Bitters

John deBary's Meal-Prepper Martini

by:
July 31, 2020
3
5 Ratings
John deBary's Meal-Prepper Martini
Photo by Sarah Tanat-Jones
  • Prep time 3 minutes
  • Cook time 20 minutes
  • Makes about 12 drinks (2 weeks’ worth)
Author Notes

There is something classic about the idea of coming home to a well-made martini after a long day. The only problem is that most of us don’t have someone waiting at home with a martini in hand, and rummaging through your empty apartment to make one for yourself is a little sad. What if we applied the same concept to cocktails as we do to meal prep. Meal prep exists in a world where people have the time and inclination to make a big batch of food on Sunday, and then have the discipline and a predictable-enough schedule to eat and enjoy those meals during the week. I can’t imagine how boring you have to be in order for this to be a viable solution to life every single week. What I can imagine, though, is making a big batch of martinis so you have a few bottles full of them in the freezer, just waiting for you to pour into a chilled glass (although you might need to let it thaw out for a few minutes). This will stay tasty for much longer than two weeks in the freezer, but the flavor of the vermouth might start to fade a bit beyond two weeks.

Reprinted with permission from Drink What You Want: The Subjective Guide to Making Objectively Delicious Cocktails by John deBary, copyright © 2020. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House. —Food52

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 (750mL) bottle of gin
  • 1 (375mL) bottle of dry vermouth
  • 1/4 ounce orange bitters
  • 375 milliliters filtered water*
Directions
  1. Pour all the ingredients into a large container, such as a deep mixing bowl or a 4-quart Cambro, and stir to combine. Using a funnel if necessary, re-bottle the mixture, leaving room for expansion due to freezing, in the gin and vermouth bottles, plus an extra bottle or airtight container for the excess. Freeze for up to 2 weeks.
  2. Note: This meal prep concept can also be applied to the Manhattan. Follow the same steps, but replace the gin with rye (or bourbon, if that’s you), use sweet vermouth, and add ¼ ounce Angostura in addition to the orange bitters.

    * Hot tip: Use the empty vermouth bottle to measure out the filtered water.
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4 Reviews

ifjuly
ifjuly August 19, 2020
Stirred this up and rebottled following directions to a T, and using standard-proof, name brand spirits all...next day I discovered the mixture had completely, one-big-block-solid frozen! Durr.
 
Marimo
Marimo August 9, 2020
A question — why add the water? Does it have to do with the freezing process? This recipe sounds good to me, but my fiancé is skeptical. Thanks :-)
 
Albie D.
Albie D. August 9, 2020
This goes straight from freezer to glass so you don’t get the usual dilution from stirring with ice. If you usually keep your gin in the freezer you probably drink less diluted martinis. Your fiancé could mix this up with half the water and if you prefer more dilution you could add a splash of water to your glass.
 
getup8
getup8 August 7, 2020
Great idea. Although the act of making the martini at the end of a long day is sometimes equally satisfying to drinking it!