The first, the last, the only TRUE cocktail! I will be toasting the millenium with this silver bullet to be sure!

Did you know the last shot of the day on film sets is called "The Martini Shot"?

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    The Martini is an American icon. The brain synapses come together and form an image of Bond, James Bond and his classic "shaken not stirred" preferred method of mixing. Austin Power's is the 90's version with his "oh behave" way of making the 60's "shagadelic" martini cool again! In Dallas, Texas this week, once what was known as the Coca-Cola Starplex, has now been renamed "The Smirnoff Music Center". Now Smirnoff is only known for one thing and I for one hope that martini's will soon be served at all future venues, even though I do live in the bible belt.
      The Martini, done right, is cool and clean and hits the spot. Tried and true martini lovers consider a vodka martini a bastardization of the classic martini which is made of gin and vermouth. Gin is distilled with juniper berries and is mixed with a white dry vermouth. When creating gin martini's one must never opt for cheap gins since they can resemble paint thinner because of low cost production. Try Bombay, Bombay Sapphire or Beefeater's.
The vodka martini is my favorite, made from your preferred vodka. Some say choice in vodka's is nil but I disagree. Stoli is the best to make the really cool martini's all the rage now.  My particular favorite is Stoli Vanil( a vanilla flavored vodka, which is made my soaking  vanilla beans in vodka and letting the alcohol extract the vanilla), infusing the vodka with a wonderfully sweet vanilla taste.Stoli makes many different flavored vodka's including coffee, strawberry, peach, orange and pepper. You can make your own pepper vodka at home. Try adding hot pepper and vanilla beans to plain vodka and soak for at least a week, the longer you soak the more flavor will be extracted. Taste to desired pepperiness. The quintessential garnish for a martini is the olive. Chocolate kisses, orange rind, jalapeno peppers and even gumdrops  garnish martini's beautifully now.
      Your martini setup should include a stainless steel shaker that preferably has the strainer built in the cap. When shaken with ice in this steel shaker, your martini is poured with a thin, icy film on the top.Exquisite! A martini glass is a must for the drink! Built with a wide mouth and a long graceful stem, this glass suits it's drink perfectly allowing fingers to never touch the glass portion holding the liquid and thereby warming it. You can find inexpensive glasses at HomePlace, Crate&Barrel and even Target. These are the basics, but martini mixology can get pretty involved with vermouth misters,strainers, tongs, ice buckets, etc. The essential part of mighty martini mixing comes from the ice source! make sure you only use distilled water or spring water as your ice source. Many localities have particular minerals in the water, adding a possibly unwanted flavor to the drink. Only use the best!
     I happen to own an antique art deco bar which is my martini hub. I am able to display my collection of antique shakers as well as the many martini glasses I have recieved in the last 2 years. When I first became interested in martini's I was going to have a martini party only I didn't own any martini glasses. I designed a party theme that had everybody bringing their own glasses that they would use and then leave with me, the hostess. Needless to say, I have quite an assortment of glasses now and have recieved many sets as gifts. I think it's time for another party!
     As per my preferance of vodka,not gin, martini's the following recipes will show you the great combinations of ingrediants that make some outstanding martini's! Shake it up and enjoy!

mixologys

martini.com

Stolichnaya

Absolut

Smirnoff

Ketel One

Cocktails

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Reese's Peanut Butter Martini
1/2 oz Absolut Vodka
3/4 oz. Godiva Chocolate Liqour
a cup of peanut butter
a cup of vanilla ice cream
Blend in blender, pour into chilled, shaved chocolate rimmed martini glass!
Barbed Wire
6 parts vodka+1tsp. sweet vermouth+1/2tsp. of Pernod+1/2tsp. of Chambord,garnish with lemon twist
Apple Pie Martini
6parts vanilla vodka 1 part Calvados
garnish with apple slice

Chocolate Martini! (my favorite!
2oz. Vanilla Stoli
2oz. Godiva Chocolate Liqour
Add into a martini shaker with about a cup of ice and SHAKE IT BABY!!!!!
Pour into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a Hershey's Chocolate kiss...mmmm....Beautiful!
Mama's Martini (not my momma tho)
6 parts vanilla vodka+1 part apricot brandy+ 3dashes of bitters and 3 dashes of lemon juice.
IIn and Out Martini(refers to mix method)
7parts vodka, dry vermouth 2 blue-cheese stuffed olives.Swish vermouth in glass and discard. Shave vodka in shaker with ice,pour into glass, add olives

Orange Crush
2oz.Orange Stoli
2oz.Vanilla Stoli
pour into martini shaker and add ice and 3tblsp. orange juice
Shake, shake,shake...shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing...haha..oops...got carried away, sampling does that!!
Old Country Martini
6 parts vodka + 2 parts Medeira wine +2parts cherry brandy,garnish with orange twist
Nutty Martini
6parts vodka+1 part Frangelico,lemon twist garnish

saketini
6 parts gin added to 1 part sake, Shake and strain into chilled glass with a lemon twist wrapped in giner for garnish.
Red Dog Martini
6 parts vodka added to 1 part ruby port with 2 teaspoons lime and 1 teaspoon grenadine, serve with lime twist
Peach Blossom
6 parts peach vodka +1 part Dubonnet rouge and 1 part maraschino liquor, garnish with peach slice