Eric Felten delves into the precursor of the ubiquitous martini, the Martinez. Apparently it required something called Old Tom gin, a sweetened variety of the distillation of the Juniper berry.
It’s interesting that one of the sources Felten cites on the Martinez dismisses it as “little more than a molten gumdrop”, inasmuch as most of the overpriced drinks passing themselves off as martinis these days are gag-inducingly sweet.
Evidently Old Tom disappeared from the market but Hayman Distillers has resumed making it & it’s now available in the US. Felten has found a Martinez mecca in a new bar in DC, the Gibson, where bartender-in-chief Derek Brown stirs the concoction 50 times before pouring.
If you can’t make it to DC, you may be able to find the ingredients if you persevere. Alcolog did a taste comparison last month of a variety of gins & rated the Old Tom high. I know I’m not going to find it in the paltry inventory of the Washington state liquor stores—but good luck.
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