Celebrate Green Blog

National Martini Day is June 19, and Father’s Day is the day after. I thought I’d combine the two celebrations into one post and talk about how to give the classic martini – gin or vodka – a little eco-credibility if you’re serving one up to your dad this Father’s Day.

The basic recipe for a classic martini is simply cold gin, vermouth and ice. You can look up many specific recipes that will tell you how much vermouth and how much gin to put in the shaker, but it’s really a matter of personal preference. You can make a dry martini by pouring vermouth in a shaker with ice, coating the ice with the vermouth, then dumping it out before adding the gin. Or you can mix both the gin and vermouth together. Vodka martinis work the same way, only the gin is replaced with vodka.

You can check out some general directions on the The Butler Bureau blog, and I specifically like what it says at the end, “As in all things don’t follow the herd, rather find out what works best for you and your tastebuds!”

So how do you give the simple, classic martini eco-cred? It comes down to two things - the booze and the glasses.

The Booze

Try organic gin or vodka in your martini. Here are two I recommend.

Bluecoat American Dry Gin -Bluecoat uses organic juniper berries, organic citrus peels and other organic botanicals for their all natural gin. For me, this gin is an eco-double whammy because it’s distilled in Philadelphia so it’s local, too.

Blue Ice American Organic Wheat Vodka - Blue Ice is a USDA certified organic vodka made from Idaho water and locally harvested, certified organic winter wheat.I did a review of this vodka for Mother Nature Network, and like most of my wine/spirit reviews I do, I share it with friends to get their opinion. Everyone loved this vodka.

The Glasses

If you already have martini glasses, great. Use them. If you don’t, the best way to be eco-friendly with your glassware is to borrow or buy used. If you won’t be serving martinis regularly, see if you can borrow the number of glasses you need from a neighbor. Not only is this eco-friendly, it will also keep you from needing to store the glasses. Martini glasses can take up a lot of room in your cabinets.

If you want to own the glasses, head to your nearest thrift store that has a big housewares department. You are bound to find martini glasses for a very reasonable price. You may find a matching set, but even if the glasses don’t match perfectly, who cares.

If you use a different eco-friendlier vodka ir gin, or if you’re aware of an organic vermouth (I’m not), please share what you use in the comments.

Image: chris.corwin via flickr

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Robin Shreeves didn’t particularly like to cook until she started paying attention to how the food she feeds her family affects the environment. Once she started experimenting with fresh, organic and local foods, her outlook on food and cooking changed dramatically. When she’s not writing the eco-friendly food blog for Mother Nature Network or attending to her two personal blogs A Little Greener Every Day and South Jersey Locavore , she can often be found in the kitchen, playing with the food that she prepares for her husband and two boys.