Martini Recipes to Get Stinked By, Part I

Miss Kitty Sintini's Martini Recipes

There are many places online to get new and creative martini recipes. I am attempting to bring out the whys and hows of recipes I have created through the biographical story of Miss Kitty Sintini.

This is Part One...
- featured in an upcoming Galena, IL cookbook to raise money for our community garden. Links to purchase the cookbook will be presented upon its release.

Miss Kitty's martini recipes are measured in parts. As you get the hang of the volume you want to make, you will know if you are going to use a jigger or a measuring cup! At The Grape Escape in Galena, IL, you can find Miss Kitty making up some of the most unique drinks around where will notice the technique is to use a free flow pour out of liquor bottles and an intimate awareness of single serving, martini shakers to determine portion and volume control.

People often ask where we buy our shakers. I suggest doing your own search online for an "8 oz martini shaker." I do not recommend buying plastic shakers for any reason. They are only cute because the come in different colors. Additionally, I do not personally endorse the brands listed here. I simply suggest them as they are exactly the brands that we prefer at The Grape Escape. This is always determined by a combination of taste and price not necessarily the best.

Another martini tip I would like to share before we get started is regarding the most common question I am asked, "how long do you shake?" While there are some premature shakers, this is not a difficult procedure to learn.

First off, all of these recipes are designed to taste their best when shaken. However, stirred or shaken martinis are truly a personal preference. If you want to argue the rules of these options, this page explains the finer details best.

At The Grape Escape, we use metal shakers and shake them until we feel a mild chill in our wrists. Shaking with more fervor or longer will get very cold and make your hand stick to the shaker. Don't worry; this condition is not permanent and should not require medical attention. Fortunately, you will have a fantastically, cold drink to have after your pry yourself off of the shaker. Additionally, an over shaken martini will be more watered down from the ice melting. This may not be the intended outcome.

MISS KITTY SINTINI

Cinnamon Liqueur – UV Vanilla Vodka – Cream

The first signature martini from the collection, this beverage was first contrived as a burlesque stage name. What would be a good name for a strip teasing, bartender that specializes in martinis?* Why, Sintini of course! ...and so was created, the cinnamon martini.

   * Add 3 parts UV Vanilla Vodka, 1 part Hot Damn cinnamon liqueur and
     1 part Organic Half and Half
   * Shake with ice.
   * Drizzle your martini glass with raspberry or strawberry sauce. Don't over do it or you will alter the flavor of the martini. Just go for flash and style.
   * Strain into martini glass.
   * Garnish using your own creativity! Perhaps you want to make your own red sugar crystals to rim the glass. The possibilities are endless. We use Sugar in the Raw for all of our sugar rimmed martinis.

THE DROVER

Drambuie – – UV Vanilla Vodka – Sean's Irish Cream

This martini was created to provide a more manly martini. And believe it or not ladies, men really do order this far more often than women, so I guess I got it right. The ingredients were inspired from having shots at an Irish bar in Chicago that were half Jameson and half Irish Cream.

   * Add 1 part of each ingredient.
   * Shake with ice.
   * Strain into martini glass.
   * Do not dress up the glass in any way as that may be miss-perceived as girly, and be sure to remind the manly man that you just made it for that he will surely like it because of the Jameson.
   * TIP: All folks enjoying this one are sure to enjoy the Tequila
     Killer as well.

OH'MARY CALIENTE

Absolut Vodka – Pickle Juice – Tapatillo Hot Sauce – Stoller Bloody Mary Mix

I was looking for a martini that would be zero sweet to add to our menu. There are so many ways you can make an interesting martini without all that sugar, and this was my first try. Originally, there was no Bloody Mary Mix in this martini. Crazy, I know. But after a year or two of being on the menu and getting requests to add a little Bloody Mary Mix, we decided to add the ingredient permanently to the recipe. This drink has it's roots in the "Martini Hot" that was explained to me by Dr. Wells. Just add some pickle brine, and it's hot and trashy!

   * Add 3 parts Vodka. Use a preferred brand for this; not the cheap stuff. If the recipient of my tasty treat does not specify, I pour Absolut. Continue with 1/2 part pickle 'juice' - technically this is the brine. The left over liquid from a jar of pickles. Then add 1/2 part Stoller Bloody Mary Mix and Tapatillo hot sauce to taste.
   * Shake with ice.
   * Rim your martini glass with celery salt.
   * Strain into martini glass.
   * Garnish with pickle, lemon, and lime. Blue cheese olives may be added, but only if they beg for 'em.
   * TIP: All folks enjoying this one are sure to enjoy anything else on the menu because they are so hot and trashy. Results vary.

TEQUILA KILLER

Patron Silver or Corzo Reposado– Splash of Lime and Sour

How could I stop at the Oh'Mary? As I was starting to get the hang of this recipe concoction talent budding before my eyes, I knew it was time to make some Tequila love in a martini glass.

   * Add 3 parts Patron Silver or Corzo Reposado Tequila. Just like the vodka martini, this is no time to go cheap because it is the primary ingredient in here. Top off with one last part of half lime juice and half sour mix.
   * Shake with ice.
   * Rim your martini glass with Kosher Salt.
   * Strain into martini glass.
   * Garnish with a lemon and a lime.
   * TIP: It is time to walk around the room and make sure you still have your senses about you.

THE GREYHOUND BUS TO MEMPHIS

Stoli Raspberry Vodka – Splash of Grapefruit Juice

I have spent many many times in Memphis, TN. My first trip there was on the Greyhound Bus that went from Chicago to New Orleans. The year was 1988, and passengers could still smoke cigarettes on the bus. My ticket was $49 from Champaign, IL to Memphis, TN. I felt reconnected with the birth place of R&B and rock n'roll, and at a time when grunge was replacing punk, the Memphis punk scene was thriving at its peak with the likes of CornFed, The Oblivions, and Pezz.
I present you with my favorite alcohol: raspberry vodka, and the bus that got me to Memphis.

   * This martini is made more like a traditional, dirty martini.
   * All parts Stoli Raspberry vodka with just a splash of grapefruit juice.
   * A 'splash' behind the bar is generally a one second push of a pop gun dispenser; probably half an ounce.
   * Garnish with a lime.
   * TIP: Muddle a lime or two into the martini shaker before you add ice. Remember, if you make this one too strong, you probably didn't just have the Tequila Killer.

* Miss Kitty Sintini is a fictitious character. The author is only a burlesque performer in theory.

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