Madison Club Lounge at The Roosevelt Hotel, 45th Street and Madison Avenue, New York, New York

Last evening a colleague and I met a client and strategic partner of ours at the Madison Club Lounge at The Roosevelt Hotel.  The entry to the hotel is spectacular and conjures images of the 1920's.  Very high ceilings, incredible details, and beautiful architectural features adorn the spacious lobby.  As you enter, the Lobby Lounge can be seen atop a flight of stairs on the left. 

The hotel describes the Madison Club Lounge as follows:

"With the quintessential ambience of a classic, old-school New York City hotel lounge, the Madison Club Lounge's rich mahogany paneling, stained glass windows and deep cushioned leather chairs make a relaxed and comfortable setting for casual conversation and meeting business acquaintances."

The Lounge was not overly crowded when we arrived and settled in to sample their martinis.  One drink later, however, the place was hopping with tourists, business people, and others looking to socialize. 

I have heard many friends offer high praise of the martinis at the Madison Club.  As a result my expectations were very high.

Our waiter was experienced and asked the right questions.  My martini was delivered promptly, was ice cold, and still had bubbles and ice crystals from its vigorous shaking.  The olives were fresh and, best of all, not squishy.  In a word, excellent. 

The Madison Club martini deserves a 10 of 10 and gets especially high marks for the quick delivery of my incredibly freshly shaken cocktail.

Cheers.

Luksusowa

Luksusowa (Wódka Luksusowa) is a Polish brand of vodka distilled from potatoes by Pernod Ricard (formerly V&S Luksusowa) in Zielona Góra. Wódka Luksusowa (Polish for Luxury Vodka) is one of the oldest Polish vodkas in continuous production, being first sold in 1928. When Polish territory expanded westwards after World War II, the production of Luksusowa was moved to its current site in Zielona Góra. According to the producer, Luksusowa has approximately 10% share in Poland's vodka market.

Luksusowa is among my favorite vodkas. It is smooth, even among potato vodkas, but does not sacrifice its “bite”. It is my home martini vodka of choice.

Spiritsreview.com states as follows:

“Notes: Luksusowa (Polish for Luxury) Vodka is produced in Poland by Polmos from strobrowa potatoes . Distilled in a triple distilled then filtered through charcoal (the best traditional vodka filtration).

“This is one of the few vodkas made with potatoes - which contrary to popular prejudice (particularly vociferous among Russians for some reason) - is a premium ingredient for vodka. With about 1/3 less yield per kilo and a lot more prep work to ferment and distill, it makes for a difficult and expensive undertaking. Also people who suffer from Celiac's Disease (a genetic intolerance to gluten found in grains) will find this a welcome addition to the kinds of distilled spirits they can drink.

“Appearance: Crystal clear, no sediment whatsoever. On swirling, it leaves a thin clear coat on the inside of the glass forming a crenellated edge with some legs and lots of small droplets - this seems to be a familiar pattern with potato vodka. A crystal clear viscous pool in the glass.
First Impression: A slightly sweet smell to it, slight alkaline (cocoa?) smell (could be because it is a member of a alkali plant family). Rounder, deeper smell than a grain vodka. No smell of esters or oils; clean.

"Taste: Sweet and slightly oily on the tongue, medium body. Crisp, mild bite to it on the edges of your tongue. A slight warming of alcohol as it goes down the throat, with lingering warmth and tingle to the lips. Chilling accentuates the sweetness and body.

. . .

"Final Thoughts: An good value for the money - One of the few potato vodkas out there and one that does no charge an arm and a leg . Many Poles consider this an "Old style vodka" - that's fine with me. It's not fancy, but a good solid vodka with a nice mouthfeel and taste."

I find Luksusowa an outstanding vodka, a great contributor to any good martini, and, ironically, a bargain. Its impossible to make a bad martini with Luksusowa.

Cheers.

How To Order A Martini

At the request of a few friends who told me in confidence that, although they drink martinis at home, they never order martinis when in a restaurant or lounge for fear of embarrassing themselves (and you know who you are) by incorrectly ordering, I recommend ordering a vodka martini as follows (omit all language between brackets when ordering):

"[BRAND OF VODKA (e.g., Kettle, Luksosowa, Grey Goose, etc.)] martini, up, shaken, no vermouth, three olives".  One can substitute a "twist" (e.g., lemon twist) for olives, if desired, and can request that the martini be "dirty" (e.g., add a bit of olive juice to the cocktail).

What does it all mean?

          [BRAND OF VODKA (e.g., Kettle, Luksosowa, Grey Goose, etc.)] martini = martini with my choice of vodka

          shaken = I want the vodka cold and oxygenated, preferably with small bubbles and ice crystals still swirling through the mix

          up = no ice

          no vermouth = bone dry (e.g., not sweet)

        three olives (alternatively, a twist) = I want to add an essence of another flavor to this drink, but still retain its purity and sophistication

          dirty = I want the olive juice added to my cocktail to provide additional olive flavor and salt.  By the way, do not request a "dirty" martini with a twist - its simply gross.

I hope that this will make my bashful friends a bit more comfortable.

Cheers.

The Mark, 77th Street and Madison Avenue, New York, New York

I had the opportunity yesterday afternoon to attend a meeting in the lounge at The Mark, a beautiful upscale Manhattan Hotel.  The lounge is small, but very chic and inviting, and the decor, from the cowhide seating to the irregularly shaped tables, provokes conversation.

A more colorful cast of characters is difficult to imagine, especially since many of the glitterati were present en route to a nearby formal event at the Met.

After greeting my friends and clients, I, of course, ordered my usual.   My martini was served in a glass that seemed to be the offspring of a martini glass and a champagne glass, which usually arouses suspicion.  I was very pleasantly surprised; the martini was reasonably well shaken, crisp, and refreshing. The olives were fresh and tasty.   My only critique would be my preference for extremely well shaken martinis which are more icy than crisp.  Notwithstanding these critiques, I would rate the martini at The Mark 8 of 10, a very respectable rating, and I would rate the decor (which I do very seldomly) a 9.5 of 10 for interest and conversation provocation.

Cheers.