A Fabulous Martini.

So I like vodka and I love dirty martinis. Or is it the other way around? Anyways. I can't do gin so I go with the somewhat controversial vodka martini. I'm not a fan of calling pucker + vodka a martini (of the appletini variety) but I'm well aware that what I call a martini, is to the purist just vodka mixed with a splash of olive brine. So there are levels of purism, I guess? I'm getting sidetracked. Let's go back to discussing delicious booze, and not the snot nosed drunks who drink it.

The vodka I'm a fan of lately is a recent discovery of Todd's at Total Wine, Starr Blue. It's a blatant knockoff of Skyy, with the name, the logo, the fact that it's distilled five times (I cannot remember what Skyy boasts, but it is the multiple distillations that make it so smooth and unassuming).

Please note a few details in the above photo: the shot glass is full but you need at least two full shots for a decent tooni (as my father in law calls them). Secondly, instead of a shaker I'm using a mug from our Magic Bullet set. Thirdly, there is no martini glass to be seen, because it's in the freezer, cooling off. If you have no time to cool your glass for about five minutes, then fill it with ice water.

And I gotta tell you, if you have one of those, then throw out any martini shaker you have. The lids always get stuck due to the sudden shift of temperature. But not with the Magic Bullet! You screw the lid on, shake it to high heaven, then replace the lid with the strainer lid, and presto.

Now, here we have the vodka sitting nicely in the ice. By the way, you do not want to use vodka from the freezer for a good martini. Room temp vodka mixes with the ice, and makes the ice melt, so you get the appropriate dilution when you shake it up. Anyways, add just a bit of the olive brine; not even half a shot will do the trick. Shake, shake, shake it!

WOULD YOU JUST LOOK AT THAT? That's perfection.