Shaken, stirred—small. Today’s bartenders are downsizing the widely popular martini, yielding a cocktail that stays cold while enabling drinkers to stay sober. “For me, a smaller-size martini is God’s gift. It answers all my prayers,” says one fan to the L.A. Times:
Order a martini at a craft cocktail bar, and you’ll be presented with 4 ounces of liquid, give or take a few splashes. Specs vary based on preference, but a classic martini contains 2 to 3 ounces of gin or vodka, with a smaller, or equal, portion of modifier such as vermouth. (Around an ounce of water is added when the drink is stirred or shaken, if you insist, with ice.)
A cocktail with several brisk ounces of booze raises a particular conundrum for martini drinkers. You either drink it quickly at the proper temperature, and get tipsy, or you sip it slowly and watch it pool into a glass of warm gin.
“Those first two sips are like falling into a swimming pool,” said Toby Cecchini, owner of Brooklyn’s Long Island Bar. “It’s the most perfect thing.” But with an eye toward the rest of his night, he often won’t finish his.
From his Cecchini Tini Corner, the famed bartender doles out petite custom concoctions. One summer, they were served in antique 2-ounce cordial and liqueur glasses sourced from Sweden. “If you give somebody something very small, it de facto becomes precious,” Cecchini said. “People take note” … Los Angeles Times
