subject: Want A Cold Martini? Add Ice, But Do Not Freeze The Vodka [print this page] When you think about drink recipes, the martini immediately comes to mind. It is one of the more popular mixed bar drinks and is prepared from gin or vodka and vermouth. A green olive or a twist of lemon is then added as garnish. Most martini drink recipes instruct you to shake the drink instead of stirring it. These drink recipes also require you to add some ice because like other bar drinks, a martini is best served cold
Some people freeze their vodka or gin in the freezer before they prepare some martini bar drinks. They do this to serve the coldest possible martini. When they prepare the martini using the freshly frozen gin or vodka, they really do end up with cold martini bar drinks. There is a problem, however, with this technique.
One of the problems is about dilution. Normally, the ice will melt as they cool the drink when you add them together with all the other ingredients in the shaker. The drink would then be diluted because of the additional water from the melted ice. This process will not happen if you freeze the vodka. The temperature of the frozen vodka will almost be the same as that of the ice, so only little ice will melt. As a result, your martini will not be properly diluted, and you will end up with one that is far too strong.
Another problem is that the contents of the shaker will be a messy tangle of ice. The ice cubes will stick together and the vermouth will freeze. The strainer will be clogged as a result, and your vermouth will remain in the shaker. The resulting martini will be pure frozen vodka without any vermouth.
To prepare the best martini, always start with the vodka or the gin at room temperature, and let the ice chill the liquor. That way, they will also dilute your drink as they melt. Your martini will then be cold and slightly diluted and balanced. That's the way martini bar drinks should be.
