Caviar Martini Royale

Ingredients

Martini Base

• 500 ml premium vodka (neutral, elegant profile)

• 100 ml dry vermouth (Dolin/Noilly Prat)

• 10 ml filtered water (for light pre-dilution when batching)

• 1 small pinch fine sea salt (optional, enhances minerality)

• Saline (for precise seasoning)

• 100 ml water

• 2 g fine sea salt (2% w/v)

• 10 ml vodka (stability; optional)

Caviar Garnish

• 40 g Ossetra (≈ 4 g per cocktail)

• 10 mother-of-pearl caviar spoons

Optional Accents

• 1 strip of lemon zest per drink (expressed away from the glass)

• Edible gold leaf fragment

Method

1. Batch & Chill the Base

   Combine vodka, vermouth, filtered water, and the optional pinch of salt in a sanitized bottle. Cap and chill to 0–2 °C (refrigerator ≥ 30 min, or freezer 15–20 min; do not freeze solid).

2. Make the Saline

   Whisk salt into water until fully dissolved; add vodka if using. Decant to a dropper bottle and refrigerate.

3. Set the Station
   Chill 10 Nick & Nora or small martini coupes. Keep caviar tins on ice, unopened, at 0–2 °C. Lay out mother-of-pearl spoons.

Stir à la minute (per cocktail)

In a mixing glass: 60 ml Martini Base + 1–2 drops saline (start light; you can’t take salt back).

Add plenty of cold, dense ice.

Stir 18–22 seconds until the mixing glass is frosted.

Fine-strain into a well-chilled coupe. (Aim for brilliant clarity.)

Finish & Serve

Rest a mother-of-pearl spoon across the rim; place ~4 g Ossetra on the spoon.

Optionally express a lemon zest away from the surface for a whisper of citrus; discard the zest.

Optional: add a tiny gold-leaf fragment to the meniscus for shimmer.

Service Presentation

Plateware: Chilled coupe on a dark slate or matte black coaster.

Pacing: Deliver immediately while base is at peak chill; present caviar spoon first.

Server’s line:
“A pristine vodka martini served ice-cold, crowned with Ossetra caviar — clean, mineral, and luxuriously saline.”

Chef / Mixologist Notes

Flavor flow: neutral grain spirit → herbal vermouth lift → gentle salinity → caviar umami crescendo.

Balance: keep vermouth lean for clarity; the caviar supplies depth and finish.

Technique: salt your drink by drops, not pinches; the caviar is already saline.

Caviar care: open tins right before service; keep at 0–2 °C and avoid metal other than non-reactive spoons.

Non-Alcoholic Variation

Replace vodka with 500 ml non-alcoholic “vodka-style” spirit (or a 70:30 blend of cold-distilled juniper hydrosol and filtered water).

Replace dry vermouth with 100 ml white verjus lightly infused with tarragon (strain clear).

Build and stir as above; garnish with the same caviar spoon for the umami counterpoint.

Caviar Espresso Martini

Pro tip: If batching for service, keep the Martini Base in the freezer around −6 to −8 °C and stir very briefly to minimize extra dilution while still achieving silkiness.