This is our eighth episode of the Brain Brew Whisk(e)y Academy. We will discuss THE Martini. This podcast episode features Whiskey Maker - Doug Hall and Whiskey Drinker - Tripp Babbitt.

Show Notes

[00:00:09] Brain Brew Whisk(e)y Academy

[00:00:30] The Martini

[00:03:08] THE Martini Step 1

[00:03:28] Step 2

[00:04:05] Use Beefeater Gin

[00:05:32] Step 3

[00:05:42] Step 4

[00:06:29] Step 5

[00:07:05] Step 6

[00:07:24] Step 7

[00:07:40] Step 8

 

 

Transcript

Tripp: [00:00:09] This is the Brain Brew Whisk(e)y Academy podcasts were going to take you behind the scenes on what it takes. To build a whiskey distillery business

 

Tripp: [00:00:19] The Eureka! Ranch team led by Doug Hall are creating a craft Whiskey Company. Life has never been done before

 

Tripp: [00:00:30] The Brain Brew Whisk(e)y Academy. A martini worth worthy of celebrating 85 years since Prohibition and I guess you know Doug that's my drink so I. And I'm not quite as probably detailed as you are around now.

 

Doug: [00:00:48] This is one where I am I am prudent and proper. Oh no

 

Tripp: [00:00:52] Oh no. Well I'm very prudent and proper but I you know the thing I like Doug and you don't know this may may make your eyes roll but I and I got it for the first time out at Sullivan's restaurant here in Indy.

 

Tripp: [00:01:06] But they had a dirty martini with blue cheese stuffed olives and they ever since then. I will not drink a martini without blue cheese stuff.

 

Doug: [00:01:16] So I'll let you take it from here. And that's fine. That's that's that's nice.

 

Doug: [00:01:23] No I mean I would cans and and dirty martinis. You know it was eighty five years ago on December 5th 1933 prohibition ended and FDR Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Well he ran that he was gonna get rid of it and he loved martinis and he he preferred a dirty martini like you do. Okay. But I am in this case even though I love all these different things when it comes to martinis. I am an absolute fanatic about martinis actually all cocktails and doesn't help that I'm a chemical engineer and I'm into rapid psych tests and I've got some friends of I manage the newsletter mentioned Tim Jon and Sheldon who know who they are that fortunately are just as compulsive as I. With regards to making martinis and I have gone through a ridiculous I mean it would be hundreds of tests on this and in fact just the other night I found another gin and I said Well let me try this one. And I tried it three ways and I don't know didn't meet my classic didn't beat the classic. So now. So this is in the shout outs if you're driving. Don't worry about that you can get it there. And this is precision. So here's the way this works. You've got to do it exactly precisely as I say. I mean and I'm talking precision here. Now after that you can do your riffs but if you want to learn jazz you've got to learn to play the scales first. You hear me here now. You got to do it precise. And once you can play the scales well then you can start doing your riffs on it.

 

Doug: [00:03:02] Ok. So here we go. There's a little bit of details to this OK.

 

Doug: [00:03:08] So step one you're going to fill a martini glass with water and ice to chill it while you make the drink OK. And this is important because otherwise when you put the cold martini in that the thermodynamic side of the cold goes into the glass so you're gonna lead that sit. I put it together.

 

Doug: [00:03:28] Step two. You're gonna get a classic Boston shaker. That's the type that has the you know the cup and the two cups that go together like you tend to not what's called the cobbler type where you have the little strainer thing on the top. OK. The difference is is that with the Boston shaker you get a longer throw. Case of the ice bangs around more and it gets to the perfect dilution and all of my recipe is built around doing it out of that shaker.

 

Tripp: [00:03:58] And does the shaker may have to be made out of something in particular. I'm sure there's different.

 

Doug: [00:04:02] Usually. It's usually metal and glass is what you usually use.

 

Doug: [00:04:05] Ok. This is what they normally are. All right. So now I know that there are. I am a shaken not stirred martini drinker. And there are people that are of the stirred camp not me. I like the cold and I like the ice crystals. I think it gives it a zing versus the clear which I call practical and prudent stirred version of martinis. I don't want to do that. OK so you've got your Boston shaking you fill it with ice. Now to the ice you're going to add two ounces of beef eater gin. Now don't be arguing with me here do it. You've got to get the beef eater. I know it doesn't cost like a stupid amount of money but it is that world standard. I talk with a guy once who got his P HD and his thesis was around gin and he told me he said Beefeater is the standard that everything is measured against and it is truly dry. Sadly today many of the gins. The reason why people liked them is they keep you can legally add sugar to them and they've got sugar added to them. You know it's it's nuts. You know they had 1 and 2 percent sugar. I mean we measure it.

 

Doug: [00:05:17] You can you can pick it up and that's what the that's what the vermouth is for is to add a little sweetness. So if you had removed on top of some of these modern gins it's just stupid. Then work and work.

