Vinegar Martini

[twodogs]

We recieved two incredible products which just needed to be highlighted together. What better way than in a martini. We combined a drinking vinegar, bombay saphire gin and walnut oil to make a vinegar martini. Check it out.Vinegar Martini

What else is going on in the world of cocktails and beyond?

[BTR]

"Drinking vinegar" really sounds like someone's taking the piss.

[Tess]

I confess to chugging balsamic vinegar sometimes.

[docsconz]

What makes this vinegar a "drinking vinegar"? I imagine this wouldn't be bad with a fine balsamico tradizionale or Minus 8 wine vinegar.

[Tess]

I just googled this up. I wouldn't mind a bottle of it.

I'll skip the martini with oil in it, though.

[slkinsey]

Interesting. . . I was just thinking about starting a thread on the possibility of cocktails using good aged balsamic vinegar.

"Drinking vinegar," by the way is a fairly common term for vinegar fermented to less than 6% acidity (usually around 3% or less) and intended for consumption as a beverage (usually as a digestif) in addition to use as a condiment. I don't know why this seems strange, since aceto balsamico tradizionale has long been consumed as a beverage.

twodogs: How do you think the walnut oil worked in the drink? Seemed like an interesting variation on the lemon oil that one often expels onto the surface of a cocktail by twisting. How much did you use, and how did you deploy it? I could see using an atomizer to mist a tiny bit of oil onto the surface of a drink.

[twodogs]

Taking a piss, no. Thanks for the kind words. The drink is simple, balanced and to the point. Ice cold gin, the vinegar, several drops of walnut oil poured from a teaspoon; perhaps a quarter of a teaspoon.

With regards to drinking vinegar etal...hello it is an alcohol derivative; they are tied together. Perhaps if we were famous with a name the idea would be easily swallowed--instead, enjoy the cocktail, the research and development is free.

[JAZ]

I think this sounds really interesting. I have a question, though. Since I don't have the vinegar you mention on your site, what would be a close substitute? Balsamic?

[eje]

I've never heard of drinking vinegars; but, have used verjus (tart grape juice from under-ripe grapes) for cooking and the occasional bracing summer drink. Dunno if anyone has ever used that for cocktails...

[Libationgoddess]

Actually, this is not at all a new concept. The idea of vinegar as a refresher in drinks goes way back in time, commencing as part of the base in the original "shrub" recipes from our foremothers.

I've always thought it was an interesting idea, especially when you practice a "less is more" attitude. My 3 favorite words of late are, dash, smidge, and pinch. I've been futzing around for the past year with balsamic, sherry, and cherry vinegars. It's been an interesting process, so far.

Audrey

Edited to add that raspberry and vinegar was supposedly a favorite shrub combination...but an "oil and vinegar martini? In dashes? Sure---why not?

Which gin are you using? I'm also feeling a dash of sherry in there somewhere to act as a conduit for all the flavors, and tie them all together. If you want to get fancy, top it with champagne, and serve it with raw oysters.

Edited June 16, 2005 by Libationgoddess (log)

[dockhl]

Love martinis

love balsamic and all other vinegars

love walnut oil

All togehter:

ACK !

Haven't tried it and until then I won't know but DOESN'T sound good, even for this adventursome palate.

Blech.

Kathy

[bigbear]

Just trying to imagine what it would taste like, is actually making my mouth water. I'll have to try one. Thanks.

[BTR]

Yeah, the more I think about it, the better this sounds.

[alchemyst]

We're using Bombay Sapphire Gin shaken with a splash of the vinegar. The walnut oil is floated on top of the cocktail...just a few drops but it makes a huge impact. It gives the drink a lingering nuttiness and a long finish. Since we're chefs, the vinegar and oil idea was a natural...vinaigrette. But the flavor of this particular vinegar was so great that it immediately made us think of an apertif, a cocktail with the flavors and complexity to stimulate the appetite and get the gastric juices flowing. If you think about using citrus juices and bitters in cocktails, vinegar really isn't much of a stretch, this one isn't nearly as acidic as lime juice. It's also not as heavy in texture as an aged balsamic, so that makes it a bit easier to work with in a drink.

[docsconz]

Have you tried this with Minus 8? I'm curious, because I have that one in my arsenal, but not the stuff you have used. What about other oils besides walnut like avocado or even good evoo?

Perhaps this drink will make you famous with a name. It sounds worth trying to me. I like your website. It looks as if you are doing some cool things. Please keep us informed of your creations.

[arjay]

Don't call this a Martini.

[jsolomon]

Don't call this a Martini.

←

Ahh, the voice of reason.

Why no bitters in this, too?

[biscuit]

Last summer at the beach house someone macerated wild strawberries with good balsamic vinegar. The juice left over in the bowl looked too good to toss, so, much to the horror of my housemates, I mixed it up in a margarita. It was fanatastic. The sweet and sour was balanced and didn't throw off the drink at all.

The only reference I'd ever seen to drinking vinegar was in a Little House on the Prairie book when they drank vinegar water as a cheap substitute for lemonade on a hot day.

[elswinger]

I confess to taking a swig of red wine vinegar when cooking (once in awhile).

Last week a had a Watermelon Martini (mmm tasty!)

[jparrott]

Rozendal, a biodynamic wine farm and country inn in South Africa, makes several vinegars (including a ten-year oak-aged one macerated with lavendar and grape must that is unbelievable on good red tomatoes). At the inn, they serve a pre-dinner aperitif vinegar, aged three years I believe, which is infused with (scurrying to get the bottle) "green tea, chilli, carob, and lavender." All accounts are that it does the job (I haven't opened my bottle yet). Perhaps a bourbon or dark-rum cocktail using it would be in order? Sounds like a lot of work, though :-).

[twodogs]

Regina Schrambling wrote an interesting piece on vinegar in the L.A. times, though she missed the most common use of great vinegar, the martini. Oh well, the piece is still contains a great amount of useful information.

[jhiroshi]

Here in Vancouver at Aurora Bistro they have a martini with vodka and 15 year old balsamic. It was good, but it needed something else to make it good enough for me to order it again at $12 a pop. the walnut oil sounds like a very interesting idea.