Ordering Drinks

In my post-collegiate career, there are several things I've really come to value - one being able to keep in contact with friends from college and continuing relationships past the classes we endured together.

Tonight I went out with a great friend and it was super fun!  Fortunately, we've kept in touch after college and get together pretty frequently (considering the distance between Philly and where she lives and works).  It's always a great time, I love catching up with her.

Tonight, the first drink I ordered was a dirty martini - it was filthy   She asked to taste it and ended up loving it, as a true Russian would, admitting to me that she didn't understand the language to order the drink and had gotten some bad martinis.

Understandable - I have had some awful martinis.  Every girl who has watched Sex in the City has ordered bad martinis, because no one ever covers the vernacular necessary to order them!

Martinis are either gin or vodka (originally gin and snobs will judge you for ordering vodka) and a splash of vermouth.  It comes with either olives (generally speaking, a dirty martini will get you liquor, vermouth and olive juice) or with a lemon twist.  Basically, a super alcoholic, classy-ass drink with it's own language.

So here it is, broken down, for all of our sakes from the Huffington Post.

• If you order a dry martini it means that you'd like less vermouth in your cocktail. A very dry martini would contain little to no vermouth; one might just roll the vermouth in the glass so that a thin film coats it -- nothing more.

• As you might imagine, ordering a wet martini will get you more vermouth in your cocktail than the standard five-to-one ratio.

• A dirty martini, a fairly popular version, uses olive brine or olive juice for an additional kick. If you're a fan of olives, this might be the best option for you.

• If you'd like your martini with lemon instead of olives ask for it with a twist. And if you are a fan of olives, and maybe a little hungry, it's not uncommon to ask for extras.

I personally prefer dry vodka martinis, dirty, shaken.  With blue cheese stuffed olives.  I would absolutely recommend a beginner getting a very dirty martini, the olive juice cuts the liquor taste and makes it bearable.

Try it out next time you go to a bar!  But make sure someone else is there to drink it in case you absolutely hate it!  But beware, they are addictive.

And there's a mini lesson in drink ordering.

Thank goodness for good friends and good drinks!  Cheers