 

Doug: [00:05:32] So you've added two ounces of Beefeater and I'm not going to give you an option for an ounce and half on this one Tripp. You've got to do two outs. I'm just telling you how to make it right.

 

Doug: [00:05:42] Then you're gonna get Dolin dry removed. It's the green bottle and you're gonna get Dolan you're not going to use the others you're going to use Dolan because that's the best. And then you're gonna take the cap off it. You're going to buy the half sized bottle of the three seventy five and you're gonna keep it in the refrigerator because it goes bad. You go to these bars and they've got the remove sitting there is frickin oxidized. It's horrible. And so you only want to buy a half sized bottle and if you get the little ones that's even better. Mm hmm. It's fresh. This is gonna matter here. You're gonna take the cap off and you're gonna pour the remove into the cap the screw cap that comes off it and that's how much removed you're gonna use huh.

 

Doug: [00:06:21] Ok. OK. I learned that from Harry's Bar now in Venice Florida. Venice Italy capital.

 

Doug: [00:06:29] Ok now you're gonna shake the martini for twelve seconds. You can use your watch account one Mississippi two Mississippi three Mississippi and yes I'm twelve of that gets it's not 13 seconds it's got to be consistent down seconds Oh I told you two seconds I know it's different but that's related to that and what that does is the the ice starts to chill and it and the the liquid hits the maximum cold in twelve seconds after that it starts to just dilute and you're not you're not going to get any colder.

 

[00:07:05] Then you're gonna dump the ice water you a martini glass and you're gonna use what's called a Hawthorn strainer and the Hawthorn strainer makes it so that you can get strain it out and it's got a little curly things on it you can look it up you'll see what it is and you got to strain that in.

 

Doug: [00:07:24] And now you got three choices You can add two olives a thin piece of lemon peel wiping it on the rim or go crazy and do both. Now I switch it up like in the summertime sometimes I'll do the lemon but most of the time it's two olives.

 

Doug: [00:07:40] And then you then you need to sit down you don't stand to drink this drink this is a sitting drink you sit there and you hold the martini glass and you look at the Little Ice sheds that are there because you shook it and then you slowly take it and you take a sip and hold it in your mouth for a second and then it's like oh

 

Doug: [00:08:02] My God is there a you know it's spectacular it's spectacular.

 

Tripp: [00:08:07] So so my only question Doug is where's the Kettle One vodka that you do in the martini.

 

Doug: [00:08:13] Well not my mind actually I told you how to make the best martini. I do vodka not go there I'm going to go after this people out there they'd like to have their bike. I'm talking about a truly proper truly proper martini. That is just. Magnificent.

 

Doug: [00:08:39] I'm telling you all all my buddies Tim John and Sheldon they go out. I like my I like martinis gin and tonic sake.

 

Doug: [00:08:48] Gin and tonic for cans soda. Once you have a rum and coke for crying out loud. It's just a sugar pill with it was a little gin in it. He came taste a gin anymore. Well I like Let don't drink gin you know.

 

Doug: [00:08:59] You know just drink vodka or something.

 

Tripp: [00:09:03] So who damaged you with this formula. Well we we're so stuck on this thing.

 

Doug: [00:09:10] Well because I got into it and I started doing it and I and I ordered them and I would love them and hate them and now I'm at the point where I just I can't even order them at bars. I can't even order bars because they're just horrific. But that remote is usually cheaper smooth. That's oxidized. That's horrific to begin with. And a sugar pill craft. What gin. That's got sugar. And they put it and it's just concoctions that are just worthless. So it's it's it is just it's just not worth getting. Harry's Bar. In Venice right around from the big cathedral there on the square. St. Marks is a spectacular spectacular spectacular. There they make a proper martini and that's where some of this recipe came from spending maybe some time with the bartender.

 

Tripp: [00:10:02] Ok. All right. Well that's.

 

Tripp: [00:10:06] I've never heard you so adamant about you have to follow this step by step. I'm just looking through here.

 

Doug: [00:10:12] Usually there's a lot of flexibility to it you know make it to your taste. I'm just telling you make it this way. Exactly. And I think you'll become a convert. I think you'll become a convert then after that. Do whatever you want. Makes exactly this way. I will be amazed and those people who don't like a martini are going to say My God I have now I have seen the light brother and they may be saying that after three anyway. So this is I can't imagine in the 50s they would make a pitcher of martinis. I can't even imagine the concept.

 

Tripp: [00:10:48] Oh my God. Oh no can sense to me. All right. Well that concludes our bring boom whiskey Academy for before this week

 

Tripp: [00:11:06] Have you ever thought about owning your own craft whiskey business. Well subscribe to the Brain Brew Whisk(e)y Academy because in early 2019 we'll be offering opportunities to start your own business whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur curious about innovation or just like a good story. The Brain Brew Whisk(e)y Academy podcast will take you behind the scenes to learn the good bad and the ugly about what it takes to create whiskey and the craft space which is growing at a crazy rate. Lessons learned can be applied broadly.