Page 36 - Emag_FebMarch2020

The History of the Martini

by Leah Bhabha

longside our recent obsession with artisanally- The popularity of the Martini never seems to wane, and it
crafted food lies a similar agenda pertaining to was particularly de rigeur during the 1950s and 1960s, when
Aalcohol and cocktails. Bespectacled waistcoated the “three martini lunch” was a widespread practice for
“mixologists” muddle and mash their concoctions, creating cosmopolitan executives and businesspeople. Our societal
original recipes with things like molé-infused bitters and stance on daytime drinking (not to mention standards of
bacon-flavored bourbon. No matter how much Earl grey productivity and workplace culture) have changed somewhat
syrup and hibiscus are swizzled into coupe glasses, though, since the Mad Men era, and these days the Martini is more
there are some cocktails that cannot and will not ever go out commonly consumed in the evening hours...at least on
of style. weekdays.
The martini, with its basic ingredients and air of refined Numerous theories on the cocktail’s origins exist, as do
panache, is one drink that cannot be outshone by the numerous versions and recipes. A traditional martini contains
latest trends. From James Bond’s widely recognized gin and dry vermouth served extremely cold with a green
“shaken not stirred” endorsement to Ernest Hemingway’s olive or lemon garnish -- the additional ingredients from the
pronouncement in A Farewell to Arms, “I’ve never tasted earliest version were quickly abandoned. In the Martini’s
anything so cool and clean... earliest incarnation, the ratio
They make me feel civilized,” of gin to vermouth was 1:1, but
this gin-based beverage has the amount of gin has steadily
been and will continue to be an increased over the years. These
iconic stalwart of the cocktail days, the ratios are approached
lexicon. with much subjectivity, and
Like the dirtiest of martinis, vary according to personal
the history of this American taste. A “dry” martini contains
drink is more than slightly less vermouth, while a “dirty”
murky. One prevalent theory one includes dashes of olive
points to the town of Martinez, brine. When vodka replaces the
California, where historians gin, it’s known as a “kangaroo,”
and town inhabitants alike and a “Gibson” swaps the olive
claim the drink was invented for a cocktail onion. James
during the mid-1800s Gold Bond favors the “Vesper,"
Rush. Apparently, a gold miner made with gin, vodka, and Kina
who had recently struck it Lillet vermouth, garnished
rich decided to celebrate his with a twist of lemon peel.
good fortune at a local bar. A martini “on the rocks” is
He requested Champagne, served over ice as opposed to
which they didn’t have, so being strained into a cocktail
the bartender insisted on glass, and “with a twist” refers
concocting another beverage to the addition of a thin piece
made from ingredients he had of citrus peel, often shaped
on hand: gin, vermouth, bitters, into a decorative curlicue. As
maraschino liqueur, and a slice any Bond fan (or person with a
of lemon. Thus, “The Martinez Special” was born. The modicum of pop culture knowledge) will know, 007’s drink
miner so enjoyed the cocktail that he tried to order it again of choice is “shaken, not stirred,” although Martinis are
in San Francisco, where, of course, the bartender required often stirred instead of shaken.
instruction in its preparation. The popularity of this sweet, Lately, the practice of attaching the suffix “tini” to a number
bracing drink spread, and it was first published in the of cocktails is all too pervasive, particularly among fruity,
Bartender’s Manual in the 1880s. sweet drinks like “appletinis,” “lycheetinis,” and even the
However, this theory isn’t unanimously accepted: Barnaby cloying “mochatini.” Many of these drinks have little to do
Conrad III, author of a book on the Martini’s origin, claims with the original cocktail, but are thus named because of
that the drink was, in fact, invented in San Francisco, after their use of the V-shaped glass, often thought of as a Martini
a miner requested a pick-me-up in the city on his way to glass.
Martinez. There are also assertions that it originated in New While we may be at odds regarding its origin, there’s no
York’s Knickerbocker Hotel. Still others assert that the drink denying the popularity of this drink, which writer H.L.
was named after “Martini & Rossi” vermouth, which was Mencken referred to as "the only American invention as
first created in the mid-1800s. Apparently in the interest of perfect as the sonnet.” •
brevity, the drink became known as the “Martini.”

page 34 | www.celebrationmagazine.com