The Martini

I maintain that a martini is made with gin and that a vodka martini must be designated as such. I really lose patience with waitstaff who ask me whether I want a gin martini or a vodka martini. A martini is gin by default.

The origin of the martini is uncertain. By one widely disseminated account, the martini is a descendant of the Martinez, an older, sweeter cocktail consisting of two ounces of sweet vermouth, one ounce Old Tom gin (a sweetened variant), two dashes maraschino cherry liquid, and one dash bitters, shaken with ice, strained, and served with a twist of lemon.

The Martinez was most likely invented in Martinez, California, where a plaque commemorating the birth of the martini can be found on the north-east corner of the intersection of Alhambra Avenue and Masonic Street. The earliest known reference to the Martinez is found in "The Bon Vivants Companion: Or How to Mix Drinks," first published in 1862 and authored by "Professor" Jerry Thomas, the "Principal Barman" at many famous watering holes including the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco. According to George A. Zabriske, who republished the original book in 1928, Thomas had a client who took a ferry from the Occidental Hotel on Montgomery Street to Martinez, then the state capital of California, every morning.

Thomas mixed him the Martinez to keep the morning chill off, and named it after his client's destination. Distilled spirits in the 1800s were not regulated as they are today, and were sold at cask strength—upwards of 135 proof. As the strength of the spirits decreased, smaller quantities of mixers were needed to make them palatable. Now it is more common to see a martini made with little or no vermouth.

Some suggest that the drink owes its name to Martini (known in the United States as Martini & Rossi), the brand name for a popular Italian vermouth marketed internationally since the nineteenth century. Americans who order the drink in Italy are often surprised to be served a sweet vermouth instead of a cocktail containing gin or vodka. (There the martini is best ordered as a "martini cocktail".)

Based on the reality of how customers order, anyone in the service industry would be a fool not to ask the vodka or gin question when taking a martini order. I would say around 99% of the martini orders I get involve vodka; granted I work at a neighborhood bar where classic cocktails aren't the focus, but even at your fine dining restaurants and upscale martini bars the menu is going to feature vodka martinis more prominently because that is what the majority of customers order. I'm a cocktail purist myself and I don't like the trend of phasing out gin for vodka (happens a lot with the Collins, gimlet, greyhound/salty dog, and other drinks too), but again, as a waiter/bartender, it makes no sense to just bring out a glass of gin and have to spill it/pay for it when you find out that, not to your surprise at all, the customer wanted vodka.

Unfortunately, you're right. That's why I usually preempt the question by specifying the type of gin I want. Also, I often move from gin & tonics to a martini, which makes it a pretty good bet that I want my martini made with gin.

I do the same, and what I find even more irritating is that I also have to insist in advance on the method of preparation. Even at fancy places, I have to specifically ask for my martinis and manhattans stirred, and not shaken, or else I'll get a watered down and cloudy mess akin to the supremely disappointing ~$20 manhattan I got the last time I went out to an expensive place.

I agree. I much prefer mine stirred. When I make them at home, I use beakers and glass stirring rods. Stirring eliminates those annoying ice chips.

I advocate the idea of three-martini lunches, perhaps with a steak or lobster and conversation.

October 22, 1986- a date which will live in infamy.

Three martini lunches.... Hell yeah. For those that want one of the better brunches in New York, try Maloney and Porcelli.. Great bloodys and martinis. Sit at one of the 12 or so seats in the back that overlook the great kitchen staff doing their thing. Really cool spot. No music. A bigt flat screen tv, but no sound. A place where you will find a couple of older gentlemen sitting at the bar reading a book sipping a few martinis - and wearing classic bow ties, 3 button suits, etc.

This place is the real deal.

Three martini lunch..... Hell yeah.

When I drank hard liquor, a martini was my favorite. I liked the glass filled with vermouth, dumped out, then filled with gin. One olive. Lemon twist, rubbed around the glass rim. Delicious.

One of my pet peeves is the way restaurants insist on serving martinis in humongous glasses and fill them all the way to the top. I always spill some and they also don't taste the same as ones served in normal portions in normal sized glasses.

I never really thought about it, but I agree 100%. They nearly make it impossible to get from the bar to your table, without spillage.

I personally prefer vodka martinis but I agree with Nantucket. A martini, by default, should always be gin.

David went behind the bar and found glasses and some ice and made two martinis.
"It tastes good, but terribly strong," the girl said.
"They are strong," David said. "But there's a strong wind today and we drink according to the wind."

Hemingway