cowdery Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I despair for my nation. Exhibit: "Vodkas outsell every other spirit combined." Stephen Cunningham, Nightclub and Bar Magazine, January 2006. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepcycle Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Don't Despair, Enjoy. Our preferred spirit choice is not for everyone. That's one of the reasons I like it. (The Whole "Road Less Travelled" thing) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barturtle Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 If whiskey were to suddenly outsell vodka, can you even begin to imagine the kind of supply problem we'd be in right now?Of course, if it had been selling that well all along, we might have a few more distilleries producing some products we'd all be chasing after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNbourbon Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 If whiskey were to suddenly outsell vodka, can you even begin to imagine the kind of supply problem we'd be in right now?.. That cinches it -- I'm stocking up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barturtle Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 That cinches it -- I'm stocking up! If you're not stocked up, then I'm in serious trouble! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbuzbee Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Yeah, me too.And Chuck, if only people drinking tasteless spirits were our biggest problem!Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camduncan Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Yeah, my biggest issue is that whilst we do get some fantastic bourbons Downunder, some of the best bourbon on offer from the bourbon world will probably never make it to us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbuzbee Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Yeah, but you have shrimp on Barbie.... er, on THE barbie... whatever...... Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbyvirus Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 I despair for my nation. Exhibit: "Vodkas outsell every other spirit combined." Stephen Cunningham, Nightclub and Bar Magazine, January 2006. This reminds me of a time about two years ago when I visited a brew pub in St. Louis. I went inside and sat at the bar and had a couple of their beers they brewed...an IPA and a stout. They were absolutely great...rich, full of taste, just awesome beer. As I sat there drinking them, five or six guys came up to the bar over the course of 15 minutes or so and ordered Bud Lights. I asked the bartender why all these people were ordering Bud Light. He shook his head and said it was their best selling beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virus_Of_Life Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Don't Despair, Enjoy. Our preferred spirit choice is not for everyone. That's one of the reasons I like it. (The Whole "Road Less Travelled" thing) I raise a glass to that! Consider if you will the relatively recent “birth†of bourbon, now I am may be completely wrong here and am going strictly off memory so if I am feel free to correct me, but I believe bourbon’s origins can be traced back to the late 1700s sometime? Vodka and scotch for that matter can both be traced back to the 1400s. Again I am strictly going off what I can recall in my studies, which by the way should be on business law, econ and philosophy, but I digress. I sincerely think, as others have mentioned here, we should ENJOY that this chosen spirit of ours is currently less popular than vodka (and scotch). I mean lets be honest it’s incredibly doubtful that anything will ever overtake vodka’s popularity when you consider that probably the world’s favorite cocktail is made with vodka, or gin I guess though I’ve never had a gin martini. Is that even considered a martini? Heck I ain’t even sure anymore! I think we will see an increase in the popularity of bourbon soon, most likely we are already seeing it. And I would not be surprised if, as everything American it becomes the most popular spirit, sans vodka, sometime ‘soon’ – maybe not our lifetime though. After all it was just a year or two ago that we saw Bill Murray nominated for an award for a movie he stared in where his job was to market a whisk(e)y in JAPAN. Yes I know it was not bourbon but still how long before the Japanese who are often fond of American products take up bourbon? “Whisky, whether domestic or imported, is a very popular drink among Japanese consumers, perhaps even more popular than Sake.†Consider also the price aspect, a good bourbon can be for a relatively low price, under $20 I think we’d all agree there are some very good bourbons! And yes you can get a pretty good vodka for that, you don’t drink it the same way - have you ever tried a scotch for less than $20? I have. Excuse my blind American pride here for a moment: Enjoy it now, sit back, hold on and watch as us Americans prove yet again, we are the best at whatever we set out to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward_call_me_Ed Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Hi Christian,Believe me, the Japanese already know about bourbon. Indeed, the yen is one of the driving forces behind the premium bourbon market. I can get things here that are hard to come by in the States. You guys back home can get stuff I can't, so don't feel too left out and you pay less, too. Europe is a big growth market as well. As for Scotch being an older tradition than bourbon, well, yes and no. IMHO. Certainly, whisky has been distilled in Scotland for longer. But, I think, that bourbon, from the late 1700s or at least from the mid 1800s, at least the good stuff, would be recognizable as bourbon. I doubt that scotch from that time would be seen as a premium malt whisky. In fact, not so long ago it was infused with herbs and was rarely aged. (If I had a time machine I would very much like to try Scotch whisky from that time...) In a very real way, single malt scotch is a very recent phenomenon. Malt whisky was something to be used as an ingredient in blends, not a revered and expensive spirit. Of course, there was a very small market for single malt scotch whisky in Scotland before the 1960s. But it certainly wasn't widely available abroad. This is all over simplified. But bourbon is by no means a rank newcomer to the world of spirits.As for martinis, gin vs. vodka, are you sure you haven't got it backwards? I could be wrong, but I think the gin martini is the traditional drink. There is an interesting thread on favorite martini recipes in this thread. I look forward to seeing yours. