Alongside our long-standing obsession with artisanally crafted cuisine rests a similar fixation on elevated cocktails crafted by certified mixologists who muddle their way to impressionist inebriants. This is how we get things like the ana banana, a composite of Monkey Shoulder whiskey, Lustau amontillado sherry and Tempus Fugit crème de banane — with a twist.
Yet among all this spirited flamboyance and kitsch, the timeless martini stands alone, skirting these trends with its rudimentary components — gin, dry vermouth, lemon twist or speared olive — and classic verve. It was the beverage of choice for Ian Fleming’s fictional super spy, James Bond. Ernest Hemingway praised the martini for its cool and clean, civilizing effect. Humphrey Bogart mentioned the drink on his deathbed. Famed satirist and poet Dorothy Parker lionized the cocktail with a saucy verse.
Yet, like the dirtiest martini, the origin of this famous drink is muddled in a hazy blur. There’s the tale that the martini hales from Martinez, California, where, after striking it rich, a gold miner was served a mix of gin, vermouth, maraschino liqueur and lemon after his request for Champagne was rebuffed…