Okay, I left off last time with a ringing endorsement for the classic gin martini. At risk of sounding like a heretic, I have to admit that my absolute personal favorite martini is a vodka martini, very dry, dirty, with three bleu cheese-stuffed olives. Now, this isn't something I discovered on my own. I had a pal who swore solemnly to me over a year ago that no matter how weird it sounded, it was absolutely the best vodka martini she'd ever had. I'd honestly sort of forgotten, until I ordered a dirty vodka martini in a bar known for excellent martinis a short time ago, and they brought me precisely the martini my friend had described, garnished with bleu cheese-stuffed olives.
I can already imagine your disbelief about the bleu cheese olives, I felt the same way before I'd tried it. So bear with me—because during the course of my careful and painstaking research, I drank a lot of different vodka martinis, with a lot of different garnishes. Hands-down, the most interesting, savory, and satisfying vodka martini I sampled was the martini I'm about to describe, so you can recreate this most perfect cocktail for yourself.
First of all, I vastly prefer to consume martinis at home, in the company of good friends. For that to be a satisfying experience you have to learn to mix a terrific martini. If you've no interest or aptitude for making drinks, though, you're much better off going out. Just take a cab or get a ride with a sober friend, because you'll definitely want more than one.
For our purposes, I recommend Grey Goose vodka, although in a pinch Ketel One is certainly palatable. I have friends who swear by the various organic vodkas available, though I've not yet tried them. Personally, I prefer Grey Goose, hands down. Pop your martini glasses into the freezer for a bit to chill.
I hunted all over for bleu cheese-stuffed olives, and couldn't find them. I found feta-stuffed olives, but it didn't seem quite the thing, so I brought home a jar of ordinary martini olives, fished out the pimentos with a toothpick, and stuffed the gutted olives with bleu cheese. Through trial and error, I figured out that this process went more smoothly once I'd left the cheese on the counter to warm to room temperature. Once you've restuffed the olives, you can squeeze a wedge of lemon over them, which adds just another hint of subtle complexity to the martini.
Like with gin, I typically keep vodka in the freezer. It lets me skip all the tedious business with shakers and straining and watery spirits. [NOTE: Most bottles carry labels warning you not to store the booze in the freezer. You should probably follow that advice.]
Take the now frosted martini glass out of the freezer, rinse with a few drops of dry vermouth, splash about a quarter-shot of olive juice into the glass, add the vodka, and swizzle the mix with three of your re-stuffed olives on a toothpick.
If bleu cheese just isn't your thing, then certainly you can use ordinary olives and you'll still have a lovely dirty vodka martini.
Cheers!