Martini Garnishes
The word garnish was first a verb meaning “to decorate.” But to cocktailians it became a noun for a drink adornment. Mainly it acts as trimming—a piece of lime, say, that signals “this is a lime juice drink,” but doesn’t add much flavor.
But in a Martini, a garnish is so much more. The fruit, vegetable or even seafood you put in this simple mix of dry vermouth and gin (or sometimes vodka) changes the character of the drink, and in some cases its very name.
The classic Martini garnish is the green olive, a meaty stone fruit that is briny and slightly bitter. But plop in a cocktail onion instead and that drink is suddenly a Gibson. It earns that new distinction. The tiny, pickled pearl onion changes the character of the drink, turning it from savory and salty to acidic and spicy. If you crave the former sensation, pour in some olive brine and it’s a Dirty Martini. Add still more and it becomes Filthy. The latest wrinkle is using oyster liquor for its minerality. If you do, spear the oysters and set them across the rim of the cocktail glass. Set them in the glass and the drink gets sloppy, losing its elegance.
Part of a garnish’s charm is in the eating. That olive, onion or oyster is a dessert/reward at the bottom of the drink. If you prefer to gnaw on something else, substitute it. Black olives are a no-brainer. A bit more creative is stuffing a green olive with blue cheese for its funky notes. But garnish renegades are taking it further by having such treats as pickled vegetables, like peppers, dills, carrots and miniature corn, and even caviar waiting at the bottom of the glass.
All garnishes aren’t for the eating, but can be just as important. While you wouldn’t digest them, lemon, orange and grapefruit twists bind sublimely with gin and vodka with their citrus notes to coax the botanical charms from vermouth. Peel a ribbon off the fruit’s rind and twist it over the finished cocktail to release a spray of acidic oil that can make all the difference.
But what if you prefer that a Martini have no garnish at all? Well, that’s a Dickens. Forgive us the inane bit of bar room levity. No Oliver Twist . . . get it? The English author is probably not amused either.
