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Appetites®
Krystyna Pease

Appetites: Mastering the martini

The perfect martini
Easy & Oskey co-founder Erik Eastman says an exceptional martini is all about the details.
Courtesy of Bodega LTD

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For Easy and Oskey co-founder Erik Eastman, the martini is more than a drink. "It's a life skill," he says. "It's like changing a tire. Everyone should know how to change a tire. It's not that hard. You just have to pay attention to a few details."

And when it comes to the details of a martini, Eastman relies on advice from friend Jon Palmer of the Bachelor Farmer's Norsten Bar. "[He] likes to say there are three things you can control in a cocktail: ingredients, proportion and technique. There aren't many ingredients in a martini, and what you want to do is control those, get the proportions right and your technique is not that hard."

Eastman prefers gin to vodka and stirring over shaking, but says first and foremost you should make the cocktail you want to drink. "It's your drink after all," he says. "But if I'm going to make you one, I'm going to use gin."

Martini makings
Crafting a martini is an important skill, says Easy & Oskey co-founder Erik Eastman.
Courtesy of Bodega LTD

The Martini

Recipe by Erik Eastman

Essentials: dry gin*, fresh dry vermouth, citrus bitters, fresh clean ice

2 oz. Far North Spirits Gustaf Navy Strength Gin
1 oz. Dolin Dry Vermouth
1/8 tsp. Easy & Oskey Orange bitters

Combine the above in a mixing glass with fresh, clean ice. Stir 30 times (or more). Strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with a lemon twist, oils expressed onto the surface of the drink.

Recommended: Make additional martinis as desired over the next few days, adjusting the amount of vermouth and level of dilution to suit your palate.

*Use a London Dry style of gin for The Martini. Think Tanqueray, Beefeater, or Bombay Sapphire. Here we've selected Far North Spirits Gustaf Navy Strength Gin. This 114-proof gin is made in Skane Township, Minn. from traditional London Dry botanicals using non-GMO winter rye grains that are planted, harvested and distilled by hand by Far North Spirits.