Do you have a pet peeve regarding Martini Making?\u00a0 I do, several.<\/p>\n
Having now carefully observed many bartenders making my Martinis and, on occasion, taking notes I have come up with a few pet peeves on bartender’s Martini making processes.\u00a0 Now, I’m not going to claim that any of these little nits actually make a difference in the taste of the Martini, but they sure do affect the enjoyment of the Martini.<\/p>\n
My first, and by far the biggest, pet peeve is leaving my finished martini on the bar or prep station instead of giving it to me.\u00a0 I can see that the Martini is done and yet there it sits over by the bartender instead of in front of me.\u00a0 It’s getting warm and my tip is getting lower by the second.<\/p>\n
I don’t care if your boss has a question.\u00a0 Or the phone rings.\u00a0 Or the bar-back needs guidance.\u00a0 Or, god forbid, your spouse \/ GF\/BF calls.\u00a0 I’m the customer and my Martini should be delivered immediately upon completion.<\/p>\n
The second pet peeve is similar to the first but not as egregious.\u00a0 And that is the barkeep taking FOREVER to make the martini.\u00a0 First walking to one end of the bar to get a martini stem before putting it down on the prep station.\u00a0 Then looking around and getting\u00a0 some ice to put in the stem.\u00a0 Perhaps going to get some water to put on the ice in the stem.\u00a0 Then walking to the far end of the bar to get the gin and bringing to the prep station.\u00a0\u00a0 Looking around for a jigger before walking over to the tool chest and finding it.\u00a0 Finally mixing the Martini and then looking around for the garnish.\u00a0 Oh, right, there isn’t one, so then we start the process of looking for a lemon to make the twist…..<\/p>\n
Speaking of the garnish; pet peeve number three.\u00a0 Get the garnish ready FIRST.\u00a0 Put the olives on the toothpick or strip the twist off the lemon first.\u00a0 You’ve properly shaken the gin and vermouth and poured into the chilled stem.\u00a0 It’s all now perfectly mixed and nicely chilled.\u00a0 But if you start working on your garnish now the Martini is just warming up.<\/p>\n
Next Pet Peeve: Inadequately stirred Martinis.\u00a0 As you know I prefer my Martini shaken, but I don’t ask for it shaken.\u00a0 If the house policy is stirring, then I’m fine with that.\u00a0 BUT, stir it enough to properly chill the Martini.\u00a0 A quick 10 second stir is NOT enough.\u00a0 It needs a good 60 seconds of stirring.\u00a0 If you can’t take the time to properly prepare a stirred and chilled Martini then shake it.<\/p>\n
Rarest Pet Peeve:\u00a0 Not knowing how to make a Martini.\u00a0 Enough said!<\/p>\n
Final Pet Peeves.\u00a0 This is for all the other little “tip killing” annoyances:
\n\u2022Not knowing what Gins you stock.\u00a0 Really?\u00a0 There usually aren’t that many.\u00a0 Or are Gin drinkers really that rare?
\n\u2022Not knowing that you’re out of one of the Gins.\u00a0 I’ll cut you a little slack here if you’ve just come on duty.
\n\u2022Dirty stem.\u00a0 Didn’t you look at the stem when you picked it up?\u00a0 Didn’t you see the lipstick or left over chocolate on it?\u00a0 Or did you just not care?
\n\u2022Cracked stem.\u00a0 Again, didn’t you look at the stem when you picked it up?
\n\u2022Soapy stem.\u00a0 Hey, I’m really glad you washed the stem, but next time please rinse it completely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Do you have a pet peeve regarding Martini Making?\u00a0 I do, several. Having now carefully observed many bartenders making my Martinis and, on occasion, taking notes I have come up with a few pet peeves on bartender’s Martini making processes.\u00a0 … Continue reading