Episode 273

The Fine Art of the Martini with Robby Haynes

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The Fine Art of the Martini with Robby Haynes

Episode 273

What’s shakin’ cocktail fans? Welcome to Episode 273 of The Modern Bar Cart Podcast!

This time around, I’m joined by Robby Haynes, creator of Apologue Liqueurs and (now) Hoste Cocktails. In our last conversation, he walked us through the ins and outs of Old Fashioned mixology with his acclaimed luxury bottled Gold Fashioned, and in this chat, we fix our sights on another drink from the Mount Rushmore of cocktails: The Martini.

In this stirring, ice-cold conversation with bartender and cocktail batcher extraordinaire, Robby Haynes, some of the topics we discuss include:

What people mean when they say, “Martini,” and why certain preferences and aversions pertaining to its construction may stem from unresolved fears and myths about ingredients.
How Robby teamed up with distillers, wine-makers, and cocktail experts to weave a flavor tapestry worthy of sitting on the shelf next to the legendary Gold Fashioned.
What research and development looks like in the gin space, specifically when it comes to nerdy stuff like botanical maceration, gin basket ergonomics, and ethanol proof points.
Then, of course, we taste the Hoste Martini, and Robby shares recommendations about freezer settings and over-ice service that take this cocktail to the next level.
Martinis in-hand, we wrap the conversation by examining some of the softer nuances of martini service, like: why cocktail bars are super controlled environments, why hosting a cocktail party can be so unpredictable, and the benevolent tension between host and guest that creates a hospitality interaction.
Along the way, we get into the latest updates on this year’s batch of the Gold Fashioned, play a rousing game of “Kill, Marry, Fornicate” with iconic Martini trifectas, ponder the mysterious “Vermouth Tipping Point,” and much, much more.

You can learn more about the Gold Fashioned and the new bottled Martini at hostecocktails.com, and you can check out my last interview with Robby in Episode 243.

The Fine Art of the Martini with Robby Haynes

Featured Cocktail: The Kangaroo Kicker

This Episode’s featured cocktail is the Kangaroo Cocktail (also known as the “Kangaroo Kicker”). To make it, you’ll need:

1.5 – 2 oz of Vodka
¾ – 1 oz Dry Vermouth

Combine these two ingredients in a mixing glass with ice (with bitters notably absent), stir until well chilled and properly diluted, then strain into a chilled, stemmed cocktail glass, garnish with a lemon twist (or an odd number of olives, if you’re into that), and enjoy.

Today’s vodka martini is, in reality, the artist formerly known as the Kangaroo cocktail. Depending on who you ask, references to it started cropping up in the late 1930s, and it was formally introduced in print in 1943 by Oscar Haimo in his book Cocktail Digest and by Crosby Gage in his 1944 Standard Cocktail Guide.

As most of you will know, this is at the height of US involvement in World War II, and many believe the Kangaroo Cocktail was named in honor of our Australian allies. The choice of vodka in place of gin is further attributed to an impending gin shortage, but I had a hard time tracking down any definitive sources online that would corroborate that. Suffice it to say: at the end of World War II, there were probably a lot of shortages, and vodka is pretty easy to make, so perhaps it’s not necessary to delve too deeply or greedily on this question.

Just a few short years later, in 1948, David Embury released his hugely important book, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, where he called this drink the “Vodka Martini,” thus signaling the end of the Kangaroo Cocktail’s brief time in the spotlight.

Whatever your personal thoughts happen to be regarding the admixture of vodka and vermouth, I hope that, the next time you enjoy a Kangaroo cocktail, you’ll raise a glass toward Australia and run a quick stock market search on the status of juniper futures.

This episode was made possible with editing and sound design by Samantha Reed and gin and martini insights courtesy of Robby Haynes. This has been a production of The Modern Bar Cart Podcast, copyright 2023.

The Fine Art of the Martini with Robby Haynes

Featured Cocktail: The Kangaroo Kicker

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