"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee.com is back for another round! The whole month of February, we're serving up intoxicatingly fun articles on bars and clubs -- including guides, the latest trends, rapid bar reviews and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!
The votes are in and the winners have been selected for OnMilwaukee's Best: Bars & Clubs, 2010. Find readers' results in 50 categories, including an editors' pick, in this series of articles that run daily in the Bars and Clubs section of OnMilwaukee.com.
The key to mixing a great martini is knowing what to leave out. When ordered without directions, the bartender should put in just enough vermouth to barely coat the shaker -- then dump it out. When a customer orders one dry, it's more about the essence of vermouth than including any measurable quantity.
Beyond that, a good martini is determined by the quality of its vodka or gin, what its olives are stuffed with and how cold you can make its big boat of a martini glass. Asking for it "shaken not stirred," makes you more of a James Bond connoisseur and less of a martini maven, since technically, shaking bruises gin (but doesn't harm vodka).
OnMilwaukee.com readers know that Hi-Hat Lounge, 1701 N. Arlington Pl., takes this same no-nonsense approach to its mixology, and that's why it's a perennial favorite.
And yes, technically a cosmo or chocotini fall into this category, but the only we way we drink 'em is straight-up or a little dirty (if we're feeling a little dirty).
OnMilwaukee.com editors' choice: Metro Bar
Runners up:
2. Elsa's
3. Metro
4. Eddie Martini's
5. JoJo's
6. Blu
7. Centanni
8. Whiskey Bar
9. Taylors
10. Art Bar
11. Martini Mike's
12. Hi Lo Martini Lounge
13. Eagan's
14. Angelo's
15. Tutto
16. 88 Keys