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward_call_me_Ed Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Kids today....Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratcheer Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Yes, gin is the traditional spirit for the martini. I don't even consider a vodka "martini" to be a martini. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virus_Of_Life Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Yes, gin is the traditional spirit for the martini. I don't even consider a vodka "martini" to be a martini. Tim This is very strange to me as I have never received Gin when I order a martini (not that I order one too often, usually it's my company), the bar keep usually replies with "is there any particular vodka you'd like?" Please excuse my extreme ignorance in this issue - maybe without even realizing it I say a vodka martini, or the company I am with says it? Strange, now I want to try a gin martini, doubt I'll like it though as I am not fond of gin... Sorry again. So is there any name for the non martini vodka martini? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward_call_me_Ed Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 No need to apologize to a bunch of bourbon drinkers on the subject of vodka martinis. No need to switch to gin based martinis, either. Try one and see if you like it, by all means, then drink what you like. I have had just one martini in my life, which I made myself after reading the martini thread. I think I will make one tonight. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasking Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I was at a party once where the hosts had hired a bartender to run a martini bar. They produced a staggering array of drinks in a rainbow of colors... When I asked for a martini, I was asked, "What kind?" When I explained that I wanted a traditional gin martini, I was informed that they didn't have any gin. At least they had vermouth. Nowadays, I think "martini" means "mixed drink served in one of those inverted-cone glasses". I think we should make up a recipe for a "bourbon martini". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepcycle Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 "Anything served Up" is a martini these days.In this months Wine Spectator there is a Bailey's add pushing the Bailey's Martini. Recipe: Shake Baileys with ice and serve in a martini glass.Its not unusual to see Lobster or Shrimp Martinis on menus. The word Martini is hotter than "With Chlorophyll" was in the 60's. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasking Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 "Anything served Up" is a martini these days. In this months Wine Spectator there is a Bailey's add pushing the Bailey's Martini. Recipe: Shake Baileys with ice and serve in a martini glass. Works for me: <u>BOURBON MARTINI</u> Shake bourbon with ice. Serve in a martini glass, garnished with maraschino cherries and a twist. To make it more complicated and thus more hoity-toity (the ultimate measure of success of any nouveau martini, besides having an inoffensive, easy-to-slurp flavor), I suppose one could mandate a specific blend of whiskies, i.e., 2 shots Weller 12yo 1 shot Wild Turkey Rye dash of Lot 40 Shake with ice; etc. Maybe some of our resident blending enthusiasts can suggest some combinations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted January 21, 2006 Author Share Posted January 21, 2006 Personally, I consider a martini to be three or four parts gin to one part dry vermouth, garnished with one or more olives. However, in reality the baseline martini to most Americans, on both sides of the bar, is vodka with some tiny amount of vermouth. Then came the -tini craze, where just about anything stirred or shaken with ice and served up in a martini glass could be called a martini. You might say gin is "old school" and vodka is "new school," but I can't say one is right and the other wrong. When to so many people, martini means vodka, you just can't say it's "wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbyvirus Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 I think we should make up a recipe for a "bourbon martini".Um, I think it's called a Manhattan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitzg Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 The Bourbon Martini: pour 2 shots good bourbonpour 1 shot of anything else in another glassthrow out the contents of the second glassdrink the bourbon;-)yes, I know it is an old line redone -- but fitting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratcheer Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Um, I think it's called a Manhattan.Precisely so!Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasking Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Um, I think it's called a Manhattan.No, because Manhattans are not traditionally served in those hip inverted-cone glasses! Everyone knows that the identifying characteristic of a martini is being served in one of those glasses.Conceptually and based on the ingredients, I agree that a Manhattan could be called a bourbon martini, and of course you COULD serve one in a martini glass. But look at it this way: the lack of an established "bourbon martini" provides an opportunity to come up with a new bourbon-based cocktail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeluka Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 No, because Manhattans are not traditionally served in those hip inverted-cone glasses! Everyone knows that the identifying characteristic of a martini is being served in one of those glasses.Conceptually and based on the ingredients, I agree that a Manhattan could be called a bourbon martini, and of course you COULD serve one in a martini glass. But look at it this way: the lack of an established "bourbon martini" provides an opportunity to come up with a new bourbon-based cocktail.Then what do you put a straight up Manhattan in if not a martini glass??? Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scratchline Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 IMHO, this is the definitive word on the martini. http://www.coldbacon.com/movies/bunuel-martini.htmlIf you have never read Bunuel's autobiography, it is filled with wonderful things like this meditation on the martini. It is traditional to observe his birthday by drinking one of these, or three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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