Originally Posted by
JBord
Yes. Unfortunately. But honestly, if you're ordering a martini call your liquor anyway. I'd never say "give me a martini please" and pay $12+ for the house gin or vodka.
Maybe if it's a bar that only serves gin
. Even at swanky cocktail bars, if you didn't specify they'd probably ask if you wanted vodka or gin. Put another way, there probably aren't many places in the US where the "default" is gin.
Originally Posted by
EuropeanPete
And it will just be vodka stirred/ shaken with ice if you ask for it dry unless you manage to convey to the bartender what a European/ global dry martini is.
Originally Posted by
JBord
My wife recently met a friend for dinner and, while waiting, ordered a vodka (don't blame me) martini from the bar. She received the martini and a side...kind of like you get a small beer back with a bloody mary. Thinking it odd, but assuming it was the vermouth so she could stir in her own level of "wet", she asked the bartender, who informed her they don't carry vermouth and their "martinis" are just vodka. So she received a glass of vodka - with olives - and a side of vodka. Personally, if I were there, I would have then asked for a glass of club soda and a lime on the house!
It actually did happen to me! I got a shaken vodka no vermouth. I was surprised anyone could think that is a martini. I didn't get the side of vodka, which is really strange. But after that, I started experimenting with what happens when I order without adding any instructions, and my observations led to that question. Now I know.
Originally Posted by
corky
I think gin tastes like perfume & I am a vodka girl all the way. But what kind of restaurant/bar doesn't carry vermouth??? and serves a martini with a side of vodka? That is so strange.
While I respect that, when it comes to a martini, I think you should have to do the extra talking, not me.