Tuesday Cocktail Hour - Time for a Classic Martini...

A part of my wine training with the London Wine and Spirit Education Trust involved spirits. Now granted, it was 90% about wine, but we did talk a bit about spirits. I love myself a good cocktail; I know there's nothing like mixing that first one - taking that first sip. They can be so beautiful, release feelings of joy, and celebration - often taking us back to a time and place.

So in honor of Humpday I want to talk about a classic...

Gin Martini Up - Shaken with Olives

For starters, here is the method for a classic martini...

Classic Martini

And for some interesting anecdotal and historical notes on this beautiful cocktail.... JUMP

Let's start with origins...

Martini for Two - the Beginnings.

It is believed the first Martini was concocted in San Francisco around 1860. There is a nearby town called Martinez. Many of the residents of this town took ferries to San Francisco everyday for work. On their way home, many of them would stop off at the Occidental Hotel for a cocktail before catching the ferry home - the cocktail was called a Martini in their honor.

The original Martini was made with Sweet Vermouth. Then around 1911-1912, a bartender at the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City created a dry version. He simply used dry Vermouth rather than the Sweet Vermouth that was used in the original method. People began asking for "White Vermouth" and the Martini we know today was born.

Martini Shaken - NOT Stirred

Now that you know its origins, here's some more fun cultural facts about the Martini:

Originally the Martini is listed in most cocktail books as stirred rather than shaken. It was the famed James Bond line that changed all of that when he ordered his shaken not stirred.

NOTE: The next time you can make more than one, have one shaken and the other stirred. This really doesn't matter with a Vodka version, but with Gin it really changes the flavor. Shaking Gin (sometimes called bruising) opens up the herbal aromatics used in the distillation. Stirring keeps those same aromatics in a tamer, less expressive state. 

Noel Coward was quoted as saying "The perfect Martini should be made by pouring some gin in a glass and waving it in the general direction of Italy." He said this because most vermouth comes from Italy and/or France.

Another fun quote comes from Dorothy Parker - Dorothy liked to say, "I like to have a Martini, two at the most. Three, I'm under the table; four, I'm under the host."

So the next time you have a Martini you'll have some witty and anecdotal information to share along with your drink... Make this day a celebration, enjoy a classic gin Martini, and if you make it to four, don't blame me for the consequences - YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!