Favorite Martini Vodka
- Thread starter BigFoot
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Vesper!
Well, after my dissing vodka martinis, my wife and I seem to be drinking them lately. I am liking Ketel One. Seems very neutral in flavor. Dolan vermouth, although I have not made a study of vermouths. I am also wavering on what to garnish the drink with. For gin martinis recently I have been going the Gibson route with cocktail onions. But I think I like olives better for vodka martinis. A lemon twist seems a little too austere. Although, it seems to me that a vodka martini has charms similar to a vodka and soda, and part of the idea is to have a very pure and neutral drink.
I just Googled vodka Gibson and Martha Stewart's recipe came up. 4 oz of vodka and 1 oz of vermouth, for one Gibson. That seems like a lot of drink! Seems to me also that a martini should be drunk quickly while it remains very cold. I would think better to cut that recipe in half and have two rounds!
I just Googled vodka Gibson and Martha Stewart's recipe came up. 4 oz of vodka and 1 oz of vermouth, for one Gibson. That seems like a lot of drink! Seems to me also that a martini should be drunk quickly while it remains very cold. I would think better to cut that recipe in half and have two rounds!
Belvedere has been my go to for years, but finding myself gravitating towards Born and Bred a lot lately.
I'm going to bump this one as it seems to be one of the few threads I have not contributed to. Anyway, my favorite vodka for a martini is Ketel One. I find it to be the smoothest vodka of all that I've tried, and I've tried a lot. It's probably the only one I can drink straight on the rocks with out anything else. But for martinis I pair it with gin. My favorite martini is a Vesper. 1 part vodka, 3 parts gin, 1/2 part Lillet and a lemon twist. Shaken, not stirred. And the gin I pair the Ketel One with is Bombay Sapphire. Those two go so well together. It's my summer drink and I can only handle two before you have to scrape me off the floor. So delicious in the summer. Just call me Bond. James Bond.
I enjoy Ketel One, Titos, and others. but Chopin is the best vodka I've ever tasted.
I'm going to have to give Chopin another taste. Hearing from you and reading some reviews it seems to illicit some rave reviews.
Ketel one is what is always in the house but if you can find it ... Loft and Bear is beyond anything I’ve ever tasted. Artisanal small batch (for real) vodka made in Los Angeles
This one. Bought in Chelyabinsk...I usually skip the vermouth altogether.
I think you'll love it (except for the paying for it part.)
Whatevers cheapest that's been distilled 7 times.
Another vote for Ketel One here! 
Or if I feel like gin, Plymouth is a very nice drop
Or if I feel like gin, Plymouth is a very nice drop
I've traditionally used Tito's (see my earlier post) but have been using Ketel One more recently.
BTW, one of the best restaurants in Fort Worth (with a second location in Alpine, TX), Reata, makes a fantastic martini that I recreate at home called the Kosher Ketel. It's a dirty martini made with Ketel One and Claussen pickle juice rather than olive juice, and it's INCREDIBLE. I've tried it with other pickle brine, and it doesn't work. With Claussen, it's perfect. Give it a try!
BTW, one of the best restaurants in Fort Worth (with a second location in Alpine, TX), Reata, makes a fantastic martini that I recreate at home called the Kosher Ketel. It's a dirty martini made with Ketel One and Claussen pickle juice rather than olive juice, and it's INCREDIBLE. I've tried it with other pickle brine, and it doesn't work. With Claussen, it's perfect. Give it a try!
I've had something similar with cornichon brine (and garnished with cornichons). It was VERY good! I don't recall the vodka.
I'm just spitballing, but I expect that Claussen brine is the one that works because it's not an indefinitely shelf stable product, so the brine is crisper and doesn't have that "cooked" or "chemical" flavor or flatness to it.
Guess I'm just not pretentious enough to go tossing around spendy brand names, but Tito's is just fine.
When I feel the need to remind myself the horrible thing Ian Flemming did to the Martini, I use Iceberg Vodka fom Newfoundland or Snow Fox made here in Moncton.
Russian Standard or Stoli. If it ain’t from the former Soviet Union or Poland it’s got no business being in my glass.
Tanqueray
I’m in the camp that a martini = gin, but if I had to make one with Vodka I would choose Chopin as well.
