Martini

Traditionally a stiff mixture of gin with the merest hint of dry vermouth, a martini could be described as “astringent” at best. Something of an acquired taste, it is perhaps the most austere, misunderstood and exploited cocktail, while simultaneously one of the most well known. In its original format, its glamour is unparalleled. Its history is uncertain although written evidence points with relative certainty to the US as the birthplace of the martini, around the mid-19th century. One credible account by William Grimes, restaurant critic for the New York Times, claims that the dry martini was invented in 1912 by Signor Martini di Arma di Taggia, a bartender at New York’s Knickerbocker hotel. It’s a descendant of the Martinez, created by Jerry Thomas, barman at the Occidental hotel in San Francisco, which combines sweeter gin and vermouth with a dash of maraschino cherry liquid and bitters. Two points: Serve your martini very well chilled and secondly, we’re undecided as to whether shaken or stirred is best.