Message 17888 of 39188 in General Discussion

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> > 
> A few things:
> 
> First off, I know that a martini is made with gin by default.  But 
> most customers are not bartenders and a good portion of them are 
> ignorant about cocktails or full of misconceptions so I like to get 
> it clear up front.  Vodka martinis are so popular right now (I 
> probably make three of them for every gin) that a lot of people think 
> if they ask for a martini it will have vodka in it.  By asking "Vodka 
> or gin?" up front (based upon experience) I save myself the hassle 
> when the customer doesn't want the drink and having to put it on 
> spillage.  
> 
> Secondly, even in a world where everyone knows the primary spirit in 
> a Martini there is the issue of gin preference.  Most Martini 
> drinkers are extremely particular about how their cocktail is 
> prepared, much less what type of gin it's made with.  I don't think 
> I've ever made one with the well gin so I'd rather not just default 
> to that in the absence of a specific brand.  I could choose a brand, 
> but again, I'd rather head off the problem by asking then choose 
> something that they don't like.  Sure, it would be their fault for 
> not stating a brand upfront, but that doesn't make it any less of a 
> headache for me.  
> 
> Third, of course the default service for Martinis is up, I was being 
> a tad too specfic in my sample order.  I'd be fine with someone 
> asking for a Grey Goose Martini dirty, I wouldn't bother asking if it 
> was up or on the rocks.  
> 
> Lastly, a classic martini is actually garnished with a lemon twist by 
> default.  I default to olives in my bar as that is what people are 
> used to and expect, but if you want to talk about definitions and 
> classics, it used to be lemon twists that were the norm.  Putting 
> olives in martinis was borderline blasphemy at the time that people 
> started doing it.  So again, depending on who the customer is they 
> may expect an olive or expect a lemon twist.  
> 
> When someone says, "Give me a martini" I can produce one that fits 
> their request to a tee.  What irritates me is that four times out of 
> five it wouldn't be what they had in mind, hence my griping that 
> people can be specific given the range of options for this drink.  I 
> appreciate it when people know what they want and can communicate 
> that clearly instead of making me fill in the gaps with assumptions 
> or follow up questions.  

Ah, I've just covered alot of this ground elswhere so I'll keep it brief. 
People put olives in martinis from the very start. Actually an olive or a 
cherry used to be standard when martinis first came around, but I suppose 
we're talking about dry martinis if we want to be specific. In that case I 
will grudgingly concede the point. An olive should be the classic though :-P

I can sum my feeling up about all this quite quickly: yes, of course the 
barman should ask specifics. However, a customer who cares so much about what 
they want shouldn't get annoyed at the barman if they don't get it, but didn't 
ask. 
Even though I personally would rather drink my own urine I do accept that 
vodkatinis are more commonly ordered, and so I'm not going to get pissed if I 
get one by accident after failing to specify.