Readers of this blog will know that I enjoy a nice cocktail or two. As a consequence, I have a number of drink-related items on The List, from wine tasting to drinking at The Savoy, to having Martinis at The Dukes. I used to bartend to make extra cash when I was in college and I have been known to bring my cocktail shaker with me to a party to be able to make a cosmo, mojito, margarita and the like. I do enjoy a nice martini, but despite this bartending background, I'd never actually made a martini before. I always found them so mysterious: Dirty/Twist, Shaken/Stirred, Dry/Wet, Vodka/Gin...there are so many different variations I never really understood what it all meant before or how to make them. I thought it was about time I learned.
So when I read about how the Royal Academy was holding a
Martini exhibition, where you could have a
martini masterclass/tasting after, I thought that was a perfect way to tick this off the list.
Our bartender Jon was amazing. He talked us through the history of the drink, described the different variations of martinis, and then gave us 3 rounds to try and taste: 1-Dry, Stirred. 2-Wet, Shaken. 3-Reverse Vesper, Shaken.
After the class we also tried a smokey martini, which is made with 15ml of Aldbeg whiskey. By that point in time I was feeling no pain and was wondering why my drink wasn't served in the larger glass on the bar...Thank goodness it wasn't or I may not have made it home!
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