Mediterranea Martini (Original Recipe)

I've already made a Greek Martini with kalamata olives and ouzo, so that name is taken. But now that I have feta cheese stuffed olives, I wanted to take another stab at a Mediterranean Martini with gin and Skinos masthia spirit. 

As far as Martinis go, this recipe is not too different from the classic: gin, a half ounce of dry vermouth, and olive garnish. The slight change--and I recommend doing this with gin for the simple reason that you don't exactly want your only note in the drink to be masthia--makes the drink herbal and bright with just a hint of the sweet piney flavor of Skinos. I really like Skinos, especially as a substitute for sweet amari in cocktails, but I don't feel that it needs to be prominent in a Martini. And when I want a Martini, I want spicy gin and herbal dry vermouth. 

This was a somewhat dirty Martini, but not in the traditional sense. The Divina olives are packed with sesame oil, not the usual olive brine. This makes them a little more useful for cooking than cocktails. (If you use olives packed in oil, be sure to rinse them off before putting them in a drink.) Even after rinsing them off, there was a delicious slick of oil floating on top of the glass, adding richness to each sip. 

• 3 oz. gin (homemade dry gin used)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (Dolin used)
• 1/4 oz. Skynos masthia spirit
• 3 feta cheese stuffed olives (Divina used)

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with olives on a cocktail pick.

 

Greek Martini

This attractive looking drink is my own creation. I am using ouzo because it is drier than Pernod and it is actually Greek. That's right, that's a kalamata olive, and if that sounds gross, then consider that the whole drink is mildly anisette flavored and very dry. The olive fit right in with the spice.

• 2 1/2 oz. vodka
• 1/2 oz. ouzu (Meltemi used)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
• kalamata olive

Combine all liquors in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with olive.

Skinos Dry

Skinos is a Greek liqueur from one of the small islands. It is probably grape based, like grappa, but it is flavored with masthia. I think that this flavoring comes from the sap of a mashtia tree. It's not strong tasting like ouzo, but it has a definite spiciness that reminds me of incense, pumice, and pine.

Skinos dry is a vodka or gin Martini that uses Skinos as in place of vermouth.

• 2 oz. vodka or gin
• 1 oz. Skinos
• lemon twist

Combine all ingredients except twist in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.