Shake It Up

By The Editors
May 23, 2014 9:00 am

A few words re: martinis.

A man’s drink. A sexy drink. A confident drink.

There’s no right way to order one. But every dude worth his lady should know the permutations.

Traditional: gin + vermouth + olive or twist.

Non-traditional: vodka + vermouth + olive or twist.

Don’t quibble the gin vs. vodka point in public. Gentlemen will disagree, and they both taste sublime.

Re: shaken vs. stirred. Know that a shaken martini is more effervescent. Lighter on the tongue. It’s a happy drink.

A stirred martini, however, is sexual.

“It’s what you drink on a date,” says Claire Smith, the mixologist at Belvedere.

Claire, when not dispensing date advice, was kind enough to reveal her favorite trick for making martinis at home.

“You don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen mixing them,” she says.

Her trick: make 14 at once by pouring vermouth and water into a vodka bottle, shaking, then placing the bottle in the freezer a few hours before the party.

No, the martinis won’t come out frozen. Watch Claire explain right here.

We guarantee it’ll make your next party much, much easier.

Nota bene: Need another drink? Claire was also kind enough to share seven of her favorite martini recipes with us when we met her in Cannes.

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