Can you mix gin and red wine to make a type of martini?

Question

Can you mix gin and red wine to make a type of martini?

Answer 1

That doesn't sound like a very good combination.  If you want to use red wine, I would make a red wine spritzer (just red wine and sparkling water).

Answer 2

yes, vermouth is a type of fortified wine, and can be red, and the traditional martini is gin and vermouth.

using basic red wine probably won't be as flavorful as vermouth, since the added herbs and alcohol in vermouth won't be there, but it won't harm you, and might be very tasty depending on the red wine used.

Mayor Adam West:

using your methodology, you can't replace gin with vodka either?  Vodka martinis are very common, sometimes more than gin martinis, but the "traditional" alcohol is gin.  I would say as long as you have a strong alcohol base (gin or vodka), another flavoring alcohol (vermouth, a strong red or white wine, port, or even schnapps), and then a garnish (olive, onion, or some-such) you have a martini.

i still stand behind being able to use a red wine. As for my calling the olive a "garnish", thats what Wiki calls it, which is good enough for me.

as for other alcohols, the general view is the Smoky martini is Gin with wisky instead of Vermouth... and that is generally considered a form of a martini, so red wine still should be too.

my conception of a martini:

5 parts gin/vodka, 1 part another flavorful fluid (vermouth, wisky, whatever) and a "garnish" that adds some of its flavor.

the IBA is just group of bartenders that got together and decided what they wanted to decide... If you want to make a white russian and call it a martini, go for it!   I would drink it and say, "thats a strange martini, but its not bad!"  Unless the IBA gets some sort of legal powers, and comes to my house somehow and arrests me for doing this, i might stop.  Otherwise unless i was selling it to others, i would call it whatever I choose to.

Answer 3

no, you will get sick.  

Answer 4

No, you can mix gin and red wine to make a cocktail. You can mix gin and vermouth to make a martini.

It is simple a martini is gin or vodka with vermouth and an aromatic such as an olive or lemon peel. No pop rocks, no Tang, no chocolate and no red wine. Three simple ingredients brought together to make a martini. Change just one of those simple ingredients and you don't have a martini. When they substituted whiskey for the gin they didn't call it a whiskitini did they? No, they called it a Manhattan.

Sorry, I'm a martini fan and it p###es me off.

EDIT:

Carvodo...or however it is spelled.

By your definition a Black Russian is a Martini. Vodka, Kahlua and drizzle of chocolate or sprig of mint to garnish. But please note i didn't say a garnish, I said an aromatic. There is a difference. When making a martini you add the olive or lemon peel to the glass BEFORE adding the liquor. When done this way the "garnish" releases its essence into the drink.

EDIT 2:

I didn't say anything about the IBA. The IBA can go soak their heads. I'm talking about a standard. A martini is THE classic of classics and should be preserved. Look at it like this...there are curtain remakes that you just don't do. You don't remake Gone With The Wind, Casablanca or The Godfather and you don't mess with the martini.

Answer 5

You can mix water with ice and call it a martini if you want, but it isn't a martini. For me, the types of martinis are normal, dry, and one that has been briefly introduced to, but not formally acquainted with vermouth.

Essentially I'm with Mayor West on this one. A "martini" is a classic mixed drink. Change the ingredients and it isn't a martini anymore. Appletinis and blablahinis are just martini glasses with mixed drinks poured in.

As for a "vodka martini", in my opinion it's a different drink, but in the opinion of the IBA, which is about as official as all this subjective naming stuff really gets, there is a "Vodka Martini" and it is one of 4 variants of the drink.

As for whether or not mixing gin and wine would be any good, I can't say. I don't think its impossible that you could find a red wine that could substitute for vermouth if added gently. Give a few a try and let me know. Just call it something else.