That sounds right to me, also. Recently, I added a couple martini shaped glasses to my collection, as I just had coupes. I went on Amazon, and after wading through tons of 8 to 12 oz glasses, I found a pair of 4 1/2 oz Riedels. They were a little more than I wanted to pay, but when I got them, they felt exactly right.

I like the question, partly since “ideal” seems to be a moving target for me. My martinis (and most other cocktails) have gotten smaller as I’ve aged (and I’ve done plenty of that). These days I make martinis with 2–3 ounces of gin and a half to one ounce of vermouth, ending up with 3–3½ ounces of ingredients; the added water from chilling puts them at perhaps 4 ounces. I have lots of smallish, antique glassware, so that encourages me to go with even smaller pours, maybe in the 2–3 ounce range.

It’s a good question, and important, thanks.

Yes, I have tried Boodles, and it stood in as my house gin for a while, but in the end, it started to seem a bit too sweet. I should try it again to see if I still feel the same. Thanks for the reminder.

Thanks, Carl, and thanks for the thoughtful observations.

Although perhaps not about the origin of it, I think I have some suggestions for shedding a light on the rationale for the Martini on the Rocks. A Martini aficionado, I travel a lot in more hostile parts of this world, and under such circumstances it is not uncommon to find yourself short of cocktail glasses as well as shakers. So although I agree that the Martini Cocktail is clearly heretic, if the alternative is no Martini at all, the choice is simple. I should add that when it is very hot, 85 and above, drinks warm very fast, and then the ice comes in handy. As for the olives, I was introduced to anchovies stuffed olives some 40 years ago and never looked back. I always carry a few cans with me. The brine also makes great FDR Martinis.

Thanks for an outstanding blog.

Carl

Thanks, Julie. Sorry, I can’t make a martini on the rocks make sense, what with the dilution, as you say. Perhaps it works if you build it in the glass without pre-shaking or pre-stirring with ice. That’s an interesting observation, that a martini on the rocks is pretty close to being a standard cocktail, perhaps some sort of unsweetened “fancy cocktail” in Jerry Thomas’s terminology. Thanks for opening up that line of thought.

Hi, Dan,

Thanks for asking about vodkas. I don’t think I’ve ever had Pravda, so I can’t compare it with Sterling. I’ve found that with vodkas, assuming they’re decently made in the first place, that I have trouble differentiating them by flavor. The main thing that interests me is the mouthfeel—some are more oily, some less, some very light, some more viscous. I sort of like a bit of viscosity.

The other main difference I find is sweetness—some vodkas seem to have a lot of sugar (or something) added; they are not my favorites.

Good advice on the olives.

Thanks for taking time to add to the discussion.

Rangpur! I’ve never tried that in a martini; I would have thought it would be too, well, limey. Perhaps I’ll give that a try one of these days.

Meanwhile, the lemon-garlic olive sounds like a very interesting idea. Thanks!.

Good old classic Beefeaters. It’s hard to go wrong.

>

First a disclaimer: I’ve pretty well gone over to the lemon twist camp, so I don’t have a lot of street cred among olive lovers (that would be everyone else I know, including my bride.)

As for olives, I am agnostic. I enjoy and appreciate just about any kind: large, small, pitted or stony.

And as fortune would have it, while I mainly stock the large, pitted queens here at home (because blue cheese stuffed olives are regularly requested in our house, and it is much easier to stuff those big guys,) most of my friends stock the smaller cocktail-sized ones. I sort of like the look of the big ones—a more theatrical presentation—but the small ones don’t take up as much space in the drink, don’t have the displacement of the larger, stuffable sizes, and seem to be better suited to smaller glasses.

I’m trying to remember if the large olive fashion came in at the same time as the oversized cocktail glass fashion, back in the ’90s. That might be an interesting little bit of research.

I’m glad you enjoy Cold Glass!

Love the blog!

Bruce, it’s great to hear from you. I’ll guarantee you that I would never, ever, turn down a Sapphire martini. My preference runs more to the Bombay Dry or Beefeater style of gin–a little more earthy, perhaps a little more spicy, and a little less citric than Sapphire, and not as aggressively junipery as, say, Tanqueray–but I think the Sapphire is an absolutely first-rate choice. It seems to have a fresh, slightly “lighter” presence, and mixes excellently well. I hadn’t really thought about it until now, but I think Sapphire might have an affinity for olive-garnished martinis; I’ve become very set in my Bombay Dry ways since I started garnishing with a lemon twist. Curious.