The martini for the martini purists. Based on the ideal from Bernard DeVoto's lyrical and facetiously toned book on America's greatest gifts to the world (hint: whiskey and the martini), The Hour, this martini reminds us that:
"We are a pious people but a proud one too, aware of a noble lineage and a great inheritance. Let us candidly admit that there are shameful blemishes on the American past, of which by far the worst is rum. Nevertheless we have improved man's lot and enriched his civilization with rye, bourbon, and the martini cocktail, In all history has any other nation done so much? Not by two-thirds."
The DeVoto Martini from Claire Thomas on Vimeo.
To make the martini...
4 oz gin (I used Plymouth)
1 oz dry vermouth (I used Dolin Dry Vermouth)
1 lemon peel
"500 pounds of ice" (to quote DeVoto)
To make one cocktail, though if you want to make a batch, just multiply the recipe and mix in a pitcher, "fill the glass with ice, whirl it till dew forms on the glass, pour out the melt, put in another handful of ice. Then as swiftly as possible pour in the gin and vermouth, at once bring the mixture as close to the freezing point of alcohol as can be reached outside the laboratory, and pour out the martinis." To finish the cocktail with a little extra DeVoto flare, he recommends squeezing a bit of lemon peel over the glass and if you like, pop it in. Enjoy in a chilled glass immediately.
For more recipes like this one, check out Claire's blog, The Kitchy Kitchen.