pour over ice in an old fashioned glass. You know me, mine will go in a martini glass and I'll shave some nice dark chocolate on top as a garnish.

Though some people use Tia Maria instead of the Kahlua, I prefer the Kahlua as it has a much more intense chocolate coffee flavor and the liqueur is thicker which helps if milk is used instead of cream as it often was when casinos served free drinks, lol.

There is also a version of the drink without the cream called a Black Russian and a Tall Black Russian which is the Black Russian in a taller glass then topped off with cola. Both the White and Black Russians are official drinks of the International Bartenders Association.

A little trivia for those of you who happen to enjoy this drink:

• White Russians are the favored beverage of The Dude in The Big Lebowski, where he sometimes refers to the drink as a Caucasian
• There was an anti-Bolshevik group from the Russian Civil War known as The White Russians
• There is also a genus of the cannabis plant called a White Russian - who knew?

Now head on over to my art blog - LIFE IS LIKE ART - and take a gander at what I've been up to with my crayons and paper!

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If you have a Martini question, please feel free to ask me in a comment and I'll respond back here in the comments section or in a new post!
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY & DRIVE RESPONSIBLY!

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