My New Book

My new book, "THOSE FANTASTIC CLASSIC COCKTAILS: History and Recipes" is now available as a paperback on Amazon. It was previously available as a Kindle Ebook and is now available as a paperback. Check it out. Makes a great Christmas gift for the cocktail lovers in your family.

THE MARTINI

This is truly the most iconic of all cocktails, not just classic cocktails. The Martini has a rich and storied history. More has been written about Martini’s than any other cocktail. It has a lore all its own. 

Almost every tavern and restaurant today has a Martini menu with numerous Martini like concoctions. Personally, I do not believe they are truly Martinis. They are just cocktails served in a Martini glass. After all, how could you seriously believe a drink called “Jamaica Me Crazy” is actually a Martini? But I digress. 

As is the history of many of our classic cocktails, the origin of the Martini is clouded in mystery. One of the few facts that can be agreed on is that it started in the 1800’s. There are numerous different stories about the origin of the Martini. H. L. Mencken called the Martini "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet"

One popular story is that it was invented in San Francisco at the Occidental Hotel by bartender Jerry Thomas. The story goes that a miner on his way to Martinez during the gold rush, asked the bartender to create him something special. Thomas created a concoction that came to be known as the Martinez which some claim to be the precursor to the Martini. However, the people of Martinez, CA, claim the Martini was first created right in Martinez by a bartender named Julio Richelieu in 1870. They claim a miner was tired of drinking whisky so Richelieu created a drink with gin, vermouth, orange bitters and an olive thus giving birth to the Martinez. Even this story isn’t universally agreed upon. Some claim that the miner really wanted Champaign after just making a big strike but the tavern didn’t have it. Therefore, the bartender concocted the Martinez instead. 


Another story has the cocktail being invented at the Hoffman House in New York in the 1880’s. The Hoffman House, once a very popular establishment, was torn down in 2015. They are credited with making Martinis dry. They took out the sweet vermouth and substituted dry vermouth. The classic Martini hasn’t changed much since then.  There are many other stories about the creation of the Martini but these are my favorites and generally most accepted possibilities. 

Luminaries, politicians, writers and athletes, a veritable list of who’s who, were Martini drinkers. The quotes that sprang up around the Martini will fill a book alone. In fact, Noel Coward once said “anyone can write books, but it takes an artist to make a dry Martini.”

Some of the notable Martini drinkers were Ernest Hemingway, President Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart, Steve Allen, Jackie Gleason, Johnny Carson, Dr. Seuss, Dean Martin, and the list goes on. In fact, President Roosevelt was an avid Martini drinker. He carried a Martini kit where ever he went. He is alleged to have served one to Joseph Stalin at the Tehran conference, and he liked it. 

I will leave you with a couple famous quotes about the Martini. George Burns once said “I never go jogging; it makes me spill my Martini.” Rodney Dangerfield once said "I drink too much. The last time I gave a urine sample it had an olive in it." Finally, Dorothy Parker said "I like to have a martini, two at the very most --After three I'm under the table, After four, I'm under my host." 
The classic Martini recipe contains gin. Vodka, which is quite popular in Martinis now, wasn’t very popular in the United States at the time. So the following recipes contain gin. 

Classic Dry Martini

 6 Parts Dry Gin (such as Beefeaters)

1 Part Dry Vermouth

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled Martini glass Garnish with an olive or lemon twist. 

Hoffman House Martini

4 oz gin

1/2 oz dry vermouth

4 dashes orange bitters

Method  Stir ingredients together with cracked ice in a mixing glass. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an olive, and serve.

Update

It's been a while since I posted to this blog. I have been busy blogging to my other blogs and writing a book. The book has now been released on Amazon as a Kindle book and can be found there. It is called: "Those Fantastic Classic Cocktails: Histories and Recipes". I hope you will give it a look.

As a first post in a while, I thought I would post a chapter from the book. I hoped you enjoy it and I look forward to your comments